Swedish WFM Anna Cramling released a video about her trip to Oslo, Norway on March 16. Cramling investigated how popular chess is in the home country of Magnus Carlsen.

Anna asked passersby if they play chess and if they know any famous GMs. The second passerby she met — Victor — recognized Cramling and said he plays chess at an amateur level. After that, they played a Rapid game on the street, which Anna won. Throughout the day, she experienced positive interactions with people and one person asked to take a picture with her.

By the end of her trip, she visited a dedicated chess bar and played chess for four hours on a Saturday night, observing that it’s a popular and lively social activity. Concluding the video, Anna Cramling stated:

As of March 2026, Norway ranks 14th among chess federations worldwide by the average rating of its Top-10 players. Norwegian Chess Federation states that nearly 500,000 Norwegians — about 10% of the population — regularly play online chess. Major tournaments such as Norway Chess, featuring Carlsen, are broadcast live on the national channel NRK, drawing up to 56% of the country’s total TV audience.

Credit: Anna Cramling YouTube