{"id":15060,"date":"2026-04-13T09:56:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/?p=15060"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:49:28","slug":"norway-chess-raises-10-million-cross-country-skiing-star-klaebo-joins-as-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/2026\/04\/13\/norway-chess-raises-10-million-cross-country-skiing-star-klaebo-joins-as-investor\/","title":{"rendered":"Norway Chess raises $10 million \u2013 cross-country skiing star Kl\u00e6bo joins as investor"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE \/ ANNOUNCEMENT<\/span>
\nOslo, Norway – 13 April 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Norway Chess has completed a $10 million share issue. Johannes H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo, the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, is investing alongside a number of prominent business figures to support the launch of the Total Chess World Championship Tour.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was recently announced that Erling Haaland has become an investor in Norway Chess AS. The company has now raised an additional $10 million from a number of high-profile investors, with Arctic Securities acting as financial adviser and placement agent for the capital raise. The proceeds will help develop Total Chess, a new World Championship tour designed to make chess more accessible and engaging for audiences. The transaction values Norway Chess at $35 million. One of the new investors is cross-country skiing star Johannes H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo, who won six gold medals at the Winter Olympics in February.<\/span><\/p>\n

“For me, chess is an exciting long-term investment. I strongly believe in the concept, and I see that, together with many others, I can help create value in a broad and highly international sport”, said Kl\u00e6bo.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Johannes H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo<\/strong>\u00a0(Photo: Ola H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo)<\/span><\/p>\n

The share issue was carried out as a so-called club deal, where the company sought a group of investors with long-term capital and expertise to support Norway Chess\u2019 ambitious growth strategy. The three largest subscribers in the offering were Ugland Sandvik AS, Sanden AS and Auctus AS. This shareholder group will also receive two seats on the board of Norway Chess and will play an active role in the company\u2019s further development. They are joined by a number of notable figures from the business and sports worlds. Grunde Eriksen, Carl Erik Krefting, Bj\u00f8rn Maaseide, Petter Bakken and former cycling professional Thor Hushovd are also joining Norway Chess as new shareholders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From left: <\/strong>Knut Ugland, Kjell Madland and Hans \u00d8ivind Nordvik<\/span><\/p>\n

The Total Chess World Championship Tour \u2013 the new world championship \u2013 has been <\/span>approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for a period of at least 16 years. A <\/span>pilot tournament is scheduled for 10-24 November 2026, followed by a full championship <\/span>season in 2027. Each season will consist of four tournaments, with a total annual prize fund <\/span>of at least $2.7 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kjell Madland, founder and CEO of Norway Chess and Total Chess, is highly pleased with the <\/span>new investors and the experience they bring as the company develops a new and audience-friendly <\/span>tournament format.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Total Chess Tour can be compared to the Formula 1 circuit, where selected <\/span>global cities will host their own tournaments, each becoming a major event in itself. <\/span>At the end, an overall winner will be crowned across the different chess disciplines. <\/span>This will be a spectator-friendly global competition featuring the biggest names and <\/span>some of the largest prize pools in chess, <\/span><\/em>said Madland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Formula 1 became enormously popular when Netflix helped audiences get to know <\/span>the personalities in motorsport. We believe chess also has enormous potential, and <\/span>we are currently negotiating broadcasting rights for the new tour. We are talking <\/span>about figures never before seen when it comes to chess media rights, <\/span><\/em>said Madland.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are around 800 million chess players worldwide, and more than 250 million are <\/span>registered on Chess.com. It is time for chess to be presented the way it deserves. At <\/span>the highest level, there are personalities, rivalries and drama that create magical <\/span>moments at the board. Now we are going to showcase those moments in a way they <\/span>have never been shown before.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From left: <\/strong>Hans \u00d8ivind Nordvik, Kjell Madland and Knut Ugland<\/span><\/p>\n

Investor Hans \u00d8ivind Nordvik of Auctus has high expectations for the initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a unique opportunity to help modernise the way chess is experienced, distributed and commercialised, connecting elite championship competition with fans, media and commercial partners around the world.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Knut Ugland is also pleased to be part of the new investor group.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is an exciting group of investors coming together. These are people with strong values, a long-term mindset and big ambitions. The Total Chess Tour has enormous potential, and I look forward to being part of it.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From left: <\/strong>Knut Ugland, Kjell Madland and Hans \u00d8ivind Nordvik<\/span><\/p>\n

Another investor with experience from both sport and business is Bj\u00f8rn Maaseide.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Chess has enormous commercial potential. I am not a chess player myself, but I have been involved in developing and commercialising sports such as beach volleyball and padel. As both an athlete and an investor, I have sat on both sides of the table, and I believe that is valuable experience when it comes to bringing chess to an even wider audience”, <\/em>says Maaseide.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are the new investors in Norway Chess AS:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ugland Sandvik AS (Knut Ugland & Svein Sandvik)<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanden AS (Jan Petter Collier and family)<\/span><\/p>\n

Auctus AS (Hans \u00d8ivind Nordvik and family)<\/span><\/p>\n

Altitude Capital (Grunde Eriksen)<\/span><\/p>\n

Carucel Finance (Carl Erik Krefting and family)<\/span><\/p>\n

Bj\u00f8rn Maaseide<\/span><\/p>\n

Johannes H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo<\/span><\/p>\n

Thor Hushovd<\/span><\/p>\n

Petter Bakken<\/span><\/p>\n

About Norway Chess and the Total Chess World Championship Tour<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Total Chess World Championship Tour is a groundbreaking tournament format approved by FIDE, developed and owned by Norway Chess. The tour brings together the world\u2019s best players across three disciplines \u2013 Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz \u2013 to crown the FIDE World Combined Champion, the most complete and versatile chess player in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast Classic is an innovation within classical chess, featuring shorter time controls \u2013 down to 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move \u2013 while still awarding classical rating.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tour will feature a total annual prize fund of at least $2.7 million, including at least $750,000 for each of the first three tournaments and USD 450,000 for the final (with four players), in addition to performance bonuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Total Chess World Championship Tour will be staged in four different host cities and will be officially launched in the first quarter of 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For Norway Chess and Total Chess:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Kjell Madland<\/span><\/p>\n

+47 911 67 695<\/span><\/p>\n

kjell@norwaychess.com<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Markovski<\/span><\/p>\n

+47 920 41 055<\/span><\/p>\n

pm@stormcom.no<\/span><\/p>\n

High-resolution press images can be downloaded here: <\/strong><\/span>https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1KxZQdaTuBpkf2BtV0YXYkyN4IbcYmjY7<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/strong> Kristianne Mar\u00f8y \/ Norway Chess<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE \/ ANNOUNCEMENT Oslo, Norway – 13 April 2026 Norway Chess has completed a $10 million share issue. Johannes H\u00f8sflot Kl\u00e6bo, the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, is investing alongside a number of prominent business figures to support the launch of the Total Chess World Championship Tour. It was recently announced that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":15061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15060"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15080,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15060\/revisions\/15080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}