When was Chess founded?

Chess was founded in 2005 and raised its 1st funding round 17 years after it was founded.

Where is Chess located?

Chess is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.

Who is the current CEO of Chess?

Erik Allebest of Chess. They have also founded 1 company.

How many employees does Chess have?

As of Sep 30, 2026, the latest employee count at Chess is 1102.

Is Chess a funded company?

Chess is a funded company, having raised an undisclosed amount across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** PE round, raised on Jan 14, 2022.

How much is Chess worth?

The latest valuation of Chess is $***** as of Oct 05, 2025.

When was the latest funding round of Chess?

Chess' latest funding was a $***** PE round on Jun 26, 2026, with participation from 1 investor.

Where does Chess rank among its competitors?

Chess ranks 1st amongst 75 active competitors, of which 8 are funded. It stands 4th in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Chess.com, which secured an undisclosed amount in Jun, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Chess?

Chess' top competitors include Play Magnus, StartPlaying and Ky Vuong. Among them, Chess secured the most recent funding round in June, 2026.

Chess - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Company Details

Provider of online chess games, lessons, and community features. It offers a platform for players of all skill levels to play against others, compete in tournaments, and learn from experienced instructors. The platform includes tools for improving chess skills through puzzles and lessons, as well as social features to connect with other chess enthusiasts. It aims to foster a supportive and engaging community around the game of chess.

Website: www.chess.com/
Social
Email ID: *****@chess.com

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2005

Location

San Francisco, United States

Stage

Seed

Latest Funding Round

PE, Jun 26, 2026, $*****

Post Money Valuation

$***** as on Oct 05, 2025

Investors

General Atlantic & 4 more

Ranked

1^st among 75 active competitors

Employee Count

1,102 as on Sep 30, 2026

Investment & Acquisitions

Play Magnus & 2 more

Similar Companies

Play Magnus & 79 more

View Chess' full profile

Chess is associated with 4 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Reports
CHESS.COM, LLC CIN: 06007199 , United States, Active	Apr 04, 2016	-	151 (As on Dec 31, 2024)	-
Chess.com, LLC CIN: 20-3087264 , United States, Active	Jan 01, 2005	-	155 (As on Dec 31, 2023)	-
CHESS CIN: 40103538213 , Latvia, Deadpooled	Apr 24, 2012	€0 - €1M (As on Dec 31, 2020)	11 (As on Dec 31, 2020)	-
CHESS PEOPLE LIMITED CIN: 10083226 , United Kingdom, Active	Mar 23, 2016	£10M - £50M (As on Apr 30, 2021)	338 (As on Apr 30, 2022)

Chess has raised funding over 3 rounds. Its first funding round was on Jan 14, 2022. Its latest funding round was a PE round on Jun 26, 2026 for $*****. 1 investor participated in its latest round. Chess has 5 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Chess:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jun 26, 2026	8291764	PE	9702110	6384486	5144171	2636503
Dec 14, 2023	6510580	Seed	2916333	1557889	1116772	7454555
Jan 14, 2022	4245845	PE	7847951	7279218	General Atlantic	4351634

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View details of Chess's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Chess are Jay Severson and Erik Allebest. Erik Allebest is the CEO of Chess.

Here are the details of Chess' key team members:

Jay Severson: Former Co-Founder of Chess.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Erik Allebest: Co-Founder & CEO of Chess.
Contact Info: 1 email address

View details of Chess's Founder profiles and Board Members

Chess' employee count trend

Chess has 1,102 employees as of Sep 26. Here is Chess's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Chess include Play Magnus, StartPlaying and Ky Vuong. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Chess, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Chess 2005, San Francisco (United States), Seed	Provider of online chess games, lessons, and community features	-	General Atlantic, Endeavor & 3 others	76/100
2nd	Play Magnus 2013, Oslo (Norway), Series A	Mobile chess games developer	$13.6M	Cape Capital, Investinor & 4 others	53/100
3rd	StartPlaying 2020, San Francisco (United States), Seed	Online platform for virtual tabletop role-playing games	$6.65M	Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator & 6 others	46/100
4th	Ky Vuong 2016, Hanoi (Vietnam), Unfunded	Provider of app-based board game for users	-	-	43/100
5th	Ziffi Chess 2023, Gurugram (India), Series A	Developer of mobile applications featuring condensed strategy board game matches	$6.62M	India Quotient, Tanglin Venture Partners ... & 13 others	42/100
6th	Shredder Chess 2019, Germany, Unfunded	Developer of award-winning chess software for multiple platforms	-	-	41/100
7th	Xiangqi 1997, Arlington (United States), Unfunded	Developer of mobile games focusing on chess games	-	-	40/100
8th	Chess Online 2021, Stockholm (Sweden), Unfunded	Developer of online applications providing chess and checkers gameplay options	-	-	39/100
9th	ThreeF Apps 2022, London (United Kingdom), Unfunded	Developer of mobile-based casual games	-	-	37/100
10th	Acid Ape Studios 2016, Uccle (Belgium), Unfunded	Developer of mobile-based board games	-	-	36/100

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Chess has made 1 investment in Learn2Play and acquired Play Magnus and ChessPark.

Here is the list of these investments and acquisitions:

Date of Investment/Acquisition	Type	Company Name	Founded Year	Location
Aug 23, 2022	Acquisition	Play Magnus	2013	Oslo (Norway)
Apr 24, 2018	Investments	Learn2Play	2017	Limassol (Cyprus)
Dec 22, 2009	Acquisition	ChessPark	2007	West Palm Beach (United States)