BERLIN, Oct. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Legacy Square Capital, one of the leading CIS investment firms, hosted the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and other famous chess players at the opening ceremony of the World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championship in Berlin this month. The company used popularity of chess in Russia and other CIS countries as well as globally to introduce their approaches to doing business in those markets.
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Chess is gaining popularity around the world with estimated 600 million active players (comparable with number of active users of Facebook). In Russia, where over 70 percent of the population have played chess, it’s one of the top sports and a part of the school curriculum. Legacy Square Capital, a fund that focuses on Russian assets, considered it natural to associate with the popular sport to gain recognition in Russia. “Legacy Square employs the same strategies as those used by the greatest chess players,” says Vladimir Palikhata, Legacy Square Capital founder. “We believe that chess and business share the same DNA: intellect, strategy, and long-term planning. That’s why we’re excited about partnering with chess, and reaching out to the global audience of fans of this great sport,” adds Palikhata.
The World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championship in Berlin attracted the world’s top grandmasters including World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and ex-champions Viswanathan Anand (India), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and more. For the first time, the Championship was broadcasted live on TV, recognizing that the sport has strong TV potential.
“We’re thrilled to have Legacy Square Capital, one of the fastest-growing investment companies in Russian and CIS markets, as partner of World Chess,” says Ilya Merenzon, president of World Chess, the company that owns commercial rights for the World Chess Championship and staged the event. “We believe that chess has phenomenal audience: it’s huge, it’s smart and computer-savvy, and it’s loyal. And we are very happy to develop relationships with partners who are interested in this audience and share the sport’s values,” adds Merenzon.
In 2015 Legacy Square has directed over $250 mln to acquiring and developing assets in Russia. The company specifically targets toxic assets in Russian and Ukrainian markets.
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CONTACT: WorldChess [email protected] 917-475-6452 Dmitry Chitaya