The Chess Revolution: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age

by Peter Doggers, George Weightman (Narrator)

One of the world’s top chess journalists in the world explores why, after 1,500 years of existence, chess has never been more relevant than now.

Chess is not just one of the greatest games ever devised. It has inspired writers, painters, and filmmakers, and is a secret mover behind technical revolutions like artificial intelligence that are transforming society.

In this fascinating pop culture history of the game and its impact, acclaimed Chess.com journalist Peter Doggers (also their news and events director), reveals how computers and the Internet have further strengthened the timeless magic of chess in the digital era, leading to a new peak in popularity and cultural relevance. Doggers explores chess as a cultural from its earliest beginnings in ancient India to its biggest stars and most dramatic moments to the impact of the internet and AI.

Audible Audio

Published November 26, 2024

Reviews

[Rick DeMier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a chess fan. It provided humbling insight into why I'll probably never be a strong player. I could be better; I just need to decide whether I want to expend the effort. But, if I choose to, this book provides some great ideas. I am surprised at the extent in which chess has become a spectator sport.

[Fred Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting that I should have 2 books on chess history rotate through my "to be read" stack at the same time. The other, by David Shenk is more "chessy" in nature, this one is more an interesting tale which does an excellent job on discussing the transition in the game as AI and computers became more powerful and the rise of the "streaming phenomenon" dramatically increased public interest and the earning power of stellar chess players and analysts - particularly those with ability to translate the game to a fun level for those new or less experienced.

Also examined is the rise of computer empires on line like chess.com. I had not played there for many years but signed on today and noticed that 230,538 people were playing and today alone, 21,150,823 games had already been played. The rise in rapid and bullet chess, with time limits from 1 minute to 30 minutes per side for an entire game has also increased the popularity of the game, especially among those who thought watching a match would be about as exciting as watching grass grow. As understanding grows, so does the appeal.

One thing noted is the effect of popular culture on the game with the great movie "The Queens Gambit", for example causing not only a general increase in interest in the game but a huge surge in registrations on web sites by women who are also playing in competition in increasing numbers.

If you want a taste of how and why this game, after 1500 years, continues to have great appeal, this well written, easy to understand book might be your ticket to some great insight.

[Kris Atticus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know who this book is for. If you've followed chess for more than a year, you're already familiar with the events of, generously, a third of the book. I bought it (because it was an audible exclusive, yuck already) thinking it would be a more comprehensive history of chess, but instead it seems like the "revolution" referred to in the title does refer to the digital revolution, because again, generously, only 20% of the book is devoted to chess prior to the 90s and it really goes all in on the impact of AI on chess.

I suppose that's who this is for. People who want to see how AI changed chess. There's value in that, in showing how the sport was able to weather being surpassed by machine tools and quickly adapting to using those tools to play higher level chess, at younger and younger ages, than ever before. For one, it wasn't marketed that way. For another, it wasn't written that way. It clearly wanted to have the broad scope it claims, but it's, ungenerously, lazy. It sounds like it was written by someone who was there, a titled Gen X player, perhaps, who didn't really have to to research to talk about how they used to play chess with ASCII in the early 90s. It doesn't even have the insight to make the point I made earlier in this paragraph.

The narrator only dragged this book down. He seemed much more interested in showing us how good his American accent is, for being a Brit and all, and how he has a few pro chess player impressions under his belt. That would be all well and good if he also made the effort to learn how to pronounce well-known chess players names. There is no excuse for pronouncing current top-rated woman, Hou Yifan's name as Hoo Yee-fan and the literal one previous World Champion's name, Ding Liren as Ding Lye-ren. Shameful. The abysmal pronunciation of non-English names happened throughout, but those one pissed me off the most.

I really struggled through this one, but at least I had The Immortal Game by David Shenk for an incredible palate cleanser.

[Lucas Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantastic! A tremendous read for new & seasoned chess fans and players.
It is an excellent resource on the history & current state of the sport. I’m sure that most readers will learn a lot from this book.