NODWIN gaming joins forces with Chess.com and ChessBase India
NODWIN Gaming has announced a strategic partnership with Chess.com and ChessBase India to grow the presence of competitive digital chess in India. The collaboration aims to bring together esports formats, live content production, and grassroots engagement to expand chess as a digital sport for Indian audiences.
Strategic alliance to power chess growth
This new partnership brings together three major forces in the world of digital chess and gaming. Each organisation contributes a unique strength to the collaboration:
- NODWIN Gaming, one of South Asia’s top esports companies, adds expertise in live event production, content broadcast, and brand partnerships.
- ChessBase India brings deep roots in the Indian chess ecosystem and access to a large and loyal grassroots community.
- Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess platform, offers global tech infrastructure, tournament hosting capabilities, and a wide user base.
The joint effort will focus on creating original content IPs, structured competitive formats, and long-term community-building initiatives to promote digital chess.
India’s growing chess audience
Chess is getting an accelerated global attention, with over 7.6 billion games played worldwide on Chess.com in 2024 alone. The platform now boasts over 200 million registered users, with India seeing 9 million+ monthly active players, and an average of 550,000 new signups every month. Viewership has skyrocketed with 925 million total organic views, reflecting a 640 percent year-over-year growth.
Sagar Shah, CEO of ChessBase India, said, “This partnership is not just a business alliance — it’s a vision to grow the chess community in India from the grassroots to the grand stage. For the last decade, we’ve focused on building a robust chess culture in the country, and now, with NODWIN and Chess.com by our side, we hope to bring forth more opportunities to all those involved in the chess ecosystem.”
Cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai led the country in chess viewership. A large share of the audience accessed content via mobile phones, which made up over 80 percent of total consumption.
Popular among young, digital-first users
Chess is increasingly popular among India’s 18–34 age group, highlighting the rise of younger, digital-first chess fans. This group is highly engaged with both playing and watching chess online, often following content creators and participating in mobile-based tournaments.
While taking about partnership, Akshat Rathee, Co-founder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming, said, “With this partnership, we’re not just supporting a heritage game, we’re aiding in its natural course of progression. By combining each organisation’s unique strengths, we’re building a future-ready ecosystem that can take Indian chess from heritage to hype. It’s time the brilliance of our grandmasters meets the energy of our digital generation.”
Opportunities for brands and advertisers
Avadh Shah, Country Director of Chess.com India, said, “Given the excitement around the sport, it is only fitting that the leading companies within the ecosystem collaborate to further its development and invite partners to join this journey as well.”
With such high levels of engagement, the partnership is expected to open up new commercial avenues for advertisers. Brands looking to connect with India’s rapidly expanding digital sports audience will now have more opportunities to engage with chess fans through original content, tournaments, and creator-led campaigns.
