Introducing Anichess: Uniting Tradition and Innovation in the Game of Chess

4 min readJun 26, 2023

A true classic never fears the test of time. For over 1500 years, chess has captured fans across generations with its simple rules that give rise to endless possibilities. As a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, Anichess believes the potential of chess extends beyond the 8x8 board. While preserving the classic elements of chess, we wish to inject new ideas, new imagination, and unite with chess enthusiasts worldwide to reshape its timeless appeal.

Bolstered by a strategic partnership with Chess.com, the leading online platform for chess enthusiasts, Anichess embarks on an ambitious mission to re-imagine and re-energize the chess experience for players worldwide.

Our mission is to grow the community by bringing new energy and innovation to chess.

We will achieve our mission through a three-part approach: modernizing the chess experience, onboarding new audiences, and empowering the community.

1. Modernizing the chess experience

We believe in embracing the core values of chess while re-imagining its appeal for the modern age. We intend to introduce new features, such as spell mechanics, with powerful visuals to add new strategic layers and make the game more immersive. This approach will provide a refreshing chess experience and invite a more diverse demographic to the game.

2. Onboarding new audiences

We want to widen the chess horizon by tapping into new audiences, such as those who enjoy strategy games but only play chess occasionally or have never played chess before. We aim to make chess accessible and engaging enough to attract first-time players and turn them into regular chess enthusiasts.

3. Empowering the community

We strive to empower the community by leveraging decentralized technology. We aim to create the foundation for open innovation by allowing the community to contribute and build together through digital property rights. Our goal is to create an ecosystem where the voices and ideas of every member can contribute to the shaping and advancing of chess by giving them true digital ownership.

We want to introduce new audiences to the world of chess.

There are approximately 3.1 billion gamers globally and over 600 million chess players today. Given the recent surge in the popularity of chess driven by the COVID pandemic, mainstream media like Queen’s Gambit, and the rise of chess streamers on platforms like Twitch, we think this presents an unparalleled opportunity to capture this growing momentum and captivate new audiences beyond the current 600 million.

While our primary target audience naturally consists of competitive chess players and online enthusiasts, we firmly believe that there is significant potential for Anichess to appeal to other audiences as well. These include people who enjoy strategic games like trading card games, those seeking global competition, and even mobile gamers who occasionally indulge in puzzle games. Currently, the majority of such audience perceives chess as a game with high entry barriers, but our aim is to revolutionize that perception through the immersive player experience and rich, anime-inspired narrative that Anichess delivers.

We are excited to explore the new frontier of chess and digital property rights.

As an Animoca Brands company, we have a deep-rooted passion for digital property rights and the resulting network effects they create. Chess, being one of the most historical and timeless games, is a perfect illustration of the benefits of network effects because its value grows exponentially as each new player joins the game. With the advent of digital property rights, we now have the opportunity to not only capture this value through the ownership paradigm but also share its benefits with the entire community. We are excited to explore the limitless possibilities and applications at the intersection of chess and digital property rights, creating new and enriching experiences for every participant.

Abundance mentality, innovating with passion, respect and humility, and speed over perfection are our core values.

These values shape how we intend to approach everything we do.

Abundance mentality

We approach everything with the perspective of growing the pie for all ecosystem participants rather than the classic zero-sum approach. We believe everyone can win and reap the benefits of shared network effects enabled by decentralized technology.

Innovate with passion

We commit to continuously explore new and creative ways to push boundaries and bring new experiences to our community. We will remain relentless and resilient in our pursuit of bringing an immersive and engaging experience to chess players and gamers alike.

Respect and humility

We respect diverse opinions and the unique perspective that individuals bring to the table. We recognise that success requires harnessing the collective wisdom of our community, and we are dedicated to cultivating an inclusive environment where people feel appreciated and valued.

Speed over perfection

We prioritise agility and rapid iteration over flawless execution. We acknowledge that it is difficult to get everything right at the beginning and embrace setbacks as valuable opportunities to grow, one step at a time.