Kaspersky Lab to Protect and Support FIDE and the World Chess Championship

Partnership includes cybersecurity protection of several national chess federations, in support of sport combining human excellence, mathematical accuracy and computer analysis

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.

About FIDE
Founded in Paris on 20 July 1924, the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs, known as FIDE from its French acronym) was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an International Sports Federation in 1999. With 188 member federations, FIDE is among the biggest sports organizations in the world, very proud of over forty official championships for youngsters, men, women and seniors. Chess is an affiliate member, or fully recognized by, National Olympic Committees in 117 countries, and chess as a sport is recognized in 107 countries. Learn more at www.fide.com.

About World Chess
Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.worldchess.com.

About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

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Media Contact:
Jessica Bettencourt
781.503.7851
Jessica.Bettencourt@kaspersky.com