What QUALITY CHESS UK LIMITED does

Quality Chess UK Limited is a specialty chess book publisher founded in 2004 and headquartered in Glasgow, UK. The company produces high-quality instructional chess books for serious players, spanning opening repertoires (e.g., Win with the French!, Win with the English!, Seizing the Initiative), training titles (Grandmaster Training Camp series, A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess), strategy guides (Practical Chess Strategy, Practical Chess Beauty, Under the Surface), and biographical/game collections (Boris Spassky's Best Games 2). Titles are authored by grandmasters and experienced chess professionals and have won the English Chess Federation (ECF) Book of the Year Award seven times, establishing a strong reputation in the niche of high-end chess instruction aimed at players rated above 1500, particularly above 2000.

The business operates with a small editorial team of four to five staff, including Chief Editor Andrew Greet (with the company since founding), editors Kostis Megalios and Jeremy Hart, and Operations Assistant Bimalka de Silva. Underlying technology is essentially traditional book publishing — print and digital book formats — with no proprietary AI, software platform, or app disclosed. Revenue is generated through one-time retail sales of physical and digital books, with eBook distribution via Forward Chess and physical products available alongside DGT chess boards and clocks.

Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through the newinchess.com e-commerce platform, supplemented by the New In Chess retail network of resellers and chess specialists with international shipping. Following a 2024 operations merger with Popular Chess and New In Chess, Quality Chess operates as part of the New In Chess B.V. group of publishers, sharing distribution, marketing, and back-office infrastructure while retaining its distinct brand identity. The company is privately held, with no public revenue disclosure, funding rounds, or M&A activity beyond the 2024 consolidation.

Name

QUALITY CHESS UK LIMITED

Legal name

Quality Chess UK Limited

Website

https://qualitychess.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Quality Chess UK Limited is a Glasgow-based chess book publisher founded in 2004 that produces premium instructional chess books — opening repertoires, training, and strategy guides — for serious players, sold globally through the New In Chess group since a 2024 merger.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Quality Chess generates revenue through the sale of physical and digital chess instructional books. The company publishes high-quality chess books that are sold as one-time purchases through the New In Chess e-commerce platform and retail network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Quality Chess is a chess book publishing company that produces high-quality instructional books for serious chess players. The catalog includes opening repertoires (e.g., Win with the French!, Win with the English!, Seizing the Initiative), training books (Grandmaster Training Camp, A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess), strategy guides (Practical Chess Strategy, Practical Chess Beauty, Under the Surface), and biographical game collections (Boris Spassky's Best Games 2, Chess Metamorphosis). Books are authored by grandmasters and experienced chess professionals and sold as physical and digital editions through the New In Chess e-commerce platform.

Product overview

Quality Chess is a chess publishing company that produces high-quality instructional books for serious chess players. Founded in 2004 and based in Glasgow, UK, the company publishes a catalog of chess books including opening repertoires (such as Win with the French!, Win with the English!, and Seizing the Initiative), training books (Grandmaster Training Camp, A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess), strategy guides (Practical Chess Strategy, Practical Chess Beauty, Under the Surface), and biographical/game collections (Boris Spassky's Best Games 2, Chess Metamorphosis). The company won the ECF Book of the Year Award seven times. In 2024, Quality Chess merged operations with Popular Chess and New in Chess while maintaining its distinct brand identity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chess Metamorphosis

Quantifiable outcome

• Changed the face of chess publishing with their high-quality approach

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Popular ChesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, Quality Chess merged operations with Popular Chess while maintaining its distinct brand identity. This merger combined publishing operations to create a stronger presence in the chess publishing market.
• New In ChesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, Quality Chess merged operations with New In Chess while maintaining its distinct brand identity. Quality Chess operates as part of the New In Chess group of publishers, sharing distribution, marketing, and operational infrastructure.
• Max Euwe CentrumminorOthersMax Euwe Centrum is listed as a partner of the New In Chess group, representing a cultural and educational partnership related to chess heritage.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mongoose Press: Independent chess book publisher offering instructional and game collection titles for serious players. Mongoose Press is a comparable niche publisher targeting the same serious-player audience.
• Everyman Chess: Long-established chess book publisher also distributed via the New In Chess platform. Everyman Chess competes directly with Quality Chess in the chess instructional book market, particularly at intermediate and advanced levels.
• Thinkers Publishing: Belgian chess book publisher producing high-quality instructional content for serious chess players, with a strong catalog of opening and strategy books. Thinkers Publishing is a direct competitor in the premium chess book segment.
• Gambit Publications: London-based chess book publisher producing opening, strategy, and tactical training books for serious players. Gambit is a direct competitor to Quality Chess in the premium chess book category.
• Chess Informant: Long-running Serbian chess publication providing annotated games and opening theory. Chess Informant overlaps with Quality Chess in serving serious players who want in-depth chess analysis material.
• Russell Enterprises: US-based chess publisher with a catalog of instruction and game collection titles aimed at club and tournament players. Russell Enterprises serves a similar serious-player audience with a comparable product format.
• New In Chess: Quality Chess's parent company and sister publisher within the New In Chess group. Both publish premium chess instructional books for serious players and share distribution, marketing, and e-commerce infrastructure, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Emerging players

• Chessable: Digital chess learning platform offering interactive, spaced-repetition-based courses. Chessable represents the digital alternative to traditional chess book publishing and is reshaping how serious players acquire instructional content.

Broad incumbents

• ChessBase: Dominant chess software and database company producing digital training tools, databases, and opening references. ChessBase competes with Quality Chess for advanced players' improvement spending through digital products.
• Batsford Chess: Historic chess book imprint now operating under Penguin Random House. Batsford Chess is a broad incumbent in chess publishing with a wide catalog spanning beginners to advanced players.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/quality-chess-uk-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QUALITY CHESS UK LIMITED