Nodwin, Chess.com And ChessBase India Partner to Scale Competitive Chess in India

NODWIN Gaming has teamed up with Chess.com and ChessBase India to grow chess as an esports game in India. Together, they plan to use strong broadcasting, connect with chess fans at the grassroots level, and reach global audiences online. 

Their goal is to support chess tournaments, build a strong community, and explore business opportunities in the fast-growing world of online chess.

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Each partner brings unique strengths to the table. NODWIN Gaming, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies contributes its expertise in esports production and monetization. ChessBase India offers deep connections with grassroots chess players and the wider chess creator community. 

Meanwhile, Chess.com provides global reach with a user base of over 200 million and a proven platform for hosting large scale online tournaments.

“Chess has now become the fourth most-watched sport in the country after cricket, kabaddi, and BGMI tournaments,” said Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming. “By combining each organization's unique strengths, we’re building a future-ready ecosystem that can take Indian chess from heritage to hype.”

“This partnership is not just a business alliance—it’s a vision to grow the chess community in India from the grassroots to the grand stage,” said Sagar Shah, CEO of ChessBase India. “With NODWIN and Chess.com by our side, we hope to bring forth more opportunities to all those involved in the chess ecosystem.”

“Chess has been one of the most dominant and fastest growing sports in the last 3 years across India and the world,” said Avadh Shah, country director of Chess.com India. “Given the excitement around the sport, it is only fitting that the leading companies within the ecosystem collaborate to further its development.”

As per data shared by the companies, Chess.com saw 7.6 billion games played globally in 2024. In India alone, the platform has over 9 million monthly active users and adds about 550,000 new users each month. Engagement has grown sharply, with 925 million organic views worldwide—a 640% increase compared to last year.

The three partners also jointly streamed the 2024 World Chess Championship match between India’s Gukesh Dommaraju and China’s Ding Liren. The broadcast attracted 24 million views and peaked at 200,000 concurrent viewers. Most of the Indian audience watched on mobile devices, with people aged 18–34 making up the largest share of viewers.

Chess is set to be part of the 2025 Esports World Cup, which comes with a prize pool of $1.5 million. Representing India will be esports team S8UL, featuring Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram. This marks the first time Indian players will compete in a global esports event specifically under the chess category.

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