Are chess players attractive? There is hope for you!

Interest in chess and attractiveness has no direct correlation with each other. There are professional chess players that are generally considered attractive, but there are also those that are considered unattractive. Both attractive and unattractive people make up the chess population.

Professional chess players, especially those that are at the top are becoming popular lately, they are receiving traction due to the general increase of interest in chess. While wondering about article topics I have come across an interesting one.

The topic is about the attractiveness of chess players in general? Someone pointed out in a youtube video that this is the case, so I have done the research in order to give the answer to those who are wondering the same.

I think this is more of a relaxing topic for me to write about than some other ones that require a degree of effort, I think I will actually enjoy writing this. 

I will share what I think about this topic in order to give you a full answer, let’s do it.

Attractive professional chess players

If we look at the professional chess players, there are a handful of people that can generally be considered attractive. 

Some of the names will be of Magnus Carlsen, Daniil Dubov, Sam Shankland, or even Alexander Grischuk. These are all male professional chess players that have the reputation for general attractiveness.

There are also a lot of other top players that haven’t been mentioned here, but there are so many of them that it would take so much space.

It is not only the male players though, there are also a lot of female professional chess players that are generally considered attractive.

Anna Rudolf, Anna Cramling, or even Judith Polgar (when she was younger) are quite attractive in their own rights. I can tell this because I am a guy, there is at least some attractive factor to some titled female chess players.

This does not of course mean that chess players in general are attractive, it just proves that there are those that are attractive and are still able to like chess.

This warrants this question of whether chess players are attractive, this is because there are top chess players who are attractive and this might be the case. But the thing is, it is not.

Unattractive professional chess players

There are a lot of professional chess players who are considered attractive but there are also a lot that are blurry, or even unattractive. 

Players like Ding Liren, Le Quang Liem, or even Vishwanathan Anand. Don’t get me wrong, these people are incredible individuals, but for general attractiveness I don’t think they fit the role.

There are also a lot of professional female chess players that are not attractive at least generally, not all chess players are in the same spectrum of attractiveness.

The fact that there are chess competitors that are considered unattractive really puts some doubt to this question, that maybe not all chess players are attractive?

If we go down to your common titled chess players, their degree of attractiveness also varies a lot, I don’t think any conclusion can be formed from this.

Attractive chess players are already naturally attractive

A lot of attractive chess players did not become attractive because they like playing chess, instead, they are already attractive even before getting into the game.

This is something that I have noticed from these supposed attractive chess players, that their looks are really independent from their ability to play the game.

They are the kind of people that would still be considered attractive even if they didn’t learn how to play chess, the game didn’t make them prettier, at least not directly.

Some can even argue that if Magnus Carlsen embraced his modeling potential he would really make bank due to his looks (I felt really weird writing this sentence).

But people like him will still be attractive even if they didn’t get into chess, it is a natural characteristic rather than something that is caused by being interested in the game.

Comparing Magnus Carlsen to other chess players might not be fair (since not everyone is naturally attractive). But then again at the top level there are many attractive chess players.

Intelligence can be an attractive trait that chess players have

There are certain types of people that do find intelligence more attractive than looks, for these individuals being good at chess may get you in the attractive category.

Attractiveness doesn’t necessarily only pertain to looks, it can also be other characteristics such as intelligence which can be attracted to some people. 

Chess players are more likely to be attractive if this is the case, being interested in the game will likely mean that you like studying and learning something new (which is an aspect of intelligence).

I am not saying that all chess players are intelligent people, I am saying that everyone who gets into chess is more likely to be intelligent. It is just a game that caters to people who enjoy a lot of thinking. 

Chess players are mysterious, which can be attractive

Most chess players are natural introverts, though they may not be attractive in the sense of being socially active  they can be mysterious. Mystery is also attractive.

This can usually be classified into people who don’t like talking, they may not be as good when it comes to connecting with people but they will definitely be interesting since you don’t know much about them.

This is especially true if the chess player does not mention much about his life and will only talk about it on a few occasions, they will likely appear to be attractive if you notice them.

This can also not be the case if they are just incredibly boring which can be the case, but it is a perk that chess players share which may be considered attractive.

Chess players that travel overseas can be attractive

Some competitive chess players do travel abroad for chess tournaments and have amazing stories to share with others. 

Being able to explore the world is an attractive trait since you will be more interesting. You will be able to share stories, knowledge, and other interesting occurrences in other countries.

Chess players like this can become attractive because they have something to share, a conversation can be easily formulated and they will be an interesting person in general.

This is also its downside though, since you are traveling so much it is unlikely that you can stay in the one place with a boy/girl for a long time, it’s going to be a long-distance relationship.

Long-distance relationships, in general, are harder to maintain than regular relationships, this may make you appear unattractive.

Introversion for chess players can become attractive

Part of being attractive is being socially active, chess players in general caters to introverts which may not fit the attractive category in this case. It could be an advantage though.

Being socially adept is actually very attractive for most people, however, introversion can be attractive for other introverted people.

There are so many people in the world, all with their distinct personality and a personal definition of beauty. For an introvert, they may not necessarily like a partner that is too socially active.

In these cases, chess players who are likely to be introverts will become more attractive than socially adept individuals.

Attractiveness and chess are not directly correlated

If you notice the pattern here, most of the traits that I have discussed are things that people can have even without being good at chess. This is because attractiveness and chess are not directly correlated with each other.

Again, people who ended up picking an interest in chess and are attractive, are usually people who are already attractive in the first place. Chess really did nothing to enhance their physical characteristics.

Although I did say that all of the attractive features above (introversion, going overseas, and mystery) are more likely to be found in chess players, it is not always true.

I have definitely seen a lot of chess players who don’t have those characteristics, there are a lot of them actually. This just means that not all chess players will be attractive.

The obsession of chess players can appear unattractive

Chess players tend to obsess themselves too much with studying the game, this may become an unattractive trait since you can exclude yourself from people.

We all know those individuals, people who seclude themselves from the rest of the world and have difficulty connecting with others. More likely than not, you find them unattractive.

Don’t get me wrong, it is likely that all these individuals can change if they find their purpose or a group of people that will accept them. However, they are just unattractive in general.

Chess players are likely to turn into one of these people since they need to study a lot in order to get good at the game, which may require less social interaction.

This can be countered by casually having a break every now and then to still have some social engagement, which I think is not that hard in most cases (if you already have a group of friends).

The stigma of chess does not make chess players unattractive

There is a stigma that chess is for nerds and people who play it are antisocial, some people may think that this makes chess players unattractive. From my own observation though this is not the case.

This might be true in the 20th century where there are basically so many stereotypical subjections to a lot of activities, the 21st century does not subscribe to this though.

When somebody hears of chess they usually don’t even think much about that individual, most of the time people would not even care. 

In fact it can be the opposite and you can be considered attractive since you have the talent in a particular activity, which not a lot of people have. They will find it cool.

This is just from my experience though, if you are already naturally attractive (I am not sure if I am attractive though) I don’t think the stigma of chess will get in the way of that.

Final thoughts

Attractiveness and chess are not directly correlated, there’s no connection to be made since they are very distinct subjects. You can argue that it can attract some attractive individuals but it is a hard case to prove.

It is likely that there is no correlation at all and through the matter of probability, some chess players will be attractive down the line. Statistically it is just bound to happen.

There are just buy also more attractive and there are those who are not, it is pretty random actually and a pattern cannot be made. 

I don’t think looks play a role in becoming good at chess whatsoever or vice versa, it is just hard to imagine. That is what I think, sleep well and play chess.