Chess is perhaps the most popular board game amongst the celebrities of other sports. The recent popularity of the game has increased tremendously after the entire world was locked inside their homes because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Gaining unprecedented fame through the Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit, more and more celebrities indulging themselves in the game has further increased its popularity.

Take a look, here’s a video of a tennis legend, Boris Becker, playing a round of chess against a Grand Master.

This game featured the German tennis superstar, Boris Becker, and the English Grand Master, Nigel short. It was an exhibition match played in 2011 at London Chess Classic. Boris had the white pieces and started with the king’s pawn opening. The English Grand Master also replied with the king’s pawn, but Boris wanted to play an attacking game so he sacrificed his bishop for the knight very early.

However, the game ended rather quickly, as even with the white pieces, the tennis legend didn’t have any odds against a seasoned Grand Master like Nigel Short.

Boris Becker is a chess enthusiast

The six-time Grand Slam winner is very fond of chess. In fact, rumor has it, he used to play the game before a few big matches on the court, in order to calm his mind. Boris is a legend who won his first Grand Slam at 17. He was also ranked the World No. 1 tennis player for some time. Notably, he retired from tennis on June 25th, 1999, and has even coached the current World No. 1, Novak Djokovic, for three years.

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After his retirement, the German tennis legend turned towards professional poker and is now working on an online poker company.

Grand Master Nigel Short

The most prominent introduction for the English Grand Master Nigel Short would be as the vice president of FIDE. He was ranked 3rd in the FIDE ranking from July 1988 to July 1989, and in 1993, Nigel Short was the first-ever English Grand Master to play a World Chess Championship. However, he lost to the Russian Grand Master Garry Kasparov with a score of 12½ to 7½.

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Celebrity chess games are a treat to watch. You may see a few extraordinary chess moves, but for the fans, they are all entertaining games. Boris Becker has also played friendly games against the former world chess champion Garry Kasparov.

The fact that more and more celebrities are taking an interest in the game is great for the future of chess.

Who is your favorite celebrity chess player?