Chesscom Niemann Report: "To be clear, it is not our position that Hans should be limited or banned from OTB chess[...]there is nothing in our statistical investigation to raise any red flags regarding Hans’ OTB play and rise."

They generate zero dollars in revenue from OTB gameplay.

They would in respect to sponsoring and providing coverage for certain events though? I think their twitch viewership hit 100,000 during the WCC (YouTube was probably something similar too). Obviously it isn't a major and consistent revenue stream but I wouldn't say it is zero dollars either?

Translated from corporate english what they are saying is simply: We are not interested in doing OTB analysis, our methods are not designed for it and we are obviously not doing it for free, after all we are not FIDE and are not obligated to care about OTB integrity.

It'll be interesting to see how FIDE and chesscom and other entities move forward because for the security and legitimacy of the game I don't think any more of these highly publicized dramas will be weathered so well. OTB might be better insulated from online cheating drama, but a massive OTB scandal would definitely put more attention on online tournaments. I dare say based on what you're saying that chesscom probably should have more of a vested interest in OTB since no matter how tightly they run their own ship it will never be completely impervious to allegations and scrutiny. Maybe the cost vs risk isn't worth it for them (at least in the short term)? But as the game and the seriousness of online tournaments grows maybe they will have to take a more active role in OTB since everything is becoming increasingly intertwined. Maybe not to the extent of being an independent investigator but at least to the point of having having some official input so that they can work together. It is getting beyond the point of being able to say 'that's not my problem.'

/r/chess Thread Parent