Business Wire

 FIDE and Tech Mahindra Announce Landmark Partnership Marking a Key Milestone in the Creation of the Global Chess League

Share

The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with Tech Mahindra Ltd., a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the parties focuses on creating together the Global Chess League, a project first proposed by Tech Mahindra Ltd. earlier this year. Now, with the support of FIDE, the Global Chess League will be provided with an accredited and exclusive status as the only world league officially recognised by the governing body of the sport of chess.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210604005308/en/

The competition will be established as a first-of-its-kind “phygital” (physical and digital) league, engaging players from all levels – professional or otherwise. In principle, it will have several franchise-owned teams from across the globe, which will comprise a mix of titled players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format.

FIDE and Tech Mahindra will join their forces and expertise to ensure that the spirit of the game and the highest sporting and organization standards are maintained. FIDE will help structure the technical regulations, and promote the league through its media channels, providing the global audience with an engaging platform.

The collaboration between Tech Mahindra and FIDE will also promote playing of chess in new and innovative formats, create opportunities for youth, and foster many champions globally. The partnership aims to leverage new-age technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, among others, and explore innovative ways of promoting the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms.

A new holding company will be created to operate the functioning of the Global Chess League, in which the FIDE president will be part of the board of Directors. The project will also count on the five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand as mentor and partner, who will not just advise but will also help shape the league.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “From tweeting about the game to forming a league under Viswanathan Anand’s mentorship, and now on-boarding FIDE – the entire journey has been very gratifying. With the coming together of all the forces in the field of chess and technology, we hope the ‘Global Chess League’ will take the game to new heights and create vibrant opportunities for the entire chess community across the world.”

The collaboration will support several of FIDE’s grassroots initiatives and make chess an attractive career choice and game of global reckoning.

Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, said, “The motto of Chess is ‘Gens una sumus,’ meaning 'We are one people', and we at FIDE take this unique opportunity to popularize the game which bears the motto of uniting the world. We are endeavouring to dramatically enhance its visibility through a global league powered by technology and are honoured to have partnered with Tech Mahindra. I am certain that Tech Mahindra’s expertise will further aid in elevating The Global Chess League to the next level, accelerate its popularity and lay out the most riveting tournament for chess fans.”

As part of its NXT.NOW framework, which aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’, Tech Mahindra has a deep focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver enhanced experience and enable digital transformation to meet the evolving needs of the customer.

CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “Chess and the business ecosystem are reflections of the same ‘game’, which hold people, strategy and adaptations at their core. The partnership with FIDE marks the coming together of two organizations to promote, revolutionize and drive fan engagement of a historical game, like Chess. We see great potential in this partnership which aims to raise the profile of the game, discover next generations of Chess champions - including women and children, enhance the fan base across the globe and take it to new commercial heights.”

Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the mentor and partner of the Global Chess League, said, “With FIDE coming on board along with Tech Mahindra, I am sure the Global Chess League will help in catalyzing the popularity of the game while keeping the spirit of the game intact, and create opportunities for young talent across the world”

About Global Chess League:

In February 2021, Tech Mahindra launched first-of-its-kind Global Chess league. The Global Chess League will engage players from all levels – professional or otherwise and will have several franchise owned teams from across the world. The teams will comprise of a mix of titled women and men players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format. The teams qualifying for the semifinals will enter the knockout stage of the championship. Tech Mahindra will act as the architect behind this concept and will provide necessary operational and technological support to execute the vision.

Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the Global Chess Leagues official mentor and partner will help catalyse the growth of chess.

About FIDE:

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999.

FIDE currently has its headquarters in Laussane, but it was initially founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one Family”). It was one of the very first International Sports Federations, alongside the governing bodies of the sports of Football, Cricket, Swimming, and Auto Racing. It is now one of the largest, encompassing 195 countries as affiliate members, in the form of National Chess Federations. Chess is nowadays a truly global sport, with dozens of millions of players in all the continents, and more than 60 million games in average played every day.

More information: www.fide.com

Contact: press@fide.com

About Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra offers innovative and customer-centric digital experiences, enabling enterprises, associates and society to rise. We are a USD 5.1 billion organization with 121,000+ professionals across 90 countries helping 1007 global customers, including Fortune 500 companies. We are focused on leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and more, to enable end to end digital transformation for global customers.

Tech Mahindra is one of the fastest growing brands and amongst the top 15 IT service providers globally. Tech Mahindra has consistently emerged as a leader in sustainability and is recognized amongst the ‘2021 Global 100 Most sustainable corporations in the World’ by Corporate Knights. With the NXT.NOW framework, Tech Mahindra aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’ for our ecosystem and drive collaborative disruption with synergies arising from a robust portfolio of companies. We aim at delivering tomorrow’s experiences today, and believe that the ‘Future is Now’.

We are part of the Mahindra Group, a USD 19.4 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in renewable energy, agribusiness, logistics and real estate development. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,56,000 people across 100 countries. Connect with us on www.TechMahindra.com.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Media Contact:
Abhilasha Gupta, Global Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Tech Mahindra
Email: Abhilasha.Gupta@TechMahindra.com; media.relations@TechMahindra.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Ant International and HSBC Test New Cross-Border Payments Solution Using Tokenised Deposits on Swift’s Network and Powered by ISO 2002211.12.2025 05:00:00 EET | Press release

Ant International, HSBC and Swift today have completed a successful Proof of Concept (POC) for the cross-border transfer of tokenised deposits using ISO 20022 standards. The initiative leverages Swift’s global messaging network and HSBC’s recently launched Tokenised Deposit Service, combined with Ant International’s blockchain technology. The POC marks a key milestone in Ant International, HSBC, and Swift’s efforts to help businesses unlock the full benefits of tokenisation for enhanced liquidity, programmable finance, and 24/7 real-time settlement. As part of this initiative, Ant International and HSBC successfully integrated Ant International’s in-house blockchain infrastructure with Swift’s networks, enabling real-time treasury management across borders through HSBC Singapore and Hong Kong, via HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service. With the introduction of a common protocol co-built with Swift and HSBC, this could remove the need for Ant International to establish individual bilateral a

Canva Unveils 2026 Design Trends: The Year of ‘Imperfect by Design’11.12.2025 00:52:00 EET | Press release

Canva, the world’s leading all-in-one visual communication platform, today unveiled its third annual Design Trends Report with bold predictions for creativity, social media and brand content in 2026. The company also unveiled a “Design DNA” feature, which offers Canva users a custom recap that celebrates their creative output in 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210696597/en/ Canva Design DNA Trends from Creators, for Creators By analyzing design and search activity, expert insights from the Canva Designer Advisory Board, and a survey of 1,000 creators across the U.S. and Brazil, Canva has identified 10 design trends that will shape creative and design culture in 2026. The findings paint a clear picture: as creators embrace AI’s power, they also crave the human touches that make design feel personal. A New Creative Standard: Imperfect by Design As AI technology raises the baseline for what's possible, v

Audiencerate Achieves Google Customer Match Partner Status, strengthening its role as a Global Data Provider10.12.2025 23:40:00 EET | Press release

Audiencerate, an international technology company specializing in data activation solutions and platforms within the AdTech and MarTech sectors, has been officially awarded by Google as a Customer Match Upload Partner. This certification is granted to a restricted number of global operators (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7361372?hl=en) authorized to manage and onboard first-party data into the Google Ads and DV360 ecosystem. The company strengthen its strategic partnership with Google by adding the Customer Match Upload Partner accreditation to its existing status as a certified Google Data Provider. This new credential enables Audiencerate to seamlessly integrate proprietary audience segments and data into Google’s advertising platforms. The combination of these two accreditations represents an exceptionalsituation in the international landscape and solidifies Audiencerate's position in the digital advertising market, which is increasingly reliant on first-party data. T

Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) Development Group – Official Statement10.12.2025 22:06:00 EET | Press release

On 8 September 2025, the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) Development Group convened a high-level meeting in the City of London with representatives from 37 nations, including all G7 members, alongside the European Commission, NATO, European Parliament, Global Banks, and Ratings Agencies to discuss the DSRB. A number of countries have now indicated their intention to begin the formal steps required to bring the DSRB into existence. This phased pattern of engagement is standard in the creation of international financial institutions, which typically begin with a core group of anchor nations and expand as additional members join through charter negotiations and subsequent capital rounds. The DSRB is designed to complement the European Union’s SAFE initiative, offering a broader multilateral platform that brings together NATO and Indo-Pacific nations and mobilises global capital to build the balance-sheet capacity required to finance nations’ defence spending and long-term res

ClickUp 4.0's Craft & Quality is Available Today, Maximizing Human Productivity10.12.2025 20:26:00 EET | Press release

ClickUp today announced the launch of ClickUp 4.0, a groundbreaking release designed to end the chaos of work sprawl and usher in a new era of work. With a bold vision for the convergence of software, people, and AI, ClickUp 4.0 delivers a suite of powerful new features that empower teams to do their best work in one converged workspace. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210712132/en/ A new era of ClickUp For years, organizations have struggled with fragmented workflows, siloed tools, and the constant friction of context switching. ClickUp 4.0 is the answer: a single, beautifully crafted workspace that brings together tasks, docs, goals, chat, and AI-powered automation. The result is a platform that not only saves time but also sparks creativity and collaboration at every level. “Software is converging - we always knew it would. And it's about time, because work sprawl is the silent killer of productivity," s

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye