Queen’s Gambit: The Big Business of Chess.com

Chess is a business that has, without a doubt, been supercharged by linear media and has been booming since COVID-19. As one of the most tactically complex games ever designed, Chess has over 700 years of retention and history.
But what is it like to build a chess empire? Chess.com, purchased by Erik Allebest and his co-founder for $55K in 2005, has built a web and mobile platform with over 170M raw accounts, 50M monthly active users, and 5-7M daily active users.
Join our host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, in a discussion with Erik that covers growing a team of two to 600 over 20 years, the monetization and engagement of a Chess platform, an overview of external acquisitions the company has made, and growing rapidly via what Erik calls a “great meme game”. We also discuss the pros and cons of not owning your IP and where the future of online Chess is headed! Checkmate!
00:00 - Start
01:27 - Introduction to Chess.com and the CEO, Erik Allebest
12:20 - The Journey of Building Chess.com
19:12 - Challenges and Strategies in Monetizing and Growing Online Chess
24:46 - The Unique Monetization Model of Chess.com
29:30 - Testing New Approaches to Cosmetics in Chess
33:27 - Exploring Game Modes and Variations
37:50 - Growth Strategies: Word of Mouth, Social Media, and Content Creation
45:59 - Competition and Innovation in the Chess Platform Space
48:50 - Challenges in Advertising and the Need for Higher-Quality Ads
58:40 -The CEO's Excitement and Overwhelm for the Future of Chess.com
Also, big thanks to ZBD for making this episode possible! ZBD provides a plug-and-play API and SDK for seamless integration of instant, borderless, and low-fee payments using the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Want to better engage and monetize your global user base? Start for free at zbd.gg/grid.gg/?...
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Who’s On:
Guest: Erik Allebest: / erikallebest
Host: Alexandra Takei: / takeit-eazy
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[@WayneChiangPoker]

Amazing to hear Erik’s story as I always heard the legendary story from Jay Severson’s side!

[@JaySeverson]

Been a fun wild ride! I don’t really believe in fate but crazy to think we randomly met freshman year as floor mates. Cheers to 19 years…Enjoyed the podcast!

[@WayneChiangPoker]

Watching now!