Checkmate: How AI can help start a chess revolution

Chess has played an important role in the evolution of technology. Back in 1997, the cerebral battle between computer technology and humans reached a tipping point when a purpose-built supercomputer named Deep Blue defeated the legendary world champion Gary Kasparov.

It was the one of the first instances in which technology had tangibly moved ahead of the human mind. That turned out to be a major milestone in the advancement of technology and its integration into daily life.

More than two decades later, technology has completely transformed the way we live our life. And the way chess is played.

The next stage of chess evolution will be on display in London over the coming week when the Global Chess League returns for its second season.

The tournament, which has a franchise format, integrates the latest innovations in technology with the dynamism of a franchise league, aiming to provide a new experience for regular and causal chess fans.

The inaugural season of GCL, which is a joint initiative between technology providers Tech Mahindra and chess governing body FIDE, was held in Dubai last year.

The tournament sees some of the best chess players on the planet competing in a joint team format consisting of six players each. Each team plays 10 round-robin matches with the final between the top two sides.

It is not just the format that is unique. Use of artificial intelligence to generate high quality content, a GCL Metaverse to augment fan experience, integrated production for top quality telecast across platforms are just some of the tools being used to make chess an engaging visual experience.

Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri will be one of the players getting their first taste of GCL over the coming days. Giri, who will be representing PBG Alaskan Knights, believes evolving with technology is the way forward.

“It was a big shift in mindset when Kasparov lost to Deep Blue. People realised you should stop competing with the engines and embrace them, work with them,” Giri told The National.

“We already had engines, but with them becoming so much stronger, it changes the details and preparations. If you are a top player, you can see it. It impacts even the style of players, you see certain shifts.

“You see Hikaru [Nakamura, grandmaster and chess superstar] is rising, despite being one of the older players. That is largely due to the fact the kind of style he has is much suited to the chess of today with AI than the chess of 10 years ago.”

While the players are making the most of the latest innovations, bringing new age technology to chess fans is the responsibility of Sameer Pathak, CEO of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.

One of the first decisions that Pathak and GCL made after the first season in Dubai was to get a feedback from all stakeholders. It was important because very few had actually worked in a chess tournament.

“We did a listening tour after the first season got over. We listened to fans, broadcasters, team owners, and employees who worked on the tournament,” Pathak told The National.

“Before the GCL, nothing had happened at this level. The team owners did not know what to expect from the players or the league. Players did not know what to expect from the team and team owners. Many employees and production team had not worked on chess before, the broadcasters had never shown chess before.”

That endeavour resulted in some crucial changes for the second season. The biggest one was bringing in time constraint in matches so that fans know exactly how much time to devote to games, which also helps with production and telecast.

“We have brought in many changes. The commentary that the world of chess got used to is not what the broadcasters prefer. The style of commentary will change. The way we present will be more sports style than chess style.

“We are bringing in fixed time to chess, which is more like blitz format but in rapid [forms of speed chess with time restrictions]. Both players will have 20 minutes each. It helps with production perspective because you know when the match ends.

“Last time, matches went up and down, and it hampered planning process as we have back-to-back three to four matches a day.”

What also became clear is that the opening move in any chess game is one of the most important elements to a contest, so providing an uninterrupted viewer experience was crucial. Which is not possible when matches start simultaneously.

“The feedback we got is that opening in chess is every important. This time, you will have staggered starts. All six games will not start together. It will give commentators a little bit more time to speak on the opening.”

There will be other tools in play in the second season, too. Artificial intelligence systems will be in place to helps fans get more information out of each match, and some of it in real time.

“We have 32 matches that take place. Each match has six games, so that makes it 192 games. Currently, nobody is able to cover each game in its detail. So what we have done is have an AI tool that will automatically generate a match report. So 192 match reports that will be AI generated, alongside a more detailed combined report,” Pathak explained.

“Secondly, we are partnering with Chessify, another top chess company, to bring in an AI buddy to our platform. Through it, an important move will be explained to the viewer.”

All of these technologies will be available on fans.globalchessleague.com. And hopefully, it will eventually help unlock the untapped commercial potential in the game.

While there are chess enthusiasts in all walks of life – Rachel Reeves, the Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, was an U14 British chess champion, while India cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal has represented the country in chess – the game has yet to realise its full value.

“Chess is hugely popular but under commercialised,” Pathak said. “If you look at cricket, if you have to start anything, you have start very big. In chess, you can start with Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand and still be viable in short term.”

All three names will be in action during the second season of GCL which runs until October 12. Last season, the tournament attracted more than 1 million viewers on Eurosport, while it was also broadcast on Fox Sports, streaming network DAZN, and others. It achieved an impressive reach of over 100 million on various social media platforms and its Metaverse had nearly 280,000 visits.

With a few key changes and better preparation, GCL 2 could well take chess to the next level.