Chess.com Partners With World Leader In Gaming Chair Design Secretlab

Palo Alto, Calif., September 3, 2020—Chess.com is pleased to announce a partnership with Secretlab, the world leader in gaming chair design and manufacturing. This partnership combines Secretlab's expertise in designing quality esports products with Chess.com's world-renowned brand and extensive streamer program.

"Much like gaming, chess has taught me a lot — how to anticipate my opponent's moves and counter them strategically. It is an extremely demanding mental sport but these skills have laid a strong foundation for me in running a business," said Ian Ang, co-founder and CEO of Secretlab. “Chess and gaming have much in common so it's no surprise to see chess enjoying an online resurgence on Twitch and with esports fans. As the choice of the world’s biggest esports tournaments, athletes and streamers, we’re happy to be able to outfit the world’s best chess players with our performance-oriented seats and equip them with the precise ergonomic support they need to take their game to the next level.”

The partnership will see Secretlab become the first chair manufacturer to enter the online chess space on Chess.com's marquee broadcasts and in its streamer program which now boasts over 200 streamers on Twitch, making it the largest program of its kind on the platform. In addition to being the world's largest chess site with over 42 million registered members, Chess.com is the world's third most popular gaming website, with an average of more than 9 million monthly active users, and more than 1.2 million new members added each month. In addition to hosting high stakes tournaments, the platform partners with the top chess personalities on Twitch such as GM Hikaru Nakamura (twitch.tv/gmhikaru) and WFM Alexandra Botez (twitch.tv/botezlive). With events like PogChamps, as well as the support of Chess.com's streamer network, over 756 million minutes of chess content was watched last June, an all-time best for the category on Twitch.

“Secretlab is one of the giants of esports whose vision for online chess aligns with our own,” said Nick Barton, Director of Business Development at Chess.com. "We're pleased to roll out an extensive and comprehensive partnership across our broadcasts and streamer program and are looking forward to more top-tier brands entering the space over the coming months." This year, Chess.com is actively working to make chess an established esport with an eye on growing international appetite for the game. By associating the game with the world's leading esports brands, chess becomes accessible to new audiences and various online personalities.

As the industry leader, Secretlab's brand is recognizable to esports fans and players around the world. The gaming chair company has active partnerships with LCS, Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and many other top esports leagues and organizations.

Per company policy, financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

About Secretlab:
Secretlab was established in 2014 to create the pinnacle of gaming seats—each extensively designed and engineered with only materials of the highest grade to ensure absolute comfort and unparalleled support. Today, Secretlab is the global choice of gaming seats for the world’s premier gaming tournaments, top esports professionals and over 500,000 satisfied users from more than 60 countries worldwide, alongside rave reviews from international media publications. And we’re only getting started.

To learn more about us, visit www.secretlab.co, or follow Secretlab on our Facebook,
Twitter (@secretlabchairs), and Instagram (@Secretlab) pages.

About Chess.com:
Chess.com is the world’s largest chess site, with a community of more than 42 million members from around the world playing millions of games every day. Launched in 2007, Chess.com is the leader in chess news, lessons, events, and live entertainment. Visit Chess.com to play, learn, and connect with chess—the world’s most popular game.

Contact:

Secretlab:
Sylvia Lim
Global Communications Associate
Sylvia.Lim@Secretlab.sg

Chess.com:
Nick Barton
Director of Business Development
Nick@chess.com