Queen's Gambit Boosts Chess.com
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A discussion about how Chess.com grew significantly, particularly after the Netflix show Queen's Gambit.
Chess.com has grown into a massive platform with 200 employees and approximately 50 million registered users. The site gets around 200 million monthly unique visitors, with most traffic coming directly to the site. The platform saw dramatic growth after the Netflix show Queen's Gambit, with huge spikes in searches for chess, chess boards, and how to get better at chess.
They make money through multiple revenue streams:
- Coaching services where users can pay to meet with chess coaches
- Premium memberships that offer enhanced features like better matchmaking and stat tracking
- Educational content and tutorials
The business is estimated to be worth around a quarter of a billion dollars, with rumors of a potential sale. What makes it particularly interesting is that it's built on a classic game where nobody owns the IP, allowing them to build a valuable business around a universally recognized game.
Shaan Puri
Host of MFM
Shaan Puri is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Milk Road. He previously worked at Twitch as a Senior Director of Product, Mobile Gaming, and Emerging Markets. He also attended Duke University.