Norway Chess raises $10 million

Norway Chess has completed a $10 million share issue. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, is investing alongside a number of prominent business figures to support the launch of the Total Chess World Championship Tour.

It was recently announced that Erling Haaland has become an investor in Norway Chess AS. The company has now raised an additional $10 million from a number of high-profile investors, with Arctic Securities acting as financial adviser and placement agent for the capital raise. The proceeds will help develop Total Chess, a new World Championship tour designed to make chess more accessible and engaging for audiences. The transaction values Norway Chess at $35 million.

One of the new investors is cross-country skiing star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who won six gold medals at the Winter Olympics in February.

“For me, chess is an exciting long-term investment. I strongly believe in the concept, and I see that, together with many others, I can help create value in a broad and highly international sport,” said Klæbo.

The share issue was carried out as a so-called club deal, where the company sought a group of investors with long-term capital and expertise to support Norway Chess’ ambitious growth strategy. The three largest subscribers in the offering were Ugland Sandvik AS, Sanden AS and Auctus AS. This shareholder group will also receive two seats on the board of Norway Chess and will play an active role in the company’s further development.

They are joined by a number of notable figures from the business and sports worlds. Grunde Eriksen, Carl Erik Krefting, Bjørn Maaseide, Petter Bakken and former cycling professional Thor Hushovd are also joining Norway Chess as new shareholders.

The Total Chess World Championship Tour – the new world championship – has been approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for a period of at least 16 years. A pilot tournament is scheduled for 10–24 November 2026, followed by a full championship season in 2027.

Each season will consist of four tournaments, with a total annual prize fund of at least $2.7 million.

Kjell Madland, founder and CEO of Norway Chess and Total Chess, is highly pleased with the new investors and the experience they bring as the company develops a new and audience-friendly tournament format.

The Total Chess Tour can be compared to the Formula 1 circuit, where selected global cities will host their own tournaments, each becoming a major event in itself. At the end, an overall winner will be crowned across the different chess disciplines.

This will be a spectator-friendly global competition featuring the biggest names and some of the largest prize pools in chess, said Madland.

Formula 1 became enormously popular when Netflix helped audiences get to know the personalities in motorsport. We believe chess also has enormous potential, and we are currently negotiating broadcasting rights for the new tour. We are talking about figures never before seen when it comes to chess media rights, said Madland.

There are around 800 million chess players worldwide, and more than 250 million are registered on Chess.com. It is time for chess to be presented the way it deserves. At the highest level, there are personalities, rivalries and drama that create magical moments at the board. Now we are going to showcase those moments in a way they have never been shown before.

Investor Hans Øivind Nordvik of Auctus has high expectations for the initiative.

“This is a unique opportunity to help modernise the way chess is experienced, distributed and commercialised, connecting elite championship competition with fans, media and commercial partners around the world.”

Knut Ugland is also pleased to be part of the new investor group.

“This is an exciting group of investors coming together. These are people with strong values, a long-term mindset and big ambitions. The Total Chess Tour has enormous potential, and I look forward to being part of it.”

Another investor with experience from both sport and business is Bjørn Maaseide.

“Chess has enormous commercial potential. I am not a chess player myself, but I have been involved in developing and commercialising sports such as beach volleyball and padel. As both an athlete and an investor, I have sat on both sides of the table, and I believe that is valuable experience when it comes to bringing chess to an even wider audience,” says Maaseide.

List of new investors in Norway Chess

Ugland Sandvik AS (Knut Ugland & Svein Sandvik)

Sanden AS (Jan Petter Collier and family)

Auctus AS (Hans Øivind Nordvik and family)

Altitude Capital (Grunde Eriksen)

Carucel Finance (Carl Erik Krefting and family)

Bjørn Maaseide

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo

Thor Hushovd

Petter Bakken