Meltwater becomes title partner of Champions Chess Tour and appoints Magnus Carlsen as global brand ambassador

This Christmas, the first major tournament of the Champions Chess Tour has attracted millions of viewers across the world. The tournament airs on Eurosport globally, on NRK in Norway and draws significant viewership across multiple online streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. With the new agreement between Meltwater and Play Magnus, the tour will be named Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

Meltwater offers a wide range of products that monitor media coverage and social media activity for companies and organisations.

Jørn Lyseggen, executive chairman and founder of Meltwater, said: “At Meltwater, we believe in empowering companies with objective insights to make more informed decisions, like how the world’s best chess players prepare for their tournaments. The Champions Chess Tour is the perfect vehicle for us to further spread our mission of enabling more companies to make their next move with confidence. In a chess game, both players basically have the same information. It is how one reads and analyses the information from the opponent that determines the outcome.”

Chess is an inspiration

“The social responsibility aspects of Play Magnus’ mission inspire us at Meltwater, as it advocates the positive benefits of chess for children and adults alike, as well as its accessibility. Unlike most sports that require expensive equipment, all you need is a chess board and pieces to get started – and you can do it anywhere,” Lyseggen added.

“I’m thrilled that Meltwater is partnering with the Champions Chess Tour. Meltwater’s DNA is closely linked with the game of chess through their work in analytics and strategy. I look forward to working with Meltwater on the Tour and being their brand ambassador,” Magnus Carlsen said.

According to CEO of Play Magnus Group, Andreas Thome, Meltwater’s services have positively impacted the tour.

“We have used Meltwater’s products for a long time. Social media and traditional media intelligence are critical to all organisers of sports events to get the necessary insights. We currently use Meltwater’s services both for evaluating our internal strategy and for reporting media impact to our partners. Meltwater is an excellent brand and partner to join our mission of increasing the popularity of chess and the Champions Chess Tour,” Thome said.

Meltwater was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 2001 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 50 offices across six continents. The company has 1,700 employees, 28,000 corporate customers and was listed on Euronext Growth Oslo in December 2020.

“Assuming the possibility of travel, we plan to organize the final of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour in San Francisco in September,” Jørn Lyseggen said.

About the 2021 Champions Chess Tour

The 2021 Champions Chess Tour will, for the first time in history, determine the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. Beginning in November 2020, the Champions Chess Tour will feature monthly tournaments culminating in a final tournament in September 2021. The best chess players in the world will compete in a total of 10 tournaments of rapid chess. All games will take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of $1.5m.

About Meltwater

Meltwater is a leading global provider of social and media intelligence. By examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs and news sites, Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insight from the outside. Meltwater was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 2001 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 50 offices across six continents. The company has 1,700 employees and 28,000 corporate customers, including industry leaders in several sectors. For more information visit meltwater.com