Unibet becomes first official betting partner of World Chess

Unibet has become the first official betting partner of the World Chess Championship.

Chess fans will be able to make quick and easy bets on a range of categories using Kindred Group’s Unibet brand during the FIDE World Chess Championship Match in London in November.

World Chess and Unibet will also produce digital content for the tournament to reach 600 million chess enthusiasts around the world.

As part of the partnership, Unibet will receive a full suite of exclusive rights, including digital advertising and the use of exclusive photo and video content.

World Chess CEO, Ilya Merenzon, said: “World Chess is proud to announce this exclusive partnership with Unibet.

“We’re enabling fans to be even closer to the action in this tantalising match. The tournament is the highlight of the chess calendar and millions of people around the world will follow every move.”

The 2018 tournament sees defending champion Magnus Carlsen face American challenger Fabiano Caruana, with Carlsen the favourite at odds of 3/10 with Unibet.

Richard Østrøm, country manager for Unibet Norway, said: “Since Magnus Carlsen became world champion, we have seen a large and growing interest in betting on big chess tournaments.

“As the leading online bookmaker in Europe, we want to be a part of and contribute to big sporting events, and we are very happy to be the preferred betting partner for World Chess both before and during the World Championship.

“We believe that this year’s World Championship showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London will establish chess as a permanent fixture in betting,” he added.