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EXCLUSIVE: Is BETBY Preparing Its Biggest Chess Activation Yet for ICE Barcelona 2027?

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Altay Celikkaya

Content Manager

Updated: 16/10/26

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A new elite chess tournament set to take place alongside ICE Barcelona 2027 has raised speculation that BETBY could be preparing another major chess activation.

Ace Alliance has learned that a new elite chess tournament, named the MOVE Cup, is set to take place in Barcelona from 18 to 20 January 2027, coinciding with ICE Barcelona, with key figures from BETBY involved in the initiative.

Visitors fill the exhibition hall at ICE Barcelona as BETBY attracts widespread attention.

A media invitation received by Ace Alliance confirms that the tournament will be officially presented on 20 October in Barcelona, with chess world number one Magnus Carlsen and BETBY CEO and co-founder Leonid Pertsovskiy among those attending the press conference.

According to the invitation, the MOVE Cup aims to become a regular fixture on the international chess calendar, bringing together elite grandmasters in a spectator-friendly format and offering a substantial prize fund. The competition will also mark the first major initiative of the MOVE Foundation, established to support chess development, young talent and research into chess and mental health.

While the full lineup of players, tournament format and prize fund have yet to be disclosed, the timing and BETBY’s apparent involvement raise an intriguing possibility: could the sportsbook supplier be preparing its most ambitious chess activation yet for ICE Barcelona?

Over the past two editions of the exhibition, BETBY has made chess a central part of its brand presence, bringing some of the game’s biggest names to one of the iGaming industry’s most important gatherings.

Its collaboration with Magnus Carlsen, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time and BETBY’s global brand ambassador, has already produced several standout moments in Barcelona. At the most recent edition, the company took its chess ambitions even further, bringing together Carlsen, world number two Hikaru Nakamura and GothamChess, the world’s largest chess content creator, with more than 8 million YouTube subscribers.

The activation attracted huge crowds to BETBY’s stand, reinforcing the supplier’s ability to connect the worlds of chess, entertainment and iGaming through experiences that go beyond traditional trade show activations.

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Could ICE Barcelona 2027 Be Set For Its Biggest Chess Spectacle Yet?

Unlike BETBY’s previous chess appearances at ICE, which centred around its exhibition stand, the MOVE Cup is being positioned as a standalone international competition, with ambitions to become a recurring highlight on the global chess calendar.

Whether BETBY is planning to integrate the tournament into its ICE Barcelona presence, develop complementary activations around the competition, or take its involvement in chess in an entirely new direction remains to be seen.

Since appointing Carlsen as its global brand ambassador in 2024, BETBY has steadily strengthened its association with chess, first through its “Make Your Move” campaign and subsequently with “Leaders Choose Leaders”, the second phase of its global collaboration.

What began as a high-profile ambassador partnership has since evolved into a broader engagement with the chess community, bringing elite players, digital creators and international audiences closer to the BETBY brand.

With the MOVE Cup now on the horizon, BETBY could be preparing to take that strategy to another level, potentially transforming one of ICE Barcelona’s most recognisable brand activations into something with a much broader international reach.

Further details about the competition, its participants and the organisations behind it are expected to be revealed in Barcelona on 20 October.