World Chess
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| Formerly | Agon Limited |
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Company type | Public |
| LSE: CHSS | |
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| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Key people | Ilya Merenzon (CEO) |
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| Website | worldchess |
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World Chess Plc (LSE:CHSS) (formerly Agon Limited) is a global chess organization and media company, incorporated in the United Kingdom. It is best known as the official commercial partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and operator of the FIDE Online Arena, the only platform where players can earn official online ratings recognized by FIDE.
History
The company was originally founded in 2012 under the name Agon Limited by entrepreneurs Andrew Paulson and Ilya Merenzon. Agon was established with the purpose of managing the commercial rights to the World Chess Championship cycle and other top FIDE events, following agreements with the International Chess Federation.[1]
In its early years, Agon organized high-profile tournaments including Candidates Matches and World Championship events. In 2016, the company adopted the World Chess brand to align more closely with its global chess initiatives, including event management, merchandising, and digital services.
Major Events
World Chess has organized and promoted a number of top-level international chess competitions under its agreements with FIDE:
- 2012–2014: Agon took over the commercial organization of World Chess Championship events, starting with the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London.
- 2016: Organized the World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin, held in New York City. The match drew global media attention and introduced a new, modern design for the playing set, developed by Pentagram.[2]
- 2018: Hosted the World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London, one of the most widely watched chess events in modern history.
- Candidates Tournaments: World Chess staged Candidates events in Moscow (2016) and Berlin (2018), bringing together the top challengers to compete for the right to face the reigning World Champion.
- In 2024, World Chess staged ‘Clash of Blames’ in London, an online-offline face off between former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and GM Jose Martinez (Jospem) after Kramnik challenged his opponent in an alleged online chess cheating dispute.
These events were broadcast globally and marked a shift toward presenting chess with higher production values, new branding, and a broader media strategy.
Public Listing
In December 2022, World Chess Plc was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange[3] (LSE: CHSS), becoming one of the few chess-focused companies to be publicly listed. The listing was intended to provide funding for the expansion of its digital platform, ChessArena.com, the development of physical chess clubs, and broader chess media projects.
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barden, Leonard (2012-07-27). "Andrew Paulson reveals grand plan to take chess into the digital age". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Henderson, Jason (2016-11-23). "Chess: the best sporting event in the world you aren't watching". British GQ. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."London Stock Exchange | London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
