One may even be skeptical of the skills of the most successful players since luck is such a large element of success. In poker, it’s true that a rank amateur can go to the cardroom and have a winning night, even if there are world champions at the table. Hikaru Nakamura should mathematically win 90%+ of his games versus masters. While this hasn’t been tested, there’s some evidence that the top chess computer programs could beat the world champion GM Magnus Carlsen 90%+ of the time. However, GM Hikaru Nakamura should beat a 2400 90%+ of the time. The minimum requirement to become an international master happens to be a 2400 FIDE rating (there are other requirements like earning 3 norms or performance ratings in strong events). Someone rated 2400 should win 90%+ of their games against me. I’m rated 2010, which is generally a strong amateur player. This means skill dominates more, and it’s harder to get competitive games. Chess not only eliminates the element of chance, but it’s also a perfect information game: you see what your opponent sees and there are no hidden hole cards. In many ways chess and poker are opposites. Now, I can’t read their minds, but it makes sense to me that many poker players who constantly challenge themselves and succeed in that arena would naturally also take up chess. For me, solving a chess problem over the board or as a study is similar to figuring out why the quantitative trading model I’m running isn’t working or how to make a quick trading decision. The top players in the poker world definitely like games and puzzles and to be challenged and push themselves.

When I think about the overlap of poker and chess, I see both as intellectual challenges. It’s clear SIG values many of the characteristics that top poker and chess players have. Amateur Team East Chess Tournament in 2020 over several hundred teams, and we won the recent online North American Corporate Chess League Championship.

Our employees have won many World Series of Poker bracelets, we placed first in the U.S. I am a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, co-author of The Mathematics of Poker, an expert-level chess player, and a quantitative researcher at ( SIG), a leading global quantitative trading firm.Īt SIG, we enjoy seeking out competition in both poker and chess. This article was written by Bill Chen, an expert poker and chess player working at Susquehanna International Group ( SIG ), and is sponsored by SIG in conjunction with their support of the 2021 Bullet Chess Championship.

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