Chess legend Magnus Carlsen and investor Jan Henric Buettner today revealed their new venture, Freestyle Chess, for which they’ve raised €10 million or about $12 million in funding from Left Lane Capital. According to the founders, this funding will go towards the establishment of a new tournament series that aims to “revolutionize the world of chess.” The Freestyle Chess style follows Fischer random rules, in that the player’s back row is randomized.
The new event series features nine Super Grand Masters picked by Carlsen from the 25 members of the Freestyle Chess Players Club for each tournament. The founders held the first such event in February, and plan to have six-to-eight such events throughout the year in various locations. The first three tournaments will offer $750,000 in prizes, while the rest will offer $1 million.
Carlsen said in a statement, “Chess needs to evolve into a more dynamic and captivating spectacle, one that allows players to showcase their skills from the first move. Modern chess variants like Fischer Random will define the future of chess, which needs to evolve to more thrilling gameplay.” In addition to the tournament, Freestyle Chess plans to use the funding to build out its digital experience, hire new staff and increase marketing efforts.
Harley Miller, Left Lane CEO and managing partner, said in a statement, “Any time you have the best athletes in the world competing at the absolute highest standard of play, coupled with more avant garde storytelling and showmanship, you inherently will build something of great consequence. Freestyle Chess has the potential to become a mainstream sporting spectacle, akin to Formula 1, or ATP Tennis.”
The post Freestyle Chess debuts with $12M in funding for tournament series appeared first on Venture Beat.