Strategy
UPS
TikTok
Reddit
Why teens are suddenly obsessed with chess
Chess has always been a part of Henry Lien’s life. He’s played it since he was 5 years old or so, his tiny hands just big enough to hold the pieces. He grew up in a part of the Bay Area, Marin, which is known for producing a few excellent chess players, so his schools always had a good chess team and coaches. Lien even created a nonprofit around it, ChessPals, through which he teaches the game at local schools. No one would ever call chess a niche; it’s an old game with a ton of history, played by millions across the world. But in high school, it’s typically contained to its own circles, played in chess clubs. And that’s why Lien was shocked when he showed up at school one day in January and saw chess everywhere.