How to Make Chess Sizzle

The following excerpt from The New York Times quotes Carol Phillips, adjunct professor of marketing at the Mendoza College of Business. To read the entire column, visit: “How to Make Chess Sizzle” 

For years, chess players have bemoaned that chess is not as popular as poker, particularly when it comes to attracting television coverage.

While part of the complaint doubtless has to do with the desire of some players to have their egos stroked, the real issue is money. Poker players earn more because they have higher exposure and name and face recognition. In the United States, more people would recognize the poker personality Phil Hellmuth than Viswanathan Anand, even though Anand is the world champion and has been one of the top three players in the world for almost 20 years. Not surprisingly, Hellmuth earns more money.

The question of whether chess can be more popular and attract more money, especially from corporate sponsors, has become a focus of the campaign of Anatoly Karpov for the presidency of the World Chess Federation.

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