Proposed Expansion of FIDE Partnership

World Chess PLC

10 June 2026

 

World Chess Plc

("World Chess" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Proposed Expansion of FIDE Partnership

Term Sheet signed with FIDE Pathway from online play to official FIDE rating.

World Chess PLC (LSE: CHSS), the official commercial partner of the International Chess Federation ("FIDE"), is pleased to announce that it has signed a Term Sheet with FIDE to renew and significantly expand the partnership under which the Group operates FIDE's official online platform, worldchess.com.

For the first time, qualifying online players will be able to convert their online rating into an official FIDE over-the-board ("OTB") rating. This opens the FIDE rating system, historically accessible only through OTB tournaments, to the very large population of serious chess players worldwide who have no realistic OTB pathway available to them, in particular in India, Latin America, Africa and South-East Asia as well as other countries.

Highlights

●    A new commercial framework that makes World Chess the sole operator of the only official route from online play to official FIDE OTB rating.

●    A new revenue line - conversion fees, set by World Chess in consultation with FIDE - layered on top of the Group's existing subscription revenue from worldchess.com.

●    Renewal of the FIDE Online Arena partnership for an initial two-year term, with annual extension options through to August 2031, deepening and extending the Group's exclusive position as FIDE's online rating operator.

●    Annual fee payable by World Chess to FIDE of EUR 500,000 in the initial two-year term, an increase of EUR 100,000 on the current annual fee, plus a revenue share applied on a tiered basis to sales above EUR 2 million per annum, with incremental fee increases in any extension years.

●    A federation incentive of USD 1 per conversion, paid by World Chess to the player's national federation, aligning national federations behind the programme and supporting recruitment of members in markets where federation activity is currently low.

●    Full FIDE regulatory oversight is retained throughout: ratings remain capped, anti-cheating controls are operated jointly with FIDE, and FIDE retains the right to terminate against agreed KPIs.

Why this matters?

The official OTB FIDE rating is the standard credential in for OTB chess players. Of the hundreds of millions of people who play chess seriously online today, only a small minority hold one - not because they aren't strong enough, but because the OTB infrastructure required to earn one does not exist where most of them live. This agreement creates, for the first time, an official route into the FIDE rating system for that significant group of chess players, with World Chess as its sole operator.

The Board expects the framework to expand the Group's addressable market materially, to add a new revenue stream distinct from subscription and advertising revenue, and to strengthen conversion of free users on worldchess.com into paying users by making the commercial offer materially more valuable.

Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive Officer of World Chess PLC, commented:

"FIDE and World Chess are calling this the First Rating Experiment, and that is what it is - the first time in the history of the game that an official FIDE rating can be accessible to millions of players. I believe one of the next world champions will come through this route, because this is an enormous source of chess talent that has so far had no way in. For the millions of players around the world who have been playing serious chess online for years with no path into the official system, professional chess is about to open up.

For World Chess, this is a major step, and one we have spent years building towards - investing in the platform, the infrastructure, and in particular the anti-cheating capability that makes a programme of this kind credible in the first place. We are proud to be the company building this route, under direct FIDE supervision, and to be taking part in what we believe is a genuine turning point for the sport."

Status and next steps

The Term Sheet is non-binding pending discussion with the community. The Parties are working towards a definitive long-form agreement, targeted for execution in Q2 of 2026. In the meantime, World Chess has agreed that it will work with several chess federations under FIDE supervision to add them as launch partners and get access to a substantial number of players.

Ahead of execution, World Chess and FIDE will conduct a public consultation on the technical parameters of the conversion mechanism. Feedback from that consultation may result in changes to those parameters before signing. The Company will provide updates  on material milestones during the consultation and on signature of the definitive agreement.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Enquiries:

World Chess PLC

Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive Officer                                        [e-mail]

AbrR Capital Limited - Financial Adviser

David Coffman / Dan Harris                                                           [phone]

About World Chess PLC

World Chess PLC (LSE: CHSS) is the official commercial partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The Group operates worldchess.com - the single online platform where players earn ratings and titles recognised by FIDE and compete in official tournaments. World Chess also produces The World Chess Show, a chess broadcast property carried in 150 countries, and designs and sells the official sets and boards of the World Championship. The Company's shares are admitted to the Official List (Standard Listing) and traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CHSS.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to the proposed new agreement with FIDE, the expected timing and terms of that agreement, and the expected commercial, operational and financial effects of the conversion framework. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement on terms consistent with the Term Sheet, the outcome of the public consultation, and the operation of the conversion mechanism in practice. Actual outcomes may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements except as required by applicable law, the UK Listing Rules or the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

 

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