Chess.com Reaches 250 Million Members
A little more than three years ago, in December of 2022, Chess.com reached 100 million members. It was a huge milestone at the time, and it still is, but now we are celebrating an even bigger number: a quarter of a billion. It's the 250,000,000 chess lovers, just like you, who make Chess.com what it is today.
Albert Cheng, the Chief Growth Officer for Chess.com, commented on the milestone: "Reaching 250M members is energizing! It's a reminder that chess is a universal game that connects people across countries, languages, and ages. Our mission is to bring joy to the world through chess, and we are honored to continue serving and growing this community."
The growth truly has been amazing. As Chess.com enters its third decade, almost 12 million people on average have joined us every year. At the time we hit 100 million total, that average was about half as big. And we certainly couldn't touch that number in the first decade! Among the countries of the world, only China, India, the United States, and Indonesia now have populations higher than the Chess.com membership.
The journey from 100 million to 250 million members has been incredible. In early 2023, Chess.com kept growing so fast that our servers had trouble keeping up. In 2024, Indian participation boomed as GM Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world champion in history. In 2025, chess made its debut at the massive Esports World Cup, with GM Magnus Carlsen winning the $250,000 first-place prize. Even just two months into 2026, the Queen of Chess documentary about GM Judit Polgar has already brought chess to a wide Netflix audience.
Stay tuned! Much more is to come both in 2026 and beyond, including another Netflix production, Untold: Chess Mates, about the 2022 Carlsen–GM Hans Niemann controversy.
UNTOLD is back with four new films premiering weekly starting March 31:
— Netflix (@netflix) February 24, 2026
• The Death and Life of Lamar Odom: Lamar revisits the infamous night at the Love Ranch that nearly cost him his life.
• Chess Mates: The story of Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann's 2024 rematch following… pic.twitter.com/QBJntjQ3Hp
And thanks for making Chess.com what it is today, all 250 million of you.
