11 April 2015
More than 100,000 spectators followed the Women's Championship every day
This number more than doubled during the final match.
Official website statistics of the Women's World Championship in Sochi are made available to the public.
More than 100,000 spectators from 201 countries visited the website and followed the live streams in English and Russian every day. The streaming was organized by the Russian Chess Federation. Grandmasters and chess experts from five countries commented the game live from Sochi: Sergey Shipov, Ilya Smirin, Sergey Rublevsky, Evgeny Miroshnichenko, Elisabeth Paehtz, Dorian Rogozenko, and the PR Director of the RCF Kirill Zangalis.
The viewers also had an opportunity to visit a virtual art gallery during the broadcasting breaks. The exhibition was dedicated to Russian and Soviet art about the Second World War. Paintings and sculptures created in different styles and genres were provided by the ART RUSSE charity fund, which carries out educational projects promoting and supporting Russian art of the XX century. The virtual gallery was provided in accordance with the agreement between RCF and ART RUSSE, signed prior the championship.
The total number of viewers exceeded one million. 55% of them followed the English page, 45% followed the championship in Russian. 30% of the viewers live in Russia, 12% – in Ukraine, 10% – in France, 7% – in Germany, and 6% – in USA. The total number of countries is 201.
The record-breaking audience of the live stream – 50,000 at the peak moments – followed the last game of the final match between Mariya Muzychuk and Natalia Pogonina. The total number of viewers following the final match is 270,000.
The closing ceremony of the championship that took place in SCC Galactica (Sochi, Krasnaya Polyana) on April 6 was watched by more than 40,000 viewers.
The technology of video streaming of chess events on the internet was first used by the Russian Chess Federation in 2012 during the World Chess Championship match between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand, which took place in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The RCF also supported live streams of the Alekhine Memorial from Louvre (Paris) and Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), as well as the 2014 Russian Superfinals from the Art Museum of Tatarstan (Kazan), and the 2014 World Chess Championship match in Sochi. This unique brand of technology makes every major chess event available to millions of people all over the world.
