The First Phase of Anichess Goes Live In Partnership With Magnus Carlsen & Chess.com

Animoca Brands has announced the launch of the first phase of free-to-play spell-based chess strategy game, Anichess, in partnership with 5-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and the most popular website for playing chess, Chess.com.

First Phase Details

The first phase, titled as the Mini Game in the official tweet, gives players an opportunity to enjoy a single-player experience on both web and mobile browsers. Specifically, this means you can enjoy PvE gameplay that consists of daily puzzles, bonus puzzles, missions, gambit, rewards, and a special prize pool for players with a Moca ID.

Magnus Carlsen had the following to say regarding the launch of this phase:

“I am excited that Anichess is bringing innovation to chess with spells and strategy gaming elements that provide a refreshing chess experience.” 

Anichess combines the chess we all know with new magic spell mechanics that add another level of strategic depth while attempting to make chess more accessible to a wider audience, including fans of strategy games who maybe aren’t that into traditional chess. An example of what these new mechanics look like can be seen when trying to solve daily puzzles, where you might need to turn a non-royal piece into a knight in order to successfully complete the puzzle. By solving puzzles, you get to earn Orbs of Power, which are assets that provide in-game utility that includes unlocking new challenge puzzles featuring better rewards.

Animoca Brands co-founder and executive chairman, Yat Siu, added the following in the official announcement:

“Anichess revolutionizes the classic royal game by fusing traditional strategy and gameplay with the innovative elements of spellcasting, a fantasy storyline, and Web3 functionality. We are thrilled to partner with Chess.com and to have Magnus Carlsen and other impressive chess talent with us as we pioneer this new dimension of chess.”

When Is PvP Launching?

Players can expect to enjoy tactical PvP wizardry in the second phase, which is slated to launch sometime later in this same quarter, Q1 2024.