Woburn, MA – February 6, 2017 –Kaspersky Lab today announced a two-year partnership with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and World Chess. The partnership will include complex cybersecurity protection of FIDE headquarters, several national chess federations, competitors in the World Chess Championship 2017-18 and the infrastructure of the tournament, along with cybersecurity training for players.

Georgious Makropoulos, deputy president of FIDE, said about the partnership: “I am delighted that the world’s top players will have the opportunity to benefit from this partnership with one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies. And it is immensely gratifying to see another global brand sponsor our sport.”

Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, added: “I’m very proud that we’re now a partner of the World Chess Championship. The ultimate game of strategy, chess involves lots of excitement and tension too. The top chess tournaments are all about human brainpower – aided today by computer technologies. Some games at the very top level are simply among the top human achievements – real masterpieces. And we’re happy to become a part of this.”

The FIDE World Chess Championship is a two-year series of six events taking place around the world that feature the world’s top grandmasters, culminating in a bi-annual World Chess Championship Match that determines the world champion – one of the most prestigious titles in the world of sports. The 2017-18 Championship tour will start in February in Sharjah, UAE, and will include four Grand Prix Tournaments, the Candidates Tournament and the World Chess Championship Match in November 2018. Kaspersky Lab branding will be visible on all player tables during the World Chess Championship.

Ilya Merenzon, chief executive of World Chess, said: “Nowadays chess lives and breathes as an IT-related sport, played by hundreds of millions of people around the world. This makes Kaspersky Lab a natural partner of the game as it continues to gain in popularity.”

Kaspersky Lab also supports several chess players. Since 2016, the company has sponsored chess grandmaster and world vice champion Sergey Karjakin. Since 2012, it has partnered with a young candidate master Andrey Tsvetkov, as well as grandmaster and the world junior chess champion Mikhail Antipov. Within these partnerships, Kaspersky Lab provides information security, along with support in arranging and participating in sporting tournaments.

Find more information about Kaspersky Lab’s chess activities at chess.kaspersky.com.