Only a few of the millions of chess players worldwide get to achieve the highest chess titles in the world.
Still, among the average chess players and even the standout titled players, a number have combined the 64 squares with the digital world.
From playing websites such as Chess.com and Lichess.org, to new competitors like Endgame.ai, these websites all seek to cater to the needs of chess players.
In this article, we will look at chess players who own some of the biggest chess websites in the world.
1. Erik Allebest – Chess.com
Chess.com is undeniably the largest online chess website in the world. It is hard to find a chess player who is not familiar with the name.
Co-founded by two college friends, Erik Allebest and Jay Severson, Chess.com began in 2005.
The domain name itself had been registered as far back as 1995, but the founders bought it and rebuilt it into an online chess portal.
When the website relaunched in 2007, they created…
“a place where people can play, learn, and share their love for the game.”
Since its founding, Chess.com has grown into the largest chess platform, offering top features such as live play, computer analysis, lessons, variants, puzzles, and more.
Famously, Allebest supported and bootstrapped the company with his own personal savings after failing to secure external funding.
His vision was always to build a community-first chess site, not just a product.
2. Sagar Shah – ChessBase India
Sagar Shah, along with his wife, Amrutal Mokal, founded ChessBase India in late 2015, aiming to build a robust chess ecosystem in India.
Shah has often said that they started because they…
“wanted to create an ecosystem in the country where a chess player can thrive”.
The couple, while on a trip to Germany in 2014, visited the headquarters of ChessBase GmbH in Hamburg, and that experience planted the seed for ChessBaseIndia.
One of their earliest goals was to make ChessBase software more affordable in India.
The couple struck a deal so that Indian users could buy it at a significantly reduced price.
Over time, ChessBase grew to become one of the leading media outlets for chess, producing daily news, tournament coverage, articles, video content, and organizing events.
3. Levy Rozman – Chessly
Popularly known as GothamChess, Levy Rozman is a renowned international master, commentator, and content creator.
Apart from being the most followed chess creator on YouTube, he also runs Chessly.
Chessly is simply a platform built to teach chess in a structured and beginner-friendly way.
Chessly is built out of a passion for making chess education accessible. Levy emphasizes his focus on helping beginners get better…
“without being overwhelmed by theory or jargon” with Chessly.
His approach reflects his long experience teaching chess via YouTube and Twitch, turning that into a more formal learning experience.
4. Magnus Carlsen – Take Take Take
In April 2023, Magnus Carlsen co-founded an app called Take Take Take, aiming to “reimagine chess from the inside out”.
Their vision is to transform chess into a global, emotionally engaging sport, and not just a game.
The app raised strong financial backing from top investors like Coatue, Peter Thiel, Jim Breyer, and others, totalling about US $9 million in funding.
In late 2024, Take Take Take partnered with Chess.com during the Champion Chess Tour Finals, showing their growth as a website.
5. Garry Kasparov – KasparovChess
KasparovChess.com was launched as a partnership with Vinvendi in 2021.
While Garry Kasparov is not the technical founder, his name and legacy are deeply embedded, and his support role in the website, clear.
The platform offers games, lessons, documentaries, and a masterclass with Kasparov himself.
Talking about his support for the platform, Kasparov said it’s not just about
“teaching the game…but also about the culture of chess, its survival and its seemingly timeless power.”
The website is part of his broader mission through the Kasparov Chess Foundation, where he continues to champion chess in education and cognitive development.
6. Thibault Duplessis – Lichess
Lichess was founded in 2010 by French programmer Thibault Duplessis.
The website started as an open-source project, running the website with volunteers.
The core philosophy is straightforward: provide a free, ad-free, and open chess experience for everyone.
With top-of-the-line features like live chess, puzzles, blogs, tournaments, forums etc.
Lichess remains non-profit till today, completely funded by donations. There are no paywalls, and all the features are freely accessible.
7. Hans Niemann – Endgame.ai
Founded by Hans Niemann, he built the project as more than “just another chess site”, calling it “a long-term vision for how chess can evolve”.
Hans has stated that they “raised a lot of money from top venture capitalists” and said he has a full-time team working on the project.
With several events under its belt, Endgame.ai continues to grow. The play zone (where people play on Endgame.ai is quick, and as stated by Hans, is a big strength.
Most of the platform’s branding is a narrative of fighting against the “chess establishment” (Sometimes called the “chess mafia” by Niemann).
8. Anish Giri – ChessMonitor
Anish Giri after his impressive Grand Swiss victory, announced his acquisition of ChessMonitor in October 2025 and has since been pushing the features and publicity to chess players.
ChessMonitor is an analytics and preparation tool for chess players. The website is built for tracking games, statistics, and opening performances.
On the website, you can link your chess.com and Lichess.org accounts to pull up your games and data.
Chessmonitor’s long-term goal is to become “the best application for chess preparations and analysis”.
And with Giri’s involvement, they can achieve the vision with an elite level of insight.
9. David Cordover – Tornelo
Founded in 2008 by former Australian Junior Chess Champion, David Cordover.
Tornelo initially aims to simplify the logistics of organising tournaments in North Australia and rating them.
What began as a weekly rating and tournament management system now includes an online game server and allows hosting of arbiter-led events.
With features like automated pairings and fair play measures, Tornelo is one of the fastest chess websites in today’s age.
10. Jesse Kraai – ChessDojo
ChessDojo is a training community and structured improvement platform for chess players launched in May 2022.
Offering training programs for beginners to 2500, the website has a host of features like:
- Task lists(games,tactics, opening, middle game)
- Opening guides, model games, and curated study materials
- Shared calendar for training and sparring
- A game editor and database to annotate and review games.
With a philosophy that community and accountability are crucial to growth, emphasis is placed on learning.
The website spotlights a structured plan over a random study.
The website has since partnered with the U.S Chess School, and the Dojo 3.0 version of their training platform was released in May 2024.
Conclusion
These Chess players and website owners all come from different backgrounds and different parts of the world.
And yet, he is shaping chess and technology with their varied vision.
Essentially, they all share the same core: to make chess more accessible, more vibrant, and more popular in the community.
We can only hope that chess continues to grow and that more chess websites catering to the different needs of chess players emerge.
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