Archive · 18 Aug 2026

Pique's chess investment signals franchise future for Global Chess League

Pique's chess investment signals franchise future for Global Chess League

Chess is a board game played with little pieces on a checkered board.

For a long time, chess players competed one against another in tournaments.

Now, some people want chess to be more like big team sports such as football or cricket.

A man named Gerard Pique, who used to play football for Barcelona, has put money into a chess team.

His team is called American Gambits, and it plays in a league called the Global Chess League.

This league has six franchises, just like many big sports leagues have franchises.

Pique joins an Indian cricketer named Ravichandran Ashwin, who already owns part of the team.

The next season of the league will happen in Bengaluru, India, in September 2026.

Pique hopes that chess can become a fun sport that many fans follow, not just one watched by grandmasters.

Sources