TechM's opening move with Global Chess League to popularise chess

This report has been updated

A profile under the name ShrutShah from Gandhinagar on the X platform currently has only 131 followers. It is unclear whether Shah is aware that a response to one of his posts (in 2020, requesting a chess league) by Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, is giving a fresh lease of life to one of the oldest board games: chess.

Known as Chaturanga in ancient times, chess was introduced to the Persians by Indians as early as the 7th century. Now, as the International Chess Federation (referred to by its French acronym FIDE), the official global governing body of the game, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, Tech Mahindra (TechM) is expanding the game’s popularity far beyond the confines of its 64 squares through the Global Chess League (GCL) by securing sponsors, television coverage, online streaming, and more.

The league, organised by the company in collaboration with FIDE, is becoming a prime example of how technological aspects like artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, and data analytics can help a game reach a wider audience. The second season of the GCL is set to take place from October 3-12 at Friends House in London.

This follows the success of the first edition, which took place in Dubai last year. The inaugural season attracted millions of viewers worldwide, with 1.31 million viewers tuning in to the final on Eurosport alone. The tournament reached over 100 million users globally on social media. Additionally, the company was one of the sponsors of the 2024 Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary.

According to media reports, GCL is projected to generate $40 million in value within five years for all its stakeholders.

“Instead of just handing money to a company and placing our logo, we went all the way to FIDE and created an entire ecosystem to build a league. We are one of the first companies in this segment to focus on integrating technology into games,” said Peeyush Dubey, chief marketing officer of TechM and chairperson of GCL.

To expand the reach of the event, the company has already partnered with Chess.com, one of the largest players in the chess ecosystem, which sees over 600 million visitors per month.

Tech move to woo fans

What move is Magnus Carlsen making at this moment in his game? What tactics did Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa employ during his last game? If a fan is playing chess online, what moves might Carlsen, ‘Vishy’ Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, or Anish Giri have made in his place?

Fan Nxt, TechM’s platform, will provide answers to these questions by offering fans an interactive experience through AI, augmented reality, and even virtual reality.

“We are exploring how AI can help people learn chess better. Now that we have a partnership with Chess.com, we can show players how Carlsen would have played the same game. This analysis can be done in real-time based on thousands of games played by these top players,” Dubey added.

He also mentioned that Fan Nxt will continue to offer metaverse experiences like last year. With more online players using AI algorithms for cheating, the company is also introducing technology to detect cheating. According to a media report, Season 1 of GCL attracted 250,000 viewers on the GCL metaverse.

Format and marketing

There are six teams in the league: American Gambits, owned by Prachura PP, Venkat K. Narayana, and Indian Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin; Alpine SG Pipers, owned by APL Apollo-led SG Sports; Ganges Grandmasters, owned by Insurekot Sports; upGrad Mumba Masters, owned by Ronnie Screwvala-led Unilazer Ventures; PBG Alaskan Knights, owned by Punit Balan Group; and the inaugural season champions, Triveni Continental Kings, owned by Triveni Sports Private Limited.

In addition to Chess.com, the company has partnered various streaming platforms in India, Europe, and the US. “We are receiving more sponsorship enquiries this year and are also considering fantasy league options for additional revenue generation," Dubey said.