On 21st April 2022, crypto infrastructure developer Wyre announced the launch of an emerging marketplace called Treasure Chess. Developed in collaboration with Chess.com, an online chess platform, the marketplace is an amalgamation of blockchain technology and chess, the first of its kind in the gaming ecosystem.

The platform allows users to turn their chess games (played on treasure.chess.com) into unique NFTs called “Treasures”. Users can then collect, buy, and sell their Treasures which will be managed by the Indian Layer 2 blockchain, Polygon.

The marketplace is also designed to allow users to bypass on-ramp transactions (paying fiat money to buy cryptocurrency) to purchase NFTs. They will be able to log in and buy NFTs directly without even owning a crypto wallet. The forum will also allow users to sell their Chess NFTs to earn cryptocurrency.

"We have built the best NFT experience and (the) most innovative cryptocurrency onboarding stack ever created: there are direct fiat on-ramps with our partner Wyre, there is no need to buy cryptocurrency to participate, but you’re still able to earn, users have secure logins through their existing online accounts, all cryptocurrency transaction fees are paid on behalf of all our users, and much more. Plus, it’s fun!” said Joseph Schiarizzi, Co-founder & CEO of Treasure Chess, to PR Newswire.

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Users can convert their fiat currency to USD Coin (USDC) on the Treasure Chess platform. USDC is a stablecoin launched in 2018 and pegged 1:1 with the US dollar. Wyre believes this will shield all users from crypto price volatility.

"Treasure Chess’s NFT marketplace is a pioneer in many ways. By utilizing Wyre’s cryptocurrency infrastructure, plus the secure and accessible Polygon blockchain, we’re able to create a fully customized solution that fosters a non-exclusionary environment for content creators to join the NFT economy," explained Ioannis Giannaros, co-founder and CEO of Wyre to PR Newswire.

According to chess.com, all games played by users can be converted into Treasures. They are basically game cards that will contain the GIF of the entire game. The NFT will also hold other important information such as the username of the minter, in-game ‘Achievements’, player rating, and of course, the game result.

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There are presently 40 achievements, and more are on the way. You get a ‘Good’ treasure when you lose against an opponent. But if you can beat a high-level opponent, you get a Mythic Treasure. Since there are two players in every game, Treasure Chess allows each game to be minted twice, i.e., once for each player involved.

Minting an NFT is as easy as browsing through your game history, selecting the game, naming your NFT, and clicking ‘Mint.’ Once minted, renaming the NFT is not allowed. Similarly, if you wish to sell your Treasure, there is a ‘Listing Menu’ where you can input the price you want to command for that NFT.

Users can mint the first three treasures for free, after which a nominal fee of $5 is charged for minting each NFT.

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Treasure Chess is also mindful of the creator’s value and thus also factors in royalties. If you are the creator and you sell your Treasure, you get 100 percent of the proceeds. However, if the buyer further sells your NFT, they get 90 percent of the proceeds, 5 percent come to you in the form of royalties, and the remaining 5 percent are considered transaction fees that are used to run the platform.

These Treasures are coded to maintain the ERC-721 standard. This means that your NFT is not restricted to Treasure Chess alone. You can sell it on other decentralized marketplaces like OpenSea as well.