8 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
The world's largest online chess platform — surging to 100+ million members after The Queen's Gambit Netflix series — providing games, puzzles, analysis, and tournaments.
American chess International Master who is Chief Chess Officer (CCO) at Chess.com — responsible for the chess product, community, and streaming content — known for his role in growing Chess.com into the world's largest online chess platform.
A memoir or exploration of chess culture and its psychological dimensions — exploring the intense mental world of competitive chess, the obsession it creates, and its relationship to mental health.
Russian chess grandmaster who was the World Chess Champion from 1985 to 2000 — considered the greatest chess player in history — who lost to IBM's Deep Blue in 1997 (the first time a world champion was defeated by a computer) and subsequently became a political dissident and AI commentator.
British chess grandmaster who has written extensively on synchronicity and the paranormal — bringing a rigorous, empirical mindset to the investigation of anomalous phenomena — and who has become an unexpected voice for taking synchronicity and parapsychology seriously.
Hungarian chess grandmaster — the strongest female chess player in history — who defeated 11 world champions including Kasparov, Karpov, and Anand — and whose father László Polgár's educational experiment (intensive early chess training of all three daughters) became famous as evidence for deliberate practice theory.
Israeli-Soviet statesman — who spent 9 years in Soviet prisons as a dissident before being exchanged in 1986 — became a senior Israeli political figure — author of The Case for Democracy — whose framework (distinguishing free societies from fear societies) influenced George W. Bush's democracy promotion policy.
Norwegian chess grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion — considered by many the greatest chess player of all time, distinguished by his ability to win in technically drawn positions through superior psychological and positional play.