KEY ANNOUNCEMENT - MarcH 14, 2023

About

Checkmate.live is a next-gen esports-first chess and broadcasting platform. We're focused on producing and broadcasting linear and online tournaments for a new generation of players.

At its heart, Checkmate is a cloud-based platform that leverages cutting-edge technology to provide the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, credits, collectables and an XR-led, esports-first international chess series.

Our platform when live will cater to players from casual to pro who are fans of speed chess; Blitz, Bullet and Rapid. You will have  ownership over your in-game items, be able to personalise your experience and be able trade or cash in your hard-earned winnings. In addition, partnered creators and teams will have a new way to engage and monetise their fan base by selling DLC or rewarding followers.

Type of events you will be able to compete in:

Tournaments

  • Daily, weekly and monthly tournaments

  • One-off sponsored tournaments

  • One-off regional tournaments

Grand Slam

  • 3 per year

  • Blitz format
    15-minute matches

  • 16 players compete in each Grand Slam event 

  • 5 Broadcasts per Grand Slam event

World Cup

  • 1 per year

  • Blitz format
    15-minute matches

  • 32 players compete in each World Cup

  • 6 Broadcasts per World Cup event

Other

  • Creator events

  • Community events 

  • Chess clubs

  • Tertiary leagues

  • Professional leagues

Grand Slams and World Cup 

Our esports programme consists of four major events a year, three grand slams and a world cup outside the standard daily, weekly and monthly tournaments. The Checkmate team is currently finalising tour dates and event hosts for the international series. Interested economic development agencies or venues can submit expressions of interest by completing our contact form.

What is XR?

It's Chess like you have never seen before.  XR (Extended Reality) is the engine of the metaverse and synthetic broadcasts. We have been working closely with our R&D partners, who are at the forefront of this new media revolution. We will be leveraging the same tech that is used to produce major blockbuster movies to bridge chess, esports and mixed reality to deliver a new immersive player and viewer experience. We’re excited to unveil in time what we have been working towards.

Integrity and Fairplay

A key focus for Checkmate has been to improve the integrity of online Chess matches. This is to improve the player experience and to be able to offer major online cash prize pools. We have a zero-tolerance for cheating and cheaters will not be welcome.

Unfortunately, to date competitive online chess has been hampered by players who choose to cheat, up to 40% on some chess websites. Early on we identified this as a key problem and its impact on fair play and have successfully addressed it through a mix of proprietary AI and existing technology, partnerships and the development of a strong integrity programme.

Our in-house Anti-cheat software will be required for all competitive matches and a comprehensive integrity programme will be in place for major tournaments. Players that are identified as cheating will risk their accounts being closed and in-game assets seized and liquidated. The proceeds of items sold will be allocated to the player prize pool and creator's pool.

Checkmate is committed to recognising and enforcing the sanctions imposed on any person where the Asian Chess Federation, ESIC or another member of ESIC has imposed a sanction. In short if you cheat with us you will be banned in most international esports and chess tournaments.

Play by the rules and we all win. 

Toxic behaviour and Sportsmanship

We value good sportsmanship, respect and integrity.  This doesn’t mean you can’t crack a few jokes but it does mean that abusive behaviour will fall under the Checkmate integrity policy. All player accounts will have a behavioural score which will be based on community reporting.

Is online Chess a Sport or Esport?

We have classified Checkmate as an esport due to the electronic nature of its execution rather than over-the-board which happens in-person. Chess is similar to esports; as it is recognised as a sport in some countries and not others. Unlike esports Chess is recognized as a sport by the International Olympic committee.

As ESPN reported, chess players can burn up to 6,000 calories a day whist playing in a tournament, which is three times what an average person consumes in a day. According to Robert Sapolsky, who studies stress in primates at Stanford University, the stress elite chess players encounter during a tournament is on par with what elite athletes experience. Chess is competitive, has rules and top players must be match fit - yip, it's a sport.

Skill-based Gaming and Gambling 

Chess is a pure skill-based game. Cash-based tournaments in games of skill are not considered to be gambling in most territories. Checkmate will not offer wagering but we will be syndicating gaming results with oversight from ESIC to data partners who wish to cover the matches.

Checkmate is scheduled to launch in Q1 2023 on web and mobile.

EXECUTIVE TEAM

John McRae

Founder

  • Entertainment, Esports, Sports, PPV and Linear broadcast promoter

  • Co-founder Duco Events, SKY ARENA, LPL

  • 2018 NZ Marketing Magazine Media Visionary of the Year

  • 2009 NZ Marketing Magazine TV Event of the Decade

  • Founder and Life Member, New Zealand Esports Federation
    and Oceania Esports Council

Curt Jones

Founder

  • Executive Producer - Fox Sports, NRL Media

  • Chief of Staff, Fox Sports News

  • Sports Editor, TV3 New Zealand, ESPN USA

  • 20+ years experience in Sports Media

Jamie Skella

Founder

  • Founding Partner, Polybit

  • Chief Product Officer - Mogul 

  • Head of UX - AFL and Tatts Group

  • Owner, GG EZ Bar [Esports Bar]

  • World Economic Forum Pioneer Technology Award Winner [Blockchain]

Brenda Saveluc

General Consul

  • Founder, Blackgold Legal

  • Expertise. ICO, NFT and STO regulation

  • Expertise,  Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency

  • Commercial and Corporate M&A

Ken O’Shea

Governance

  • Partner - Lockhart O'Shea Chartered Accountants

  • Chief Financial Officer, First Capital of Switzerland Limited, Dubai

  • Executive Director, Finance and Operations, Waqf Trust Services

  • Deputy CEO, Hamilton Trust Company, Bermuda

SQUAD

Dimitri Darsch

Game Designer

  • Game Economy and Monetization Designer

  • Knight Watch iOS + iWatch Chess Game

  • Pyrojump, Battle Royale Tycoon, Eredan

  • RPG , Social & Collectible Card Game Design

Joan Buch Prades

AI and Chess

  • Artificial Intelligence and Neuromarketing thought leader

  • Former competitive chess player

  • CEO & Founder, Decoditive

  • CEO & Founder, Szuperchess

Rodrigo Nascimento

AI and XR

  • XR developer, 3D artist and Ai

  • Ai x XR Thought leader

Avatar

Scott Adams

Intergrity and Payments

  • CEO, CNPMentors

  • Consultant, Fraud and Payments, Epic Games

  • Director of Risk Management, Riot Games

  • Vice President of Friendly Fraud

  • CEO and Founder. FraudPVP

ADVISORS

Indy Khabra

Advertising and Strategy

  • CEO and co-founder, Livewire

  • Campaign Asia 40 under 40

  • Dentsu Programmatic, ANZ Managing Director

  • Executive Director, Amplifi

Anurag Khurana

Gaming and Esports

  • Founder & CEO , Newgen Gaming

  • Country Manager, Riot Games India

  • Head of Esports, Reliance Jio

  • CEO, Red Octane

Brad Manuel

Sponsorship and Strategy

  • CEO and co-founder, Livewire

  • CEO/COO Misfit Gaming

  • BDM and Esports Lead, AFL Adelaide Crows

Michael Cam-Phung

VC and Capital Advisor

  • Chief Strategy Officer, SEISA

  • Director, INDOCHINO

  • Principal, Highland Consumer Partners

OFFICIAL CLOUD PARTNER

Tencent Cloud International

Tencent Cloud, one of the world's leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries.

Through its extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT and network security.

Its constant mission is to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel and transportation.

Website

INTEGRITY PARTNERS

Asian Chess Federation Logo
Asian Chess Federation

The Asian Chess Federation, commonly known by the acronym ACF, is the international governing body of chess across the Asian Continent. Its membership comprises of 52 national associations across Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.

Website
Arab Esports Federation

Founded in 2017 to emulate the Arab Olympic Federation, the Arab Esport Federation consists of 18 countries across the Middle East and Gulf countries.

Website
ESIC Esport integrity commission Logo
Integrity Partner 

ESIC provides oversight of Checkmate Integrity and Fairplay Policy in conjunction with the Asian Chess Federation.

The Mission of ESIC is to be the recognised guardian of the integrity of esports and to take responsibility for disruption, prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of cheating, including, but not limited to, match manipulation and doping.

ESIC exists to unite the industry under the shared values and visions essential to fight against corruption in any form. These values form the basis of the ESIC Program of Integrity measures.

Website

COMMERCIAL PARTNERS

Agency and Brand Representation

Livewrire represents Checkmates online and broadcast assets to Agencies and Brands. Livewire is a global gaming marketing & gametech company that creates integrated gaming marketing strategies, using their experience with gaming publishers, talent, digital platforms and emerging technology to design campaigns and deliver solutions that add value. As the leading gaming & esports ecosystem expert and trusted partner to brands, Livewire helps with entry and strategy across web2/web3 in gaming marketing, delivering evergreen solutions where data informs content, improving performance and engagement.

Website
VADR Logo
Executive Production 

VADR is an executive production firm that produces and promotes new media, sports and entertainment. VADR has been at the forefront of developing events and content for free-to-air, cable, pay-per-view, OTT and online platforms since 2005.

Our journey in esports began in 2015 when we launched LPL and subsequently grew it into Australia and New Zealand’s largest linear and online esports broadcaster and tournament platform. We are proud to have promoted and managed projects with our partners and clients in Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait , New Zealand, Oman and the United States.

Website