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FIDE

How do you make world-class chess clear, trustworthy, and global online?

Design work for the international governing body of chess, making tournaments, ratings, and play legible and trustworthy for a global audience.

Project frame: FIDE: bringing world chess to a modern global audience

Role
Product Designer
Year
2023
Platform
Web
Trust
governing body

Designing for chess's official body means the experience has to read as authoritative and fair.

Global
every level

Players and fans span every region and skill level, from beginners to grandmasters.

01 · Context

The problem

Chess is booming online, and its global governing body needs a digital experience that feels as authoritative and trustworthy as the institution: clear for newcomers, credible for the competitive scene.

02 · Evidence

What shaped the direction

Authority over novelty

For a governing body, credibility comes before decoration. The experience has to feel official and fair.

03 · Process

How it came together

The brief

FIDE is the international governing body of chess. With the game surging online, the work centred on a digital experience that feels as authoritative as the institution: welcoming to newcomers, credible to the competitive world, and useful during live tournaments.

Chess X Play desktop home screen with a World Chess Championship hero, live games carousel, latest game cards, tournament modules, headlines, advertising, and social follow panel
The home experience brings live games, latest coverage, tournaments, headlines, and federation surfaces into one clear destination.

Home across breakpoints

For a governing body, authority matters more than novelty. I leaned on clarity and credibility so the experience reads as official and fair, while still feeling current enough for online chess audiences.

Chess X Play wide desktop home screen showing the World Chess Championship hero, live game boards, latest games, and headlines panel
Desktop home
Chess X Play mobile home screen with logo header, championship hero, live game boards, and latest games section
Mobile home

Responsive structure

The responsive system separates fixed navigation from scrollable content, keeping the brand, menu, hero, and live surfaces predictable as the layout compresses.

Figma layer list for the Chess X Play phone home screen showing fixed header, hamburger menu, logo, nav, menu background, and scrollable hero and main content layers
The Figma structure separates fixed shell elements from scrollable hero and content layers.

Watch mode

The watch surface needed to support several behaviours at once: video, live board state, player identity, clocks, notation, chat, analysis, voting, and advertising. The board stays visually dominant, while the side panels give expert viewers the depth they expect.

Chess X Play watch page on desktop with Anand versus Carlsen match header, video player, chat panel, large chess board, player clock panels, voting module, move list, and Omega advert
Desktop watch mode keeps the live board central while video, chat, voting, and move context stay within reach.
Chess X Play tablet watch page with match header, live board, video, voting sidebar, move list, and chat panel
Tablet watch layout
Chess X Play mobile watch page with compact header, video player, player clock card, live board, and current move button
Mobile watch layout
04 · Craft

Decision trail

  • 01Prioritised clarity and credibility over decoration, because a governing body lives on trust.
  • 02Designed for the full range, from first-time players to the competitive elite.
  • 03Connected the home, watch, tournament, and headline surfaces so chess fans could move from discovery to live analysis without changing mental models.
  • 04Kept the board and clock hierarchy dominant on watch screens, with chat, voting, video, and notation as supporting context.
05 · Impact

Outcome

Globalaudience
Every levelbeginner to GM
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