Company
World Chess was founded in 2012 with the aim to promote the mass market appeal of chess globally. We achieve this through our ecosystem of commercial offerings of different chess related activities, including the organisation of top-level tournaments, operation of the official online gaming platform of the International Chess Federation (“FIDE”) and other sport, lifestyle, social activities and merchandise related to chess.
Our vision is to build a global, leading intellectual sport brand by reinventing chess for the modern consumer. We intend to do this by becoming the leading platform for the global chess community through online, in person and hybrid chess events and activities, and by providing complementary product offerings to players, spectators, and partners through our ecosystem.
World Chess is a long-term commercial partner of FIDE and holds exclusive rights for the official FIDE online chess gaming platform, commercial rights to the FIDE Grand Prix Series as well as its proprietary products, including Armageddon Series.
World Chess is headquartered in London with offices in Berlin and Tbilisi but operates internationally.
FIDE Gaming Platform
World Chess runs FIDE Chess Arena, the exclusive official gaming platform of the International Chess Federation. The Arena has been accorded by FIDE the right to offer chess players the opportunity to play for the official FOA ratings recognized by FIDE. The players can also qualify for the FOA titles recognized by FIDE. Both FOA ratings and titles are displayed on the player’s FIDE card on fide.com.
Players receive FIDE ID and go through a verification process similar to that for the over-the-board games. To ensure fair play, FIDE Chess Arena employs a robust FairPlay suite, NightWatch. More at chessarena.com.
Chess and Company
In 2020, World Chess founded a sponsorship and talent management agency solely focused on chess. The company represents top chess players and works with brands and events partners to create opportunities for companies to access and thrive in the chess space. More at chessandcompany.com.
Design Excellence
World Chess is credited with being responsible for the recent surge in the popularity of the sport. The company puts emphasis on design and the way chess is presented to the fans and observers alike.
The company took on rebranding the sport with assistance from Pentagram and other top design firms and eventually changed the way chess looks, both offline and online. World Chess is behind the most important chess design innovations in recent history, ranging from chesscasting, a way to show live chess events, to the first ever virtual reality chess broadcast, to the most talked-about World Chess Championship match logo in the history of chess, to the tools to convert chess moves to a unique piece of music.
Team
World Chess has been co-founded by Ilya Merenzon, CEO of the group. The team is structured across several wells and offices in the UK, Germany, and Georgia, is led by Matvey Shekhovtsov (COO), Nadia Panteleeva (head of partnerships) and is constantly growing.
Please visit our dedicated HR section to learn more about the team and opportunities within the company.