Liverpool FC stars Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold among city's celebrity chess fans

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during training
-Credit:Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images2024 Liverpool FC


Liverpool is set to host the 2025 British Chess Championships for the first time since the city was Capital of Culture in 2008 - and there may be some celebrity fans keeping an eye on the event when it arrives in the city. Liverpool FC stars Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have both previously shared their love of the strategy game, and both said they feel it helps them on the pitch.

Reds striker Mo Salah has described himself as "addicted" to chess, and closely follows the career or world number one chess player Magnus Carlsen. He has heaped praise on the Norwegian Grandmaster, previously labelling him the “best endgame player ever”. In an interview, he also said he closely followed a controversial championship in New York where Magnus was initially disqualified for wearing jeans.

Speaking about his chess hero, Salah said: “I like him [Carlsen] a lot. I like the way he plays. The best endgame player ever. I wish him the best." And speaking about his own relationship with the game, he said: "It takes your mind away from football. I like to watch it, and I like to play. I play chess, I am addicted to chess. Every day, literally every day. I’m addicted to chess. No one stands a chance against Magnus, but hopefully, we’ll play one day."

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: I was in a really bad moment at Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp decision - time has shown I was right

READ MORE: ITV The Chase's Mark Labbett takes swipe at Bradley Walsh's personal life

And Salah shares his love of chess with teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, who grew up competing with his brothers when he wasn't playing football. The Liverpool right-back even went up against Magnus in a game that only lasted five minutes. He told BBC Radio 5 live: "When I find the time I always try to get a game in. It's hard to find other people around my age who are similarly involved in chess. That's something we can look to change going forward.

"Football and chess can seem like sporting polar opposites, but there are so many similarities with the modern game. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the life of a footballer and I guess that is true across most sports now."

The keen chess players will likely have welcomed the announcement that Liverpool will host this year's British Championships. The 2025 British Chess Championships will take place in the city alongside a wider chess festival this summer as organisers hope to put on the strongest event in its 121-year history.

Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold -Credit:Offside via Getty Images

Britain’s top chess players will converge on Liverpool from July 31 to August 10 as the English Chess Federation’s flagship annual event comes to the city for only the second time. The new British chess champions will be crowned in all age groups at the event.

ADVERTISEMENT

A series of tournaments featuring the cream of Britain’s chess talent, including the Open and Women’s championships, will be held in St George’s Hall. A weekend congress for amateurs will also be held at the nearby Holiday Inn on Lime Street.

Liverpool last hosted the event in 2008, the year the city was named the European Capital of Culture. That year, Grandmaster Stuart Conquest emerged victorious as the 2008 Open champion while International Master Jovanka Houska won the first of her nine Women's titles.

Alongside the competitive events, Liverpool will host a festival and programme of social and cultural activities organised in association with the city’s historic Liverpool Chess Club. This will be the 111th British Chess Championships - a series that has run almost unbroken since 1904.

The last two British Chess Championships, held in Leicester and Hull, have seen record numbers competing. UK chess has also been experiencing a boom in participation among amateurs and success at the top level. In 2024, two new English grandmasters were named: teenage sensation Shreyas Royal and England’s newest grandmaster Ameet Ghasi.

Liverpool already boasts a thriving local league and, in Liverpool Chess Club, one of the oldest chess clubs in the world founded in 1837. Atticus Chess Club, based in the Cross Keys Pub in Earle Street, is also a former winner of the national club championships.