‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess for the Sport Post the Pandemic

Siddharth Gaurav Majhi ()
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Siddharth Gaurav Majhi: Indian Institute of Management

A chapter in Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, 2023, pp 255-270 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter proposes to study the phenomenon of the increased popularity of online chess during the coronavirus-induced pandemic and the consequent global lockdowns and the implications for the sport of chess. While being centuries old, chess is a sport that has not enjoyed a massive fan following due to its nature. However, the disruptions caused by the pandemic started a series of events that propelled the online avatar of chess to a new sphere of popularity. In this chapter, I explore this phenomenon by first discussing some of the key contributing factors to online chess’s rapid rise in popularity. I then discuss some of the issues that accompanied this rise in popularity. Then, I analyze the implications of these positive and negative aspects for the sport of chess as a whole, post the pandemic. Finally, I incorporate the theoretical perspective of brand extension to view the role of some critical stakeholders in facilitating this phenomenon. This chapter has important implications for sports management, related to the challenges due to the influx of a vast novel audience, the need to balance entertainment and tradition in the pursuit of popularity, and the approaches that can help market a traditionally difficult-to-market sport.

Keywords: Online chess; Streaming; Pandemic; Brand extension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:semchp:978-981-19-7010-8_11

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_11

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