Subscription Agreement

World Chess PLC

26 February 2026

 

26 February 2026

World Chess Plc

("World Chess" or the "Company")

Subscription Agreement

World Chess Plc (LSE: CHSS), the London-listed chess company and official commercial partner of FIDE, is pleased to announce that it has entered a binding subscription arrangement with two of the Company's existing shareholders (together, the "Investors"), raising approximately £1,154,941 (the "Subscription").

Under the terms of the respective agreements, the Company will issue a total of 175,915,198 new ordinary shares of £0.0001 each (the "Subscription Shares") at an issue price of £0.00656533 per share (the "Issue Price"). The Subscription Shares will be allotted and issued fully paid and will rank pari passu with the Company's existing ordinary shares in all respects.

Completion of the Subscription is subject to the shareholder authority to issue shares to be proposed at a general meeting of the Company being held on 18 March 2026. Should such authority not be obtained, the number of shares to be issued to the Investors will be reduced to 127,605,998, being the current remaining share issuance authority.

As part of this transaction, the period for the fulfilment of the conditions of the warrants referred to in the Company's announcement dated 23 July 2025 will be extended by two years, from 31 December 2026 to 31 December 2028.

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

"This new capital allows us to fund our next phase of growth, and the continued commitment of our existing shareholders gives us both the resources and the confidence to deliver on it."

This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended).

For more information, visit: www.worldchess.com or contact:

World Chess Plc

Ilya Merenzon, CEO

[e-mail]

AlbR Capital Limited

Financial Adviser: David Coffman / Dan Harris

[phone]

Notes to Editors

World Chess (LSE: CHSS) is a London-based chess gaming and entertainment company and Fédération Internationale des Échecs ("FIDE") official commercial partner. World Chess organised the FIDE Championship Matches in the USA and the UK and revolutionised the sport by signing the biggest media partnerships in chess history. World Chess develops Armageddon, the chess league for prime-time television, and operates worldchess.com, the official FIDE-rated gaming platform. More at worldchess.com.

 

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