• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
SuccessChess

Who’s smarter, tech bros or bankers? Chess masters from Google to Deutsche Bank battle in a global tournament to claim the title of ‘smartest company in the world’

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 13, 2024, 11:45 AM ET
Members of Google's chess community including Kola Adeyemi (background, forth from right), Google's team captain for this weekend's FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship, pose with International Master (IM) and Chess influencer Levy Rozman, known online as GothamChess (background, center in blazer).
Members of Google's chess community including Kola Adeyemi (background, forth from right), Google's team captain for this weekend's FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship, pose with International Master (IM) and Chess influencer Levy Rozman, known online as GothamChess (background, center in blazer).Peter Frantellizzi/Courtesy of Google

The fierce rivalry between tech and finance brainiacs will come to a head this weekend in the finals of a corporate chess tournament that includes teams from some of the biggest companies in the world.

Recommended Video

Put on by the World Chess Federation, or Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the finals in New York City this weekend will pit some of the best players from Google, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs against nine other companies from the U.S. and abroad to crown “the smartest company in the world.”

The FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship will kick off with each team of four, plus an alternate, competing in a 10-round group stage on June 15 and 16 until the top four teams pass to the semifinal. The final two teams will battle it out on June 17 for the title. 

The tournament is meant to highlight how the strategic mindset required for chess intersects with decision-making in the corporate world, FIDE press officer Milan Dinic told Fortune.

“Chess and business share many overlapping concepts such as strategy, risk management, and resource management,” Dinic said in an email. “The idea behind the championship is to explore and deepen the connections between chess and the business world.”

Those connections are clear to Igor Shneider, a vice president at Deutsche Bank in the Financial Institutions Group and a FIDE Master (FM) on the bank’s chess team.

“Deutsche Bank has always been supportive of us playing in these types of competitions as they appreciate the strategic nature of the game,” Shneider told Fortune in an email. “Chess cultivates more strategic thinking and collaboration across the organization, which Deutsche Bank and clients appreciate.”

Although many newcomers started playing the game during the pandemic following the release of Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” Shneider said chess has always played a special role in his life. Growing up, he traveled internationally to represent the U.S. in tournaments and said he views chess as “the great equalizer,” that can bring together people from different backgrounds. But this weekend, Deutsche Bank’s team of former competitive players, including three chess masters and a former U.S. Woman’s Chess Champion, have their eyes on the prize.

“We’re really excited to represent Deutsche Bank in this competition, and it would be really special if we could become World Champions,” he said. 

Google’s team captain Kola Adeyemi is a product strategy and operations lead for Google Workspace who learned the game from his uncle as an eight-year-old growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. Although he’s a competitive player rated about 2000 by the international FIDE standards—his rating of 2336 under classical time controls makes him a National Master, according to the U.S. Chess Federation—he still enjoys playing with the cutthroat locals at Bryant Park in New York City.

Adeyimi said Google has an active chess community with about 2,500 people on its email list. Google employees worldwide often play each other in online tournaments, he said. A few of them are even Grandmasters (GM) and International Masters (IM), which by FIDE standards puts them among the best players in the world, he added. 

Google’s team members will surely give it their all in the tournament this weekend, Adeyemi said, but the question of whether tech or finance people are smarter is far from top of mind.

“People are not playing this because they’re getting some kind of prize money or things like that, they’re playing this just because they love the game,” he told Fortune.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

40 is the new 50: Millennial jobseekers are giving their resumes a facelift by hiding years of experience to land jobs
Future of WorkCareers
40 is the new 50: Millennial jobseekers are giving their resumes a facelift by hiding years of experience to land jobs
By Jacqueline MunisMay 24, 2026
9 hours ago
David Bennahum
CommentaryMedia
I was one of the internet’s first influencers. AI just killed the whole category — and created something better
By David S. BennahumMay 24, 2026
12 hours ago
gf
SuccessEntrepreneurship
Meet the 32-year-old who is America’s only full-time spelling bee coach — he charges up to $180 per hour
By Ben Nuckols and The Associated PressMay 23, 2026
1 day ago
Mel Robbins
SuccessGen Z
Millionaire podcaster Mel Robbins hits back at Gen Z’s lazy label—she says they’re stuck in a world their baby boomer parents wouldn’t even recognize
By Emma BurleighMay 23, 2026
1 day ago
Josh Smith, founder of Montana Knife Company.
SuccessEntrepreneurs
This 39-year-old quit his lineman job during the pandemic and built a $50 million company in his backyard
By Nick LichtenbergMay 23, 2026
1 day ago
Jon McNeill
SuccessCareers
Former Tesla president shares the secret to success he learned from his former boss, Elon Musk: ‘He demands to only work with world-class talent’
By Preston ForeMay 23, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
3 days ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
2 days ago
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
Success
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
By Preston ForeMay 22, 2026
2 days ago
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
Lifestyle
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
By Sasha RogelbergMay 24, 2026
9 hours ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
5 days ago
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
AI
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
By Jake AngeloMay 22, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.