BETBY Powers MOVE Cup with €300k Prize Fund

BETBY is now the powering sponsor of the MOVE Cup, a new rapid-play chess tournament scheduled for Barcelona on 19-20 January 2027. The Malta-based sportsbook provider confirmed the deal this morning. There's a €300,000 prize fund on the table, and another €300,000 goes to the MOVE Foundation.

That foundation is a non-profit. It backs chess development and talent programmes, plus research into chess and mental health. Magnus Carlsen is the first confirmed player. Seven more names are due to be announced, and organisers expect further details in the coming months.

This isn't a sudden move from BETBY. Chess already sits in its Betby.Games portfolio, and Carlsen has been a brand ambassador since 2024. In January the company ran a chess event at ICE Barcelona featuring Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and streamer Levy Rozman (GothamChess). A charity activation is also scheduled for 13 January at the BETBY stand on the ICE show floor, bringing together players, donors and partners.

Leonid Pertsovskiy, CEO and co-founder, explained the thinking: "After the successful chess event during ICE Barcelona 2026, we wanted to bring the world's best players back to this city for something bigger and more ambitious. The MOVE Cup is that step."

Pertsovskiy also framed the game in terms of temperament. "Chess is a game of clear thinking, analysis, patience and resilience," he said. The ambition, he added, is for the MOVE Cup to become a regular fixture on the global chess calendar.

BETBY hasn't made any secret of why it likes the sport. Kirill Nekrasov, head of sportsbook product, said in December that the world has never been more engaged with chess, pointing to Chess.com's 200 million-plus members and the more than 20 million games played there. Leadership has also watched the pull of chess streamers closely.

Carlsen is the only player confirmed so far. The remaining seven names will follow in the months ahead, along with the rest of the tournament format.