Sherlock Holmes: the detective who played chess like he solved cases

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Sherlock Holmes’s logic didn’t just solve crimes: it was also perfect for the chessboard.

The character and chess

Holmes, the detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, is mentioned as a chess player in several stories of the canon. Watson describes his analytical skills, his powers of concentration, and his ability to think several moves ahead — exactly the qualities of a great chess player.

Chess fits Holmes like a glove: patterns, logic, deduction, the ability to see what others overlook. Every chess game is, in essence, a case to solve.

How Holmes would play

If Holmes sat down at a board, we wouldn’t expect spectacular attacks in the style of Tal. We’d expect something closer to Karpov: a methodical accumulation of microscopic advantages, flawless prophylaxis, a game where the opponent doesn’t know exactly when they lost but defeat was inevitable from the opening.

Holmes doesn’t need to sacrifice pieces to win. It’s enough for him to see more than his opponent.

Holmes vs. Moriarty: the eternal game

The rivalry between Holmes and Professor Moriarty is, in essence, a chess game: two brilliant minds facing off, each anticipating the other’s moves. Conan Doyle didn’t need to put them in front of a board for the reader to understand that their duel was chess-like in nature.

His chess DNA

In our chess DNA system, Holmes represents the deductive strategist profile: technique and consistency at the highest levels, with a soundness that reflects his logical method. If your twin is Sherlock Holmes, your strength is reading the position and accumulating advantages; pure intuition isn’t your thing, but you don’t need it.

Keep exploring

• Professor Moriarty, his eternal rival
• Anatoly Karpov, the real player who most resembles Holmes
• Emanuel Lasker, the psychologist of chess
• All players