Going Global showcases entrepreneurs taking their businesses around the world , tackling issues like business strategy , marketing and international logistics . ( Financial Times ) -- Can chess be transformed into a money-spinning global spectator sport ? It is a question that will be much on Andrew Paulson 's mind , as he settles down to watch the opening ceremony of the game 's latest world championship match in Chennai , southern India , this Thursday . An imposing , shaven-headed American media entrepreneur with an intellectual air , Mr Paulson last year paid Fide , the world chess federation , $ 500,000 for exclusive global rights to commercialize the sport over the next decade . At one level he seems an unlikely impresario , not least because he cheerfully admits to playing barely any chess himself . Yet he has a publicist 's gift for the grandiose , describing the game as a `` glorious contest of honor and beauty , of human greatness and magnificent theater '' -- albeit one that is much in need of a marketing shakeup . Mr Paulson plans to infuse chess with the same mix of lucrative sponsorship deals and general razzmatazz that helped the Indian Premier League to revolutionize international cricket . If outwardly tedious sports such as snooker or golf can become mass-market spectacles , he reasons , why not a pastime that Fide says is enjoyed by roughly 600m each month ? The difficulties he faces are clear from the contest in Chennai , which many aficionados say ought to have the makings of a classic . See also : How to recruit a diamond in the rough . On one side of the board is Viswanathan Anand , home town hero and five time world champion , whose place as India 's most famous non-cricketing sportsman has helped chess to build a growing fan base in the country . On the other is Magnus Carlsen , a telegenic Norwegian prodigy , whose floppy blonde hair and handsome features make him something of a sex symbol -- as well as the highest- ranked player in chess history . And yet the match remains a hard sell for spectators . Chess contests are typically lengthy , draws are common , while the finer details of strategy are basically incomprehensible to all but a few experts . A taste of Mr Paulson 's plans to overcome such problems were on show at a tournament in London earlier this year , including a system called `` ChessCasting '' where the audience is guided by specially programed tablet computers . Future tournaments could feature more outlandish ideas , such as biometric bracelets tracking player 's heart rates and perspiration levels -- giving spectators an instant sense of the stresses faced at the board . `` We have tested a feature with cameras to track eye movement as well , so you can see where they look on the board in real-time , '' Mr Paulson says . Despite his efforts , commercial progress has so far been slow . The match in Chennai boasts just one sponsor , the host state of Tamil Nadu , which handed over Rs290m ( $ 4.7m ) to cover costs and prizes . The games will be broadcast live , but only on India 's stodgy government-backed television channel . Still , Mr Paulson refuses to be downcast . `` Chess tournaments have traditionally been organized by ex-chess players , who are reductionist , and have lost touch with the cinema , the drama of this game , '' he says . `` But in time a revolution is possible . If you can persuade millions to watch golf , chess is going to be an easy sell . '' See also : Finding an edge in a crowded market . An alien game . The complexities of chess are bad enough , but the game faces a further barrier in enticing big-money corporate sponsors : the curious reputation of Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov , who has run the sport for nearly 20 years . The former Russian politician turned businessman is best known for consorting with unsavory dictators -- something that otherwise enthusiastic financial backers might find a little off-putting . A friend of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein , in 2011 the eccentric millionaire also visited Libya during its civil war , playing a chess match with Muammer Gaddafi . Last year he dropped in on Syria 's Bashar al-Assad . Mr Ilyumzhinov is also oddly fond of extraterrestrials : he once claimed to have been abducted by aliens , and has said that chess was first brought to earth by beings from another world . `` People like [ Andrew ] Paulson are right that chess is a massive untapped marketing opportunity , '' whispers one grandmaster . `` But can you really expect serious international companies to sign up to a sport whose top guy thinks their game is a gift from distant planets ? '' © The Financial Times Limited 2013 .
Entrepreneur Paulson bought the rights from FIDE , FIDE . He plans to develop and market the World Chess Championship over Last year . Andrew Paulson plans to infuse chess with a mix of lucrative sponsorship deals .