The first users of the beta version of macOS Sequoia have noticed that the Mac Chess app has received an update for the first time in 14 years. This was reported by Gizmodo.
The last time Apple updated its Chess was when Mac operating system releases were still named after big cats. In OS X Mountain Lion, the company added Game Center support to the application, as well as a glossy background and some other small additions.
From 2012 to the present, chess on the Mac has looked like this:
Now, after the update, the figures look more realistic, and a textured gradient background has appeared. However, the updated game has fewer appearance themes.
In particular, the update removes the grass theme instead of the gradient, although it's technically possible that Apple may make other changes to the program before macOS Sequoia leaves beta and becomes available to the general public.