Chess is a universal game. Anyone can be infected with the chess virus; this also applies to celebrities. There have always been well-known personalities who discovered their love of chess and have shown it openly. Here are some of them, sorted by profession.
The source references are available by clicking on the name of the famous person.
1. Musician
The frontman of the Fantastischen Vier, Smudo , was in his school's chess club as a teenager. In 2001, while on vacation, he caught the chess bug again.
His colleague Campino von den Hosen learned to play chess at the beginning of the lockdown. He even says he was addicted to chess at times.
US musician Bob Dylan is also fond of chess. British musician Sting even had the chance to play against Garry Kasparov in 2000. And composer Robert Schumann is said to have said that chess was his second passion after music.
Bob Dylan (Photo: Daniel Kramer, via Hamburger Abendblatt )
2. Football player
The viral image of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the chessboard (feature image) is nothing more and nothing less than a brilliant marketing stunt by Louis Vitton.
Jamal Musiala is different. The German international player actually plays chess, and has been doing so since his youth. His Bayern colleagues Kingsley Coman and Joshua Kimmich are also said to enjoy chess.
Felix Magath and Marco Bode are both known to be friends and supporters of chess. For Magath, chess is "the mother of all strategy games". What is less well known is that the soon-to-be champion manager from Leverkusen , Simon Rolfes, also has a passion for chess.
Liverpool's top striker Mohamed Salah is certainly one of the most internationally famous football players and chess lovers. He says he even plays chess every day and would like to meet Magnus Carlsen one day.
The English international player Trent Alexander-Arnold has the advantage in this respect. In an exhibition match, he was checkmated by the Norwegian in 17 moves.
US national player C hristian Pulisic , formerly of Borussia Dortmund, has also had the chance to play against Carlsen ( photo: Puma ). He even has his own bot on chess.com.
3. Manager
Railway boss Richard Lutz enjoys being in chess-playing company and is also a strong player himself. In 1979 he was part of the German team at the U16 World Championships. Peter Gerber , the CEO of Condor , is also rated above 2,000 Elo .
Henner Rinsche , former CEO of Leifheit, says he trains his presence of mind and aggressiveness on the chessboard every day.
International managerial heavyweights such as Richard Branson (Virgin Group) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) are also chess lovers. In 2014, Gates was checkmated by Magnus Carlsen in 12 moves on a talk show. 
Photo: Screenshot YouTube
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4. Actor
Keanu Reeves ("Speed") is also said to be an occasional chess player. The same goes for actor ("Terminator") and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger . Hollywood beauty Mila Kunis ("Black Swan") is also fond of the game on the 64 squares.
Humphrey Bogart ("Casablanca" - not to be confused with Capablanca) is also said to have a passion for chess. Charlie Chaplin sat lovingly across from the child prodigy Samuel Reshevsky at the chessboard. Even Marilyn Monroe ("Some Like It Hot") is said to have been a chess player. And there is a picture of Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne playing together on a travel chess set that supposedly belonged to Dietrich.
Marlene Dietrich vs. John Wayne, Source: DW
5. Writer
Chess and writing are also a popular combination, at least in earlier times. Bertolt Brecht ("Mother Courage") , Leo Tolstoy ("War and Peace") and possibly William Shakespeare ("Romeo and Juliet") shared a passion for the 64 squares.
6. Other
The category "Other" includes emperors and warlords ( Napoleon ), philosophers ( Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Karl Marx ), psychoanalysts ( Sigmund Freud ), models ( Carmen Kass ), politicians ( Helmut Schmidt , Peer Steinbrück ), tennis stars ( Carlos Alcaraz , Boris Becker ) and NBA basketball players ( Luka Doncic ). Physics genius Albert Einstein was apparently himself not a good chess player, but known and friends with Emanuel Lasker.
The list shows that chess has the potential to attract everyone; it knows no boundaries.
Is anyone missing? Then I would be happy to receive information at schachgefluester@gmail.com
