Environmental, Social and Governance

Play Magnus Group uses its resources and the power of chess for social good.

We are committed to leveraging chess for good, especially in the areas of education and gender equality. Our companies support diverse scholastic initiatives around the world, from Chess in Slums, in Lagos, Nigeria to after school programs in US, where over 100,000 kids have learned through Magnus Academy (formerly Silver Knights).

Andreas Thome, CEO

Youth initiatives

Play Magnus Group is proud to support chess in schools worldwide. Our suite of learning tools help children develop their skills from beginner to master and beyond.

Chess in Slums

We support CIS- A charity based in a Lagos, Nigeria. Its mission is to empower impoverished children in the Nigerian slums of Lagos through chess education

Chess in the Schools

Play Magnus Group’s platforms have provided free courses and educational materials as well as helped livestream events that featured prominent chess players to raise funds for the CIS cause

Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour

In the tournament a balanced team of boy and girl talent battles for glory under the lead of Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik. The tour got shortlisted for the prestigious ESG Awards 2021.

US Chess School

We are also a proud supporter of the US Chess School, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the most talented young players in the United States

Equality

Play Magnus Group has recently teamed up with Judit Polgar to support and promote more female participation in chess through our newly-launched Challengers Chess Tour and beyond.

The Challengers Chess Tour was shortlisted for the ESG Award in 2021 for improving gender equality

Gender diversity

We are taking steps to increase gender diversity in our internal hiring practises, and since 2020 increased the percentage of female team members from 18% to 25%.

Female leadership

22% of the leadership roles in the company are held by women.

Women in Tech

We actively help women get their career going in tech. We have several female engineers who started their tech career here at Play Magnus!

Social Support

We support kiva – a non-profit organisation supporting women who lack funding to start their companies, acquire better education or health care for their communities.

Our values

These are our core values, by which we stand and operate.

Integrity

We honor our word. We are honest, transparent, and consistent in our actions. We own our actions and their consequences, as well as those for the teammates for whom we are responsible

Fairness

We treat everyone from colleagues, partners, and customers in the same fair way. This means with respect, courtesy, and humility, the same way as we ourselves, would like to be treated, regardless of rank or seniority.

We work with the ethos of a meritocracy

Courage

No matter how difficult the situation or the decision, we stand up for our values, even if it is not necessarily the most popular or easiest way.

We dare to take calculated risks, make mistakes, learn from them, and change.

We recognize our open limitations and are not afraid to ask for help. We will mentor and be mentored

Performance

We work hard but also smart to achieve and exceed our goals

Make a difference

We support the growth of the chess community.

Employee wellbeing

Play Magnus Group is committed to supporting employees well-being and lifelong skills development

Play Magnus Group invested in building an in-house mentoring program to support employees with skills training, physical health, and any other personal challenges they seek support in. We hosted coaching sessions to more than 140 employees; out of 46 senior managers. We have an internal ICF certified coach.

Other employee benefits include