As of 2005, it is estimated that between 600 – 700 million people play chess in the world!
As of 2005, approximately 285 million people play online through various Internet Chess Servers!
As of 2006, the estimated number of people who know how to play chess in the United States is 45 million!
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Amazing numbers! Chess is great!
So, in other words, if you’re just learning the moves, there are about 700 million players who are better than you.
Yes, not every impressive figure is true.
285,000,000 different individuals who have ever played an online chess game?
Absolutely ridiculous.
“285 millions persons playing chess on Internet servers seems very strange knowing that there are less than 30,000 active accounts on ICC …”
Well, there’s not just ICC, there’s Chess Live, Playchess, FICS, and rinky dink places like Pogo, Microsoft Gaming Zone, et cetera. Still 30,000 is a long way from 285,000,000. I wonder how they arrived at that number. I have a feeling they’re counting games rather than players.
I don’t believe those numbers in part. I have a hard time accepting 1 in 6 Americans, know how to play chess.
I challenge anyone sitting in their office building right now reading this, to say 1 out of every 6 people in your office know how to play chess.
How many people in your office has played a game of chess this year? In the last 5 years?
In my office there are about 200 people. I have only found 1 person that could play me, out of those 200 people. About 10 people even have a vague idea how to move the pieces.
45 million people in the US playing chess is way to high.
hi susan,
do you have any reference to these numbers?
i would like to reprint this information and it will be great if i can link the information to a source.
thank you!
The chess world needs these figures so long as such numbers are supported by journal-level published statistical research or equivalent. This class of statistically supported data further deserves a website whether or not by itself for this purpose.
The definition of statistics is damn lies. This is simply not true. I would never repeat these numbers except in a comic book for an appropriate joke.
I particularily object to the number assigned for internet chess play. That sounds more like it might represent the maximum total number of games.
I can only shake my head and feel frustrated with this kind of garbage pseudo science. JUNK.
I could sit here and guess a number closer to the truth and do it for free.
45 million people in the United States being able to play chess — that works out to about 15% of the population. I don’t find that so difficult to believe, if by that we mean simply that they know the rules, more or less, and could play some kind of game.
What I have a hard time believing is that 285 million, worldwide, have played chess on the Internet. Where are all these people? The worldwide population of internet users is supposedly about 1 billion, with Europe and North America accounting for more than half of this number. That would mean that 25-30% of internet users have played on the chess servers. Impossible. I think 2.85 million, which is two orders of magnitude smaller is possible, but 285 million is unbelievable, meaning not believable.
72% of all statistics are incorrect
Let’s assume those numbers are based on liberal criteria. If in fact 45 million people know the bare minumum required to play a game a chess, then the survey itself is useless.
I would compare it to trying to promote NASCAR participation, by saying 200 million Americans know how to drive. haha
For me 285 millions playing chess on internet is very difficult to believe.
Where are they?I use to play in ICC,yahoo,playchess and probably all together are just 60,000 or less.And if really there are 300 sites to play chess on internet…where is the list?
And one of each six(45 millions) knowing how the play chess in USA looks very strange too.
Susan,in our zone in Spain(Catalonia)chess is very popular.We have about 6,500 players(one of each three spanish active players is federated with us)but anyway 6,500 means less than 1% of total population.
If a not federated player is playing,he/she can be only in internet and very hidden because is not visiting the usual sites.
Sorry but I do not believe these big numbers!
It is expected that by 2010 there will be a billion computer users. See http://news.com.com/A+billion+PC+users+on+the+way/2100-1003_3-5290988.html
Even assuming there are a billion computer users today, is it possible that 285 million of them, i.e., more than 1 in 4 computer users have played chess on Internet servers?
I would be surprised if 28 million people have played chess on the Internet, let alone 285 million.
Something is wrong with these numbers.
Okay can someone find and prove the correct figure for internet chess usage?
just look in your environment. Not many people play chess at all.
I am sure this number is definitely wrong!
Citing a source re: how many chess players there are in the world would be very helpful! Can anyone provide it?