Salesforce has forged a landmark multi-year partnership with FIDE, becoming the title sponsor for the prestigious World Chess Championships and integrating its AI solutions to revolutionise FIDE’s operations, player rankings and fan engagement.
Key Points
- Salesforce has become the title sponsor for the FIDE World Chess Championship matches in 2026, 2028 and the Women’s World Championship in 2027.
- The partnership designates Salesforce as FIDE’s official AI partner, integrating its Agentforce 360 and Slack platforms into FIDE’s operations.
- Salesforce’s AI solutions will enhance fan engagement through a Chess Concierge Agent and streamline internal FIDE operations, including ‘Move of the Day’ analysis.
- The FIDE ELO Player Rating Agent will provide real-time access to player information and automate rating data pipelines across 204 federations.
The World Championship match between reigning champion D Gukesh and Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov will carry the Salesforce name, with the technology major becoming the title sponsor of the FIDE World Championship matches for 2026 and 2028.
The World Championship match is scheduled from November 25 to December 15 in Geneva.
Salesforce, a major in the AI Customer Relationship Management (CRM) segment, has entered into a landmark multi-year partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE), becoming its official AI partner for the World Chess Championship and FIDE Rankings.
New Branding And Sponsorship Details
Under the partnership, the 2026 and 2028 World Championship matches and the 2027 Women’s World Championship match will be branded the Salesforce FIDE World Chess Championships, while the global rating list will be called the Salesforce FIDE Rankings, FIDE said.
For Gukesh, the partnership comes as he prepares to defend his World title against Sindarov the challenger. The match will thus be the first FIDE World Championship to carry the name of a major technology company as part of the new partnership.
‘This is truly a landmark agreement. This partnership equips FIDE with enterprise-grade CRM and fan engagement tools from the world’s leading company to transform how we manage relationships with federations, players and audiences,’ FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky.
‘This agreement places chess at the heart of technological innovation,’ FIDE Interim President Viswanathan Anand said. ‘Salesforce’s title sponsorship of the open and women’s cycles, plus our ranking system, shows genuine commitment. This will inspire a new generation and give our premier events the stage they deserve.’
AI Integration Into Chess Ecosystem
Salesforce will deploy its Agentforce 360, its portfolio of AI solutions, to help FIDE bring its operations, player rankings and fan engagement onto a single platform.
The partnership will also involve Slack, Salesforce’s workplace communication platform, to connect FIDE’s global teams and streamline workflows.
FIDE, the governing body of chess since 1924, currently has 204 national member federations, 1.5 million rated players and tens of thousands of rated events every year across 195 countries.
The technology company says Agentforce 360 will help FIDE find new ways of connecting with players, federations and fans.
Fans will have access to a Chess Concierge Agent, powered by Agentforce 360, which will answer questions relating to ratings, rules and live tournament status for FIDE’s 1.2 million monthly visitors in any language.
Internally, the technology will also be used for FIDE operations. One of the applications will be Move of the Day, where AI will analyse moves from elite competitions and send them through Slack to a FIDE expert panel for final selection.
Slack will also connect FIDE’s federations and commissions around the world and give officials visibility into ratings and operations.
FIDE Rankings Get An AI Makeover
FIDE’s rating system, which is the universally recognised measure of a chess player’s strength, will be another major area of the partnership.
The FIDE ELO Player Rating Agent will provide conversational access to information on players, including their historical rating trends, current standings, results and predictions.
The system will also automate rating data pipelines across FIDE’s 204 federations, replacing manual batch processes with near real-time ratings.
Salesforce’s Data 360 will bring together FIDE’s player database of active online chess players and more than 60,000 annual event streams, providing consolidated real-time fan and player profiles.
Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com
