Article by Leon Watson, World Chess
World Chess has seen sharp growth in its user base as online gamers increasingly choose to play on its alternative platform.
One million people worldwide are now registered on World Chess, demonstrating for the first time that the official partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) can be considered a major player.
World Chess, which operates the worldchess.com playzone, is the only platform where chess enthusiasts can play official FIDE-recognized games online and gain official online titles.
Until recently, it has been considered a niche choice for aficionados and known mostly for its elegant design.
But in 2025, World Chess underwent a series of changes, including the transition from chessarena.com to worldchess.com and a major revamp of its playzone. More updates are also planned.
In just three years, the platform has doubled its user base. The biggest growth area for World Chess is India, where chess originates. Indian users now account for 33% of all paid subscribers on World Chess with 25% of all free-to-play users. The next highest is the U.S. with 17%.
It comes as India is experiencing an unprecedented chess boom. The nation has seen a golden generation of world-class talents emerge and boasts the reigning classical world champion in Dommaraju Gukesh. Next month, India will welcome the world elite for the 2025 FIDE World Cup starting on October 31.
Growth from India and other countries worldwide follows a series of improvements to gameplay on worldchess.com, including gamification and unlimited post-game analysis for subscribers.
Meanwhile, World Chess has remained focused on increasing engagement and conversion to paid membership.
To accelerate the development of its next-generation mobile products, World Chess has appointed a new Head of Mobile Design, who previously held a senior design role at the market leader Chess.com. The appointment brings extensive expertise in designing engaging, user-friendly chess platforms at scale, and will be pivotal in strengthening World Chess’s mobile-first strategy.
World Chess will also launch a redesigned mobile app on November 1, 2025. The new app will feature a modernised design, faster gameplay, and an expanded feature set aimed at boosting engagement and monetisation.
With the majority of online chess now played on mobile devices, this relaunch represents a cornerstone of the Company’s growth strategy.
Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive Officer of World Chess, said: “A million people have now signed up to play on World Chess — that’s a huge milestone and a clear sign of how far we’ve come.
“The upcoming launch of our redesigned mobile app will allow us to serve this audience in a much richer way, and bringing in a proven design leader from Chess.com gives us the expertise to execute at scale.
“Most importantly, we are learning every day from our players, refining the product with their feedback, and building towards something much larger. Chess is at an inflection point, and World Chess is determined to shape its next chapter.”
