Skip to content

Chess Awareness Watch

Chess is one of the most widely played sports globally. Last year, the world champion changed, and we are now providing updated awareness regarding the name of the current Champion and their origin. This report marks the second official Chess Awareness Barometer.


3% of people know the name of the Champion in 2023. 3% know that he was born in China.

Frame 1745.png

Heres a breakdown:

2 screen (1).png

But what were the wrong answers? Glad you asked!

Ellipse 2.png
71%

Dont know who

Ger 65%, UK 77%

Ellipse 1.png
10%

Magnus Carlsen

He declined to defend his title and didnt play in the last match

5%

Garry Kasparov

World Champion between the years 1984...2000

2%

Vladimir Kramnik

World Champion in 2006 and 2007

1%

Viswanathan Anand

World Champion
between the years 2007...2013

1%

Levon Aronian

Three-time Olympic champion in the Armenian national team

1%

Fabiano Caruana

Four-time Italian champion in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011

Ellipse 2.png
61%

I don’t know where

Ger 64%, UK 59%

13%

“Russia”

7 World Champions in the last 50 years

9%

Norway

Home of the world champion from 2013 to 2023

2%

United States

Home of the great world champion Bobby Fischer

2%

India

It’s probably the home of the next world champions

1%

Armenia

An Armenian was a World Champion as a citizen of the USSR

1%

Georgia

Actually, there were no Georgian Worls Champions ever

Heres a formal report for the nerds:

Frame 1162 (1).png

The survey was conducted from 13 to 16 June 2022 in the UK and USA by YouGov on behalf of World Chess.