Of these, 1.5 million people are fee-paying accounts. Currently, more than 20 million chess games are played on this platform every day.
Starting out as a forum for real-life chess players, Chess.com now offers a variety of services: live competition with real people or machines, daily chess games, puzzles, chess news updates, live broadcast of tournaments and many other utilities.
Mr. Albert Cheng - growth director of Chess.com - said that continuous product innovation is a factor that helps Chess.com maintain a sustainable growth rate.
A typical example is the AI-powered gambling evaluation feature launched in 2021, allowing players to receive an overview of the game and areas for improvement. He said that the majority of new Chess.com users are new to chess and such features help them love the game more.
Interest in chess has also exploded in recent years, especially during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chess.com has had to upgrade its infrastructure to meet the sudden increase in players.
"I believe that chess still has a lot of room for development. We will take advantage of the natural attraction from other communities to make this intellectual sport spread even more strongly" - Mr. Cheng emphasized.
