with $2.5 million on the line. The only problem: the match won’t feature the game’s best player. In fact, it may not even be the most hotly anticipated chess showdown held in Singapore this month.

This smart chess board blends the tactile joy of in-person play with the global reach of online opponents.

As competitive chess players who play for Hong Kong, we’ve seen a lot of different games and a lot of different opponents. But rarely have we seen as exciting a depiction of the game as in The ...