How does the history of chess relate to SBMM in games like League of Legends or Rocket League? Well, it all started with Chess and Arpad Elo—the man who invented the Elo rating system.

By the way, back in the day, the only game I owned, besides the obligatory Mario Bros/Duck Hunt combo, was Battle Chess on the NES. I was a one-game gamer. A monogamist. I committed. And now, decades later, I still stick to just one game: Call of Duty, which funnily enough, also revolves around strategic combat. History doesn’t just repeat—it rhymes.