International chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has reportedly raised $3 million in initial funding for Fantasy Chess, an app-based business venture putting a modern twist on the ancient Game of Kings.
As reported by Forbes, the 33-year-old Norwegian chess prodigy’s idea of building a Fantasy Football-style online community around chess first emerged last year, when he declined to defend his world championship title for a sixth time. At the time, Carlsen simply said that he didn’t “have a lot to gain” from repeating the experience. Instead, he turned his attention to a new venture determined to bring his sport of choice to new audiences.
In support of the “Fantasy Chess” idea, Carlsen has enlisted the help of Mats André Kristiansen, the former cofounder of an online grocery startup who serves as the new company’s CEO. Together, they have raised roughly $3 million for the platform, with the largest investments coming from local VC firms SNÖ Ventures and Coatue, as well as from Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Initiatives and Peter Thiel’s fund Thiel Capital.
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As its flagship program, Fantasy Chess allows users to “draft” real-life chess players to their rosters and earn points based on each player’s performance in competitions. The platform, currently in a closed beta state, also features other chess-related gaming content meant to be accessible for players and fans of all levels, ranging from novice all the way to grandmaster.
“We’re trying to do more than just building a fantasy game, which was the original idea,” Carlsen told Forbes. “Now the idea is more around creating new content for chess, and presenting it in a better way.”
According to the Fantasy Chess website:
Nearly a billion people worldwide play chess, yet most chess products and content seem to target the more advanced players. This approach overlooks the largest demographic: those who may only have a basic understanding of the rules but are nonetheless intrigued and excited by the game. The appeal of chess comes from its players, the importance of each game, and the lasting interest in a game that, even with its 1,500-year history and basic set of 32 wooden pieces, is still exciting to play and watch.
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At present, Fantasy Chess has no official product and is run by a team of just six people in its Oslo office, meaning the hefty investments are largely a bet on Carlsen and Kristiansen personally. However, investors do not see this as an issue given the immense talent behind the project.
“Fantasy Chess is different than other chess-related ideas we’ve seen because it is building a way for fans to engage with the best players,” Coatue’s Ben Schwerin told Forbes.
“Imagine combining the greatest chess player of all time with a proven unicorn co-founder in a huge untapped market – that’s a formula that excites us immensely,” says Magne Uppman of SNÖ Ventures. “We’re thrilled to be leading this investment alongside fantastic co-investors to support Fantasy Chess in its mission to add a new level of excitement to the world of chess.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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