Elite Chess League makes a game that a billion people know into an esport

Meir Shachar figures a billion people know how to play chess. That’s why he thinks an online version of the game will be the perfect esport. That’s why he has started the Elite Chess League.

While the idea may seem pretty old, Shachar hopes to spice it up by setting up tournaments where players can play for money. Since chess is legally defined as a game of skill, playing it for money isn’t considered gambling, according to most legal rulings.

The Elite Chess League (ECL) is about to begin its beta test in October. It will include online peer-to-peer tournaments and offline events.

Above: Elite Chess League is turning chess into an esport.

Image Credit: ECL

“It’s the biggest tech revolution and evolution of chess in 1,500 years,” Shachar said in an interview with GamesBeat at the Casual Connect game conference in August. “When you add real-money [gambling], it’s a game changer.”

The ECL games will be both secure, honest, and playable on both the Web and mobile platforms, Shachar said. Streams of games and global sponsors will be present.

Online chess matches, particularly those that have asynchronous play, are subject to cheating. But ECL’s blitz matches will take place in two to three minutes. Moves are limited to a few seconds. One of the reasons for this setup is that makes it even harder to cheat, Shachar said.

“We took away the cheating by introducing variances and time limits,” he said. “If you don’t move fast enough, you lose the game. It’s almost like a boxing bout.”

The online game has some funny twists. You can play a card that gives you an indestructible pawn. And the game board may randomly swap so that you have to continue playing a game from your opponent’s side and vice versa.

Shachar tested these features in a physical chess play test in New York city, and he said it was a validation of the game design.

“What was meant to be a scientific field-game lab turned into a spontaneous spectacle drawing on a crowd that lined up to play,” Shachar said.

ECL is looking to raise money, develop strategic alliances, and find other partners for its league. Shachar, who previously ran business development for a European online gambling company, founded the company. He had the concept a couple of years ago, but he began working full-time on it this year, thanks to seed funding from friends and family. A few dozen people are contributing their time to the project, Shachar said. The alpha test began late last year.

“We’re going to have official sponsors of the league, and that will make it more interesting as an esport,” he said. “We really want to polish the product.”

After the beta test, the company hopes to raise a $500,000 round and launch the game formally early next year.