World Chess Announces 3-Year Partnership with it.com Domains for Armageddon Series

30 June 2023

World Chess Plc

("World Chess" or the "Company" or the "Group")

World Chess announces 3-year partnership with ITcom Domains

World Chess plc (LSE: CHSS), a leading chess organisation seeking to promote the mass market appeal of chess globally through the offering of different chess-related activities, is pleased to announce that it has signed a three-year partnership agreement (the "Agreement") with ITcom Domains LTD ('it.com') for its Armageddon Series. World Chess will receive more than €1.2 million over the course of the Agreement, aimed at opening the world of chess to wider audiences and supporting the chess community.

it.com is an international domain name registry, offering third-level domain names under the it.com zone. It will become the official sponsor of Armageddon, World Chess' fresh new twist to the traditional and timeless game, whereby players compete in a global chess series under immense time pressure. The series has daily matches consisting of two blitz games (three minutes plus a two-second move increment) and, if necessary, an Armageddon game (five minutes for White, four for Black). The 2023 Armageddon series is currently underway and being broadcasted on 17 television channels worldwide, with the Grand Finale week set to commence on 14 September 2023 at the World Chess Club Berlin.

As part of the partnership, it.com will receive logo placement in the playing zone of the series as well as on the players' uniforms. It will also gain access to broadcasting and video content and be included in digital integration. Furthermore, it.com and World Chess plan to jointly develop services for both physical and online chess clubs that will be introduced later this year, to help popularise the game.

Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive Officer of World Chess, said:

"We are delighted to partner with it.com Domains and are proud to name them as our official sponsor of the Armageddon Series. This collaboration brings together two innovative and forward-thinking organisations with the shared goal of expanding the mass market appeal of chess globally.

"We are excited to continue revolutionising the chess landscape alongside it.com over the coming years, who through this partnership will not only contribute to the development of World Chess but also create a truly unique experience for world chess customers through its impressive international domain registry."

Andrew Insarov, Chief Executive Officer of it.com, said:

"Chess has been hugely popular among the IT community and we are happy to support the sport, especially the Armageddon Championship Series as it's one of the most entertaining formats out there. This partnership allows us to raise awareness of it.com domains whilst enjoying chess, the game we love so much!"

For more information, please visit https://worldchess.com/investors or contact:

Notes to Editors

About World Chess Plc

World Chess (LSE: CHSS) is a London-based chess gaming and entertainment company and Fédération Internationale des Échecs ('FIDE') official commercial partner. World Chess organized the FIDE Championship Matches in the USA, and the UK, and revolutionized the sport by signing the biggest media partnerships in history. World Chess develops Armageddon, the chess league for prime-time television. World Chess also runs FIDE Online Arena, the exclusive official chess gaming platform. More at worldchess.com.

About it.com Domains

The company, it.com Domains, is a domain registry, offering the domains *.it.com e.g. yourname.it.com. It is the intelligent alternative to .com. It.com is a subsidiary of UK-based Intis Telecom, which acquired the it.com domain in 2021 for $3.8 million, the biggest domain sale of the year.

Intis Telecom is a global company that has been operating in areas of telecommunications and technology for over 14 years, with access to over 180 countries. In addition to it.com, the company has a cloud-based business messaging platform and also offers a free link shortening service called Cli.co. Intis Telecom is a member of the GSMA, the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), RIPE and has ICANN accreditation.

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