The World Chess Championship 2024 – Gukesh vs Ding Liren match is anticipated to have a significant viewership, drawing interest from chess enthusiasts globally. While exact numbers for future events are speculative, historical data provides some insights of what to expect. In the past months Chessdom.com has published 157 articles on the World Championship, raking more than 1M views – to be precise total of 1,157,323 or average 7371 reads per article (highest is 91k reads). If you are new to the chess world, these numbers are NOT big. A much larger audience is expected on Chessdom in the coming days and that is still a drop in the ocean of chess interest out there. But how many people actually view a World Chess Championship? The short answer – enough to attract Google as a title sponsor (and also get a cool Doodle with it). The exact figures will depend on numerous factors like broadcast availability, the players’ popularity, and the promotion of the event. Here is some statistical data from recent events. All details on Gukesh – Ding: Preview / Schedule / Live More: Opening ceremony, Press conference, and Drawing of colors Social networks: Twitter/X / Facebook
Recent World Championship viewership
The 2021 FIDE World Chess Championship had a peak viewership of 613,000 concurrent viewers online. The total viewership for that event exceeded 12.6 million hours watched. The 2023 Championship, despite not featuring Magnus Carlsen, still ranked as the second most-watched chess tournament with over 11+ million hours watched.
The record viewership for a World Chess Championship
Anand-Carlsen match in 2013 holds the record viewership. It was reported that between 100 to 200 million people followed the match daily on TV in India and Norway alone, with additional viewership through various reports and online streaming globally.
World Chess championship 2024 expectations
Ding – Gukesh match will be the first time two players from Asia meet in a World Chess Championship in the 138 years history of the event (although Carlsen’s coach Nielsen disagrees). Moreover, it will be played in Asia, in Singapore the at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). This gives a chance to chess to farm new audiences and reach the most populated areas in the world. What the final numbers of viewership will be, we will follow closely on Chessdom.com
Chess Viewership elsewhere
On November 23, 2020, Netflix announced “The Queen’s Gambit” has set the record as the most-watched scripted limited series to date on Netflix — with 62 million member accounts tuning in to the show in the first 28 days, according to the company. It is plausible to assume that the number of viewers of this movie, that sparked interest in chess among many, would be a basis number for a viewership of the World Chess Championship. Has the interest in chess movies disappeared since The Queen’s Gambit? Certainly not, as Netflix is preparing a new movie in 2025 Netflix UNTOLD 2025 Carlsen – Niemann based on the cheating allegations scandal that rocked the chess world.
