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The personalities of some leading players have also generated huge interest. The magnetic Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, five times world champion, sat out the latest tournament, thereby relinquishing his title.

He seems bored by his feebler challengers, who he claims just try to park the bus - in football speak - when playing against him to avoid defeat. That left Nepomniachtchi, ranked number two, to square off against Ding, ranked three. But the 32-year-old Carlsen will doubtless be back, promising dramatic new plot lines.

The fidgety and aggressive Nepo, as Nepomniachtchi is known, has demonstrated courage both on and off the board: He was one of 44 Russian chess players to sign a letter last year opposing the invasion of Ukraine. Although lower ranked, Ding showed extraordinary resilience after a shaky start and conjured up a stunning move in game 18 to clinch victory. A fresh generation of exciting teenage challengers is also emerging fast.

Broader lessons can be drawn from the successful reinvention of chess at a time when many are fretting about the impact of generative artificial intelligence.

Deep Blues triumph, which seemingly symbolised the eclipse of human intelligence in the most cerebral of sports, helped open up a new era of technology-assisted connection and creativity. As Kasparov knows to his cost, technology can destroy old certainties and raise fears of human obsolescence. But it can also generate unimagined new opportunities.

John Thornhill is the founder of Sifted, an FT-backed site about European start-ups.

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Commentary: How technology reinvented chess as a global social network - CNA