World chess secures biggest sponsor since days of Garry Kasparov's breakaway

Bobby Fischer captured the world's imagination when he took the world chess championship from Boris Spassky in their epic 1972 encounter.

But since then chess as a spectator sport has struggled to tap into the game's commercial possibilities.

Now one of the world's biggest and most recognisable cyber security firms has stepped in to change that.

Kaspersky Lab, the Russian anti-malware experts, announced on Monday it is to sponsor Fide’s flagship 2017 Grand Prix series.

The new signing will be considered a major cup for World Chess by Agon, the commercial arm of the game’s governing body.

Since Fischer, Fide has struggled to attract the big names with large corporate sponsors few and far between.

It is a similar story outside the governing body with independent events also struggling.

While Tata Steel continue to host its own international tournament and Tradewise Insurance have been brought on board to help the English Chess Federation, BNP Paribas, the France-based bank, has pulled out of sponsoring the French national chess federation.

The last giant involved in the game's world championship - albeit a rival version - was the Intel Corporation which sponsored Garry Kasparov's ill-fated breakaway Professional Chess Association in 1994.

At the time Intel said it wanted to "bring the ancient game of chess into the 21st century," but less than two years later the IT giant pulled out after Karparov took on IBM’s Deep Blue in his much-publicised "Man Vs Machine" match.

Eugene Kaspersky

Last year, in an attempt to generate new interest in its own events, Fide handed over the organisation of the Grand Prix and World Championship cycle, to Agon.

Three major partnerships were secured in time for the New York world championship with asset management group EG Capital Advisors and PhosAgro, the giant phosphates group, and S.T. Dupont, the luxury goods company.

Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, said: "I’m very proud that we’re now a partner of the World Chess Championship.

"The ultimate game of strategy, chess involves lots of excitement and tension too. The top chess tournaments are all about human brainpower - aided today by computer technologies.

"Some games at the very top level are simply among the top human achievements - real masterpieces. And we’re happy to become a part of this."

Kaspersky also recently signed a deal to sponsor the Russian world championship challenger Sergey Karjakin while its rival Microsoft sponsor the current champion Magnus Carlsen.

Sergey Kajakin

Georgious Makropoulos, deputy president of Fide, said: "I am delighted that the world’s top players will have the opportunity to benefit from this partnership with one of the world’s leading cybersecurity company.

"And it is immensely gratifying to see another global brand sponsor our sport.”

Meanwhile, it was also announced that Grandmaster Salem Saleh, from Sharjah, is to become first player from the UAE to take part in the Grand Prix.

The series, broadcast at www.worldchess.com, will kick off in Sharjah on February 18, before moving to Moscow on May 12 and Geneva on July 6 before the final round in Palma De Mallorca, Spain, on November 16.

In total, 18 players will participate in each Grand Prix and contest a prize fund of 130,000 euros.

Players qualify to the Grand Prix series by rating or by being nominated by World Chess by Agon Ltd, with one addition coming from the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) or Fide.