.chess

Is .chess a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?

Culture
applicants
  • World ChessAnnounced
on the record since Sep 1, 2026 · updated Sep 1, 2026
AI score
38/ 100
Usable but limited

A niche TLD for chess clubs, national and regional federations, coaches, tournament organizers, streamers, and chess-content sites wanting an on-the-nose identity.

assessed by claude-fable-5 · Sep 1, 2026
AI score 38 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.
who it’s for

chess clubs, national and regional federations, coaches, tournament organizers, streamers, and chess-content sites wanting an on-the-nose identity

CultureCommerceBrand
applicants
1 on file
World ChessAnnounced
Sep 1, 2026

Community application for .chess, announced jointly with FIDE on World Chess's own site. A community application carries community-priority evaluation rights in contention. FIDE is institutional sponsor; World Chess funds and operates; IT.com Domains is the named back end.

closest 2012 bets
3 of 1,408

The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.

.pokerstrong parallel
delegated 2014 · live

Same bet: a single named game (not a sport category) whose registry sells identity to clubs, tournaments, coaches, media and players who already self-describe by the game's name, with the whole business resting on one hobbyist vertical being deep enough to sustain a namespace.

4 applicants contested it · scored 45* in 2012 · run by Afilias Domains No. 5 Limited

.rugbystrong parallel
delegated 2017 · live

Same bet: one named discipline with a global governing body and a club/federation pyramid, where the registry is betting that organized play plus a devoted fan base will put its primary identity on the sport's own word rather than a .com.

3 applicants contested it · scored 30* in 2012 · run by World Rugby Strategic Developments Limited

.tennismoderate
delegated 2015 · live

Same shape of bet — a single named participatory sport monetized through clubs, coaches, tournaments and gear retail — but the commercial layer around it is far broader than a mind game's, so the buyer mix leans more commerce and less community.

4 applicants contested it · scored 35* in 2012 · run by Cotton Bloom, LLC

* A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year. Different scale from this page’s score — the two are not comparable.

history
  1. World Chess · first recordedSep 1, 2026
    World Chess
news & sources
AnnouncementChess is getting its own home on the internet: FIDE and World Chess apply for the .chess domain extension
Sep 1, 2026
The application for the game's official top-level domain has been submitted to ICANN — the first chance in over a decade to create one.
World Chess
Considering a name on .chess?Appraise a name on this TLD →

This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.