All the matches will be LIVE on the OTT platform from October 3 to 12
India/London, October 3rd, 2024: The Global Chess League, a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, today announced a partnership extension with JioCinema as the digital partner for Season 2 which is set to take place in London from October 3 to 12 at Friends House.
As part of JioCinema’s continued commitment to take a league wider across the country, the second season of the Global Chess League will be streamed free to all viewers.
“We are delighted to continue our association with the world’s largest franchise chess league. Indian chess is at an exciting juncture, and we believe GCL will play a part in fuelling the growth of the sport furthermore,” said Viacom18 Sports Head of Strategy, Acquisitions & Partnerships Hursh Shrivastava. “JioCinema will enable the league to reach a wider audience. We remain steadfast in our endeavour to innovate and engage sporting fans.”
The first-of-its-kind franchise-based league features a total of six teams consisting of six players – one Icon player, two Superstar men players, two Superstar women players, and one Prodigy player in each team. Each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system. The top two teams will progress to the final, vying for the title on 12th October.
Sameer Pathak, CEO, Global Chess League, said, “We are delighted to have JioCinema onboard once again. Their support in the past season as streaming partners was tremendous and it allowed us to accomplish our mission of reaching the masses. We are delighted to extend our association with them in the second season as we continue our mission to spread chess across the world and set new standards for fan engagement.”
World No.1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, five-time world champion, Viswanathan Anand, one of the world’s most popular and dynamic players, Hikaru Nakamura, Grandmaster Anish Giri are some of the biggest names who have joined the stellar line-up of chess stars who will be competing this season.
The Global Chess League will also set benchmarks for tech innovations in the sport as Tech Mahindra will explore unique fan engagements to promote the game, particularly across London and the UK by leveraging next-gen technologies such as AI, Metaverse, AR/VR, among others.
About Tech Mahindra Global Chess League
The Global Chess League is the world’s first and largest official franchise league of its kind, with chess players from all over the world competing in a unique joint team format. It is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra, a part of the Mahindra Group, and FIDE. The league will feature male and female chess champions competing in the same team. Playing on the popular rapid format, the league’s joint male-female teams will have the rare distinction of being a unique multiplayer team in the world of professional sports. In addition, the league is a one-of-its-kind live televised chess event offering fans a unique viewing experience. Tech Mahindra and FIDE will explore innovative ways to promote the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms by leveraging next-generation technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, among others.
