For the first time in chess history, grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has been awarded a nonfungible token (NFT) trophy for winning an international chess tournament, Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (MCCT). The tournament minted a number of NFT trophies and collectibles to indefinitely preserve the game'due south well-nigh defining moments.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Carlsen shared his appreciation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem for supporting virtual chess tournaments. The chess champion cited MCCT'due south recent partnership with FTX crypto commutation that allowed professional person chess players to compete for a prize fund of two.1825 Bitcoin (BTC) ($81,079).

"NFTs help the chess community celebrate great moments and perhaps as well advantage those that have already invested and so much fourth dimension in growing the game. With Chess Champs, this is just getting started and I look forward to seeing information technology evolve," Carlsen said.

Chess Champs minted two identical editions of the Champion's Bays NFT on the Ethereum blockchain, which were digitally signed by Carlsen after winning the tournament. The second NFT trophy was auctioned off at 6.88 Ether (ETH), approximately $24,700 at the time of buy. According to a source, the bidding for the NFT trophy went upwards to 11 Ether ($27,093) subsequently the borderline. Carlsen said:

"It feels great to share the trophy with a passionate fan. It will be interesting to play a match with him and meeting him during the next flavor'southward Champions Chess Tour Terminal."

Collectibles also include NFTs dedicated to various chess pieces (such as a pawn and a bishop) on the blockchain.

Related: Valued at $4.3B, NFT platform Sorare to invest in women's sports

Every bit the NFT blast continues to span the gap between sports and digital entertainment, NFT marketplaces offer new footing for innovation.

Sorare, a marketplace for NFT trading cards, attained a $4.three-billion valuation after raising $680 million in Series B funding led by Japanese fintech giant SoftBank. As Cointelegraph reported, the company plans to utilise this funding to "significantly advance the development of women's sports."

Moreover, Sorare has as well secured partnerships with La Liga soccer league and plans to onboard top-tier soccer teams as it diversifies its NFT-based portfolio offerings to other fantasy sports.