Chess & Company: newly launched sports agency will focus on chess talent and events

Whether you are a chess player or not, it is most likely you have watched or at least heard of Netflix’s hit show The Queen’s Gambit. Released in October last year, the series amassed a staggering 62 million viewers in its first 28 days  and set in motion a renewed passion for chess.

In November The Guardian reported that the show, based on the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis, had “sparked a huge boom in people playing the game in the US and around the world”. Similarly, Bloomberg also reported a “surging popularity of chess spurred on by the success of The Queen’s Gambit and this has has spilled over from retail to websites and streaming services, adding to the growth of chess content online during the pandemic”.

Following the huge success of the show it is no real surprise that World Chess, the organisers of the Chess Championship Matches in New York and London, has recently launched a chess-focused sports marketing agency. It’s the world’s first sports agency focused exclusively on chess. 

The agency, Chess and Company, represents top chess talent and events, and aims to help brands across transport, technology, retail, hospitality and luxury sectors to connect with chess in a way that has a long-lasting effect on the sport and to bring 600 million chess players closer to the brands’ offerings.

The services are delivered by the team that was responsible for staging the most successful events and activations in the sport, and done with the sharp and edgy sensibility and deep understanding of the market from both chess and clients’ side. 

Nadia Panteleeva, who signed the biggest sponsorship deals in chess, including Kaspersky, PhosAgro, Algorand, as a head of partnership for World Chess, will lead the new agency.

“Dozens of brands we spoke with were looking for ways to add chess to their marketing and social responsibility mix,” Panteleeva said. “It’s a perfect time for a specialized team that is equally at home working with chess stars, streamers, events, and inspiring brands to create meaningful experiences with the sport.”

Chess and Company, which will operate from London and Moscow, will focus on developing and leveraging partnerships with professional chess players, streamers, and top-circuit chess events and brand integrations. 

In 2021 and 2022, the agency will work with brands that will be present at the FIDE World Chess Championship Matches, Grand Prix Series, the World Chess Armageddon Series as well as top national events and special projects.