World Chess to float amid sport's cheating scandal

In the past few weeks, chess’s image has shifted thanks to drama at the top of the sport - the world’s top player Magnus Carlsen quit a match after one move to protest the lack of action against a young US grandmaster accused of cheating. Many people took up chess during Covid-19 lockdowns and new stars like Carlsen, helped along by the Netflix drama The Queen's Gambit, mean the sport is in a strong place. 

The latest drama has also captured attention far beyond chess’s growing fanbase, partly thanks to the lurid details of how the US player, Hans Niemann, is alleged to have cheated when sat just across from his opponents. 

Inserting itself into this milieu now is World Chess Plc, a company that organises chess tournaments for the game’s governing body (akin to Fifa), runs an online platform for playing and watching chess, and has a talent agency for professional players. World Chess is planning a London IPO by the end of the year, and has already lined up €8mn (£7mn) in investment, partly from Yuri Milner, an early investor in Meta Platforms (US:META) and Airbnb (ABNB). World Chess will also run a PrimaryBid raise for retail investors. 

World Chess itself is run by Russian Ilya Merenzon, and the float announcement underlined the company’s recent exit from the country, after it shifted operations to Berlin and Tbilisi, Georgia. Its revenue currently comes principally from sponsorship, but it has not yet published detailed numbers. 

“We believe chess is the only remaining mass participation sport not yet fully benefitting from the creativity and investment of the commercial sector,” Merenzon said.

Money is certainly arriving in the sport - Carlsen, the Norwegian grandmaster, is in the process of selling his Play Magnus company to industry leader Chess.com for $83mn (£74mn). Private equity firm General Atlantic invested an undisclosed amount into Chess.com earlier this year, which remains in the hands of its founders.