How Chess Is Becoming Enmeshed In Everyday Life: Comics, Cartoons, And More

When chess takes centerstage in comics and cartoons, you know that the appeal of the game is broadly recognized and our favorite pastime has entered the main stage of just about everyone’s life.

Comic Strips And Chess

Just this week, the comic strip Mother Goose & Grimm, which is syndicated around the world in over 800 newspapers and consistently places in the top-10 most popular ratings, used the game of chess to make its readers laugh. Cartoonist Mike Peters is just the latest to recognize that chess holds the fascination of millions.

Although the current rise of chess in popular culture is noteworthy, chess in comic strips is nothing new. Several websites document how comic strips have featured chess. For example, Edward Collins has compiled some great examples of chess-related comic strips.

Cartoons And Chess

Similarly, chess has been showcased in cartoons. A great example is a recent episode of Bluey, an Australian animated television series that premiered in 2018 and is distributed by BBC Studios. After international broadcasting rights for the series were acquired by The Walt Disney Company, Bluey has become the second most widely streamed program in the world, according to The Nielson Company.

The show follows Bluey, a six-year-old Blue Heeler puppy that has extra energy and enthusiasm. The game of chess ties together an episode (“called “Chest”) in Series 3, currently being broadcast. Bandit, the dad, tries to teach the game to Bluey and her younger sister Bingo. 
Watch in this segment how Bluey and Bingo, with childlike imagination, invent creative names for chess pieces: Prawns, Gallahop, and Castle-head!

In the following segment, the dad tries to explain several important rules of chess:

In a nod to chess history, Bluey keeps referring to her father as ¨Big Blue,¨ a reference to the first chess computer to defeat a reigning chess world champion, none other than Russian GM Garry Kasparov, under standard tournament controls. Learn more about the episode “Chest” (entitled ¨Chest¨ because the pups keep referring to ¨chess ¨as ¨chest¨) as well as the Bluey series in this summary by the producer.

Where Chess Meets Celebrities: Other Cultural Aspects

Similarly, chess has been making incursions into other cultural aspects of everyday life. More recently in the news is how leading sports figures in baseball and football are avid chess players. Chess.com has also promoted this trend by holding events such as BlitzChamps with matches between American football players on professional and college teams. In addition, Chess.com has developed PogChamps, which features top content creators and celebrities with the tagline “Where Chess Meets Celebrities.” 

Further, this blog has also recently recognized how chess has been influential in fashion, art, and advertising. 

Keep your eye out for how other cultural elements, particularly comics and cartoons, are featuring chess. Is this a trend that you have also noticed?