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Checkmate! Chess.com and Twitch Announce New Streaming Deal

The multi-year partnership aims to increase chess engagement worldwide.

Asif Khan

November 8, 2017 8:15 AM

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Chess.com and Twitch have announced a multi-year partnership to benefit chess streaming and major chess events. 

Here is the full press release.

Twitch had long been the broadcast partner for Chess.com's regular chess programs and major events like the Speed Chess Championship and PRO Chess League. Now the social video service will officially partner with Chess.com as a sponsor for its entire lineup of chess events and to help grow the global brand of chess as an online spectator sport. 

Chess.com and Twitch have agreed to a multi-year agreement with Twitch providing content and marketing support in order to attract additional fans, players, and sponsorships for online chess. The partnership will help develop a better ecosystem of chess content for chess.com users, as well as fans of chess on Twitch. It will also improve monetization opportunities for chess.com content creators, enabling them to be more successful. Twitch is also working on additional benefits for members of the Chess.com streaming community.

"I've been a video gamer my whole life," said Erik Allebest, CEO and founder of Chess.com. "To see the game of chess reach this status among other top online games is a dream come true and something I never imagined when starting Chess.com. I'm more excited than ever about the future of online chess. I cannot imagine a better partner than Twitch."

“Chess, like competitive video games and Poker, is a spectator sport that people like to watch live, making it ideal for Twitch,” said Michael Aragon, SVP of Content at Twitch. “Since our community thrives on interacting in real time with pros who are at the top of their craft, we look forward to seeing chat light up over the best chess plays and strategies.”

Chess.com and Twitch worked together earlier this month to host the world chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, in his Speed Chess Championship match on Oct. 4. Carlsen is scheduled to play the top American chess player, Wesley So, live on Twitch.tv/chess on Nov. 18.

More information on the Chess.com and Twitch partnership, as well as who’s already joined the program can be found here, and information for those looking to join the Chess.com and Twitch team visit here. 

For information on the Speed Chess Championship, visit www.SpeedChessChampionship.com.

This is exciting news for fans of the cerebral game of Chess. You can find out more by following the official Chess.com Twitter account.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.