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World Chess to issue digital tokens in stock market flotation
November 25, 2019
Do you remember when Agon/World Chess issued a sexy World Championship logo? It turned out that this was a prelude to a sexy dating service for chessplayers.
Then this, this past July:
Boston, MA — July 19, 2019 — Algorand, an open-source software and blockchain technology company, announced today a partnership with World Chess that will make Algorand the first official blockchain partner of the FIDE Grand Prix Series. Together, the leading organizations are driving mainstream adoption and popularity in two rapidly growing, synergistic fields: blockchain and chess.
https://worldchess.com/news/algorand...nd-prix-series
Now, I am really out of my depth here. I know nothing about bitcoins and blockchains. I am hoping that ChessTalkers who are into finance can help me understand this.
Today, there was this story on CNBC and in The Guardian:
World Chess to issue digital tokens in stock market flotation
Company that ran World Chess Championships wants to cash in on game’s online popularity
Jasper Jolly
Thu 21 Nov 2019
The company that ran the World Chess Championships plans to issue a cryptocurrency-like digital token ahead of a stock market float in London as it tries to cash in the growing popularity of the game online.
World Chess on Thursday said it aims to carry out an unusual “hybrid initial public offering” in 2020, issuing digital tokens followed by floating shares on London’s Alternative Investment Market.
World Chess, which has been incorporated in the UK since 2017, will raise “low millions of euros” in money from the token offering, according to Ilya Merenzon, the company’s chief executive and founder. The tokens will use blockchain ledgers to simplify the fundraising process, and will be convertible to shares at a later point, he said.
World Chess held the commercial rights to the World Chess Championships, administered by Fide, until 2018. Fide has since reclaimed those rights, but World Chess retains a financial interest in the tournament, at which chess stars such as Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So do battle.
Merenzon said World Chess has no links to Fide beyond the contractual relationship, and said chess offered major opportunities for commercial development.
“It’s probably the only startup left in sports,” he said. “Everything else is overdeveloped. It’s kind of a blank canvas.”
World Chess still has the commercial rights to Fide’s Grand Prix series, but it is seeking to broaden its revenue streams. New products planned include merchandising, a new form of competition chess more suited for broadcast, in which draws are impossible, dubbed “Armageddon chess”, and even “World Chess clubs” in major cities around the world such as London, New York and Berlin. The clubs will sell cocktails and cater to “hipster” chess players, said Merenzon.
World Chess is also developing software to detect cheating using artificial intelligence techniques, working with companies linked to one of its backers, the venture capital firm Prytek, Merenzon added.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...national-chess
And the official FIDE site had this clarification this morning:
FIDE statement on the recent misleading reports
Lausanne, November 25, 2019
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has noted a number of publications over the past few days regarding the planned "hybrid IPO" to be launched by the company World Chess.
Some of these publications contain a number of misleading facts that require clarification from our side:
1. FIDE holds all the organizing and broadcasting rights for the World Championship Match. The company World Chess does not have either the rights to organize the Match, or to exclusively broadcast it on their platform.
World Chess is an organizer of the Grand Prix Series 2019 and similar Series in 2021 - but these are the only official FIDE events this company organizes.
2. FIDE Online Arena was created under the management of private investors according to the agreement with the previous FIDE administration in 2014, without any tender or similar transparent procedure. Later on, World Chess has acquired these rights, and, as approved by the previous administration, it uses the platform to provide online ratings and titles. However, FIDE has no intention to use neither the platform nor its titles and ratings for any official events before conducting a proper examination of the matter and ensuring the proper functioning of the platform.
3. Until the end of 2018, World Chess had the rights for conducting major official events - like the World Championship Match, Candidates Tournament, etc. However, effective January 2019, this partnership has been drastically scaled-down. At present, only FIDE has the rights to organize the World Championship Match — the only event where the World Champion title is contested and awarded.
All the related rights of World Chess are fully described in the joint press release of the parties dated January 2019.
We would also like to emphasize that World Chess is a private company, and it should not be mixed up with FIDE, the International Chess Federation. With headquarters in Lausanne, and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Global Association of Sports Federations (GAISF), FIDE is the governing body of the game of chess, and regulates the international chess competitions and titles.
FIDE is going to announce the venue of the World Championship Match-2020 within two weeks, and we are devising sponsorship and broadcasting packages, that will be offered to our partners.
https://www.fide.com/news/222
All comments on this will be gladly received!
WK
November 25, 2019
Do you remember when Agon/World Chess issued a sexy World Championship logo? It turned out that this was a prelude to a sexy dating service for chessplayers.
Then this, this past July:
Boston, MA — July 19, 2019 — Algorand, an open-source software and blockchain technology company, announced today a partnership with World Chess that will make Algorand the first official blockchain partner of the FIDE Grand Prix Series. Together, the leading organizations are driving mainstream adoption and popularity in two rapidly growing, synergistic fields: blockchain and chess.
https://worldchess.com/news/algorand...nd-prix-series
Now, I am really out of my depth here. I know nothing about bitcoins and blockchains. I am hoping that ChessTalkers who are into finance can help me understand this.
Today, there was this story on CNBC and in The Guardian:
World Chess to issue digital tokens in stock market flotation
Company that ran World Chess Championships wants to cash in on game’s online popularity
Jasper Jolly
Thu 21 Nov 2019
The company that ran the World Chess Championships plans to issue a cryptocurrency-like digital token ahead of a stock market float in London as it tries to cash in the growing popularity of the game online.
World Chess on Thursday said it aims to carry out an unusual “hybrid initial public offering” in 2020, issuing digital tokens followed by floating shares on London’s Alternative Investment Market.
World Chess, which has been incorporated in the UK since 2017, will raise “low millions of euros” in money from the token offering, according to Ilya Merenzon, the company’s chief executive and founder. The tokens will use blockchain ledgers to simplify the fundraising process, and will be convertible to shares at a later point, he said.
World Chess held the commercial rights to the World Chess Championships, administered by Fide, until 2018. Fide has since reclaimed those rights, but World Chess retains a financial interest in the tournament, at which chess stars such as Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So do battle.
Merenzon said World Chess has no links to Fide beyond the contractual relationship, and said chess offered major opportunities for commercial development.
“It’s probably the only startup left in sports,” he said. “Everything else is overdeveloped. It’s kind of a blank canvas.”
World Chess still has the commercial rights to Fide’s Grand Prix series, but it is seeking to broaden its revenue streams. New products planned include merchandising, a new form of competition chess more suited for broadcast, in which draws are impossible, dubbed “Armageddon chess”, and even “World Chess clubs” in major cities around the world such as London, New York and Berlin. The clubs will sell cocktails and cater to “hipster” chess players, said Merenzon.
World Chess is also developing software to detect cheating using artificial intelligence techniques, working with companies linked to one of its backers, the venture capital firm Prytek, Merenzon added.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...national-chess
And the official FIDE site had this clarification this morning:
FIDE statement on the recent misleading reports
Lausanne, November 25, 2019
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has noted a number of publications over the past few days regarding the planned "hybrid IPO" to be launched by the company World Chess.
Some of these publications contain a number of misleading facts that require clarification from our side:
1. FIDE holds all the organizing and broadcasting rights for the World Championship Match. The company World Chess does not have either the rights to organize the Match, or to exclusively broadcast it on their platform.
World Chess is an organizer of the Grand Prix Series 2019 and similar Series in 2021 - but these are the only official FIDE events this company organizes.
2. FIDE Online Arena was created under the management of private investors according to the agreement with the previous FIDE administration in 2014, without any tender or similar transparent procedure. Later on, World Chess has acquired these rights, and, as approved by the previous administration, it uses the platform to provide online ratings and titles. However, FIDE has no intention to use neither the platform nor its titles and ratings for any official events before conducting a proper examination of the matter and ensuring the proper functioning of the platform.
3. Until the end of 2018, World Chess had the rights for conducting major official events - like the World Championship Match, Candidates Tournament, etc. However, effective January 2019, this partnership has been drastically scaled-down. At present, only FIDE has the rights to organize the World Championship Match — the only event where the World Champion title is contested and awarded.
All the related rights of World Chess are fully described in the joint press release of the parties dated January 2019.
We would also like to emphasize that World Chess is a private company, and it should not be mixed up with FIDE, the International Chess Federation. With headquarters in Lausanne, and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Global Association of Sports Federations (GAISF), FIDE is the governing body of the game of chess, and regulates the international chess competitions and titles.
FIDE is going to announce the venue of the World Championship Match-2020 within two weeks, and we are devising sponsorship and broadcasting packages, that will be offered to our partners.
https://www.fide.com/news/222
All comments on this will be gladly received!
WK
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