Chess isn’t just the coolest game on earth; it’s the coolest game in the universe! Just ask some of the amazing astronauts that have played chess while spending time in space.

 

1970 - The First Game

The first ever game between astronauts and people on Earth took place in 1970 when Soviet cosmonauts Vitaly Sevastyanov and Andriyan Nikolayev, aboard the Soyuz 9 spacecraft, played a game against Nikolai Kamanin and Viktor Gorbatko at ground control. They used a small travel chessboard with the pieces attached with small pegs. The game was played over the radio and ended in a draw. In 2020, GM Sergey Karjakin played a chess game against cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this cosmic feat. The game ended in a draw.

 

This image from FIDE shows the specially designed chessboard that was used on the Soyuz-9 mission.

 

2008 - Earth vs. Space

In 2008 and 2009, Nasa and the U.S. Chess Federation organized the “Earth vs. Space” match. In this match Greg Chamitoff’s Expedition 17 (from the International Space Station) played Earth's team, comprised of the United States K-3 champions and chess club teammates from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington. Each time if was Earth’s turn, the chess club would propose a few moves which the public would then vote on. The game moved slow – with only one move per day – and ended with Earth winning the matchup.

 

Photo credit: NASA

 

2023 - ISS vs. NASA

During the FIDE World Chess Championship, the InternationalSpace Station (ISS) played against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA). Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Steve Bowen played from space, and took on flight directors playing from Earth in NASA's Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center. Each team made one or two moves per day depending on their schedules. The ISS won by checkmating Mission Control with a cross-board queen move.

 

Photo by Woody Hoburg of the team at the ISS.

 

Now only one question remains – just how far out in space can we take our beloved game?!