Grenke Bank Wins First Online Chess Business Championship
The German team beat the SberBank team led by the fourth Russian champion Ian Nepomniachtchi.
The first “corporate” online chess championship was played from 19 to 21 February on the Chess.com
platform, which saw corporate teams from companies from all over the world as protagonists.
The online platform that will host the championship has now become a point of reference for regular players, and the number of regular visitors from 2017 to today has increased to 60 million new members.
Several factors contributed to the increase in the number of fans.
The sudden passion for the game of chess is probably linked to the success of the Golden Globes-winning
series “The Queen’s Gambit” for “Best Miniseries or Television Movie”. On the new social platform Twitch the streaming of chess games online in some cases has surpassed even video games of the caliber of League of Legends or Fortnite. Among the reasons for Chess.com’s success is the possibility of challenging players of your level, taking courses or analyzing matches to improve results.
Another element in favor is related to the opportunity to be able to test oneself with an Artificial Intelligence that can both put itself on a par with the user, and challenge him by reproducing the moves of the greatest masters.
The idea of a Corporate World Championship comes from
FIDE
(International Chess Federation) which has promoted a new formula entirely dedicated to companies and its employees. The challenge was welcomed with enthusiasm, in fact the companies that joined the initiative are 284, from 78 different countries. Among the companies there are big names such as Amazon, Samsung, Facebook, Microsoft, Boeing, Deutsche Bank and Gazprom and also four Italian companies: Airbnb Europe, Concept Reply, Reply Italy and Saes Getters Spa.
The first championship was won by the German team of the Grenke Bank
group consisting of Alina Kashlinskaya, Hanna Marie Klek, Inna Agrest and Georg Meier.
After two days of continuous battles, and more than 24 hours the Grenke Bank team defeated the team of the Russian banking company
SberBank
.
A hard-fought match until the end, in fact the first set ended in a draw, but the teamwork and skills of the Grenke Bank players also checkmated an established champion in Russia like Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Captaining the team of the German club, however, was another of the top chess masters Georg Meier, who publicly thanked his colleagues with a tweet for the final victory.
In addition to encouraging the game of chess and promoting teamwork, FIDE has also developed this new initiative for a charitable purpose.
In fact, participation in the tournament was not tied to any entry fee, but FIDE encouraged the clubs, fans and enthusiasts, who followed the event in live streaming, to donate to some of FIDE’s social projects: Chess in Education, Chess for People with Disabilities and Chess for Veterans Support Programme.
“Many people who played chess in their teens have achieved great success in their professional lives. This doesn’t surprise me because the game of chess is a training ground for decision-making skills. Every move is a decision you have to make, often under pressure. Chess teaches you to deal with stress and not let it affect your performance.”
Arkady Dvorkovich
FIDE President
Chess has always been considered a game that stimulates intellectual abilities, helps in developing problem-solving or decision-making skills. For all these reasons, the federation aims to help young people, children with disabilities and those who have dedicated their entire lives to chess and are in an unstable financial situation.
Among the many benefits related to participating in the online world chess championship, team building opportunities, developing contacts with international players, taking part in one of the most important sporting events; for the three companies that have donated the most there will be the opportunity to participate in the FIDE World Championship Match 2021, which will take place at the Dubai World Expo at the end of 2021, which will be attended by the world champion Magnus Carlsen, defined as “the Mozart of the chessboard”.
