Outpost Chess Turns Another Year Older – and Wiser!

On May 14th, 2021, Outpost Chess was officially born in Belgrade, Serbia. But the real story started long before the paperwork. It began with a simple, powerful idea from our CEO, Lena Miladinovic chess player, arbiter, and trainer who saw a big gap in the chess world:

“Why isn’t there one online place where chess people—players, clubs, coaches, organizers, arbiters—can meet, grow, and build their careers transparently?”

She shared this vision with Ilija Dragisic, a businessman and chess enthusiast, and from that conversation, the spark of Outpost was ignited.

From Dream to Reality

In just a few years, that dream has grown into a thriving platform with a community of 69,000+ chess players from around the world—up from 9,000 last year!

It hasn't always been easy—but every challenge, every game, every feedback message helped us shape Outpost into what it is today:

-A place where you can play chess with your camera on and talk to your opponent (while making cheating much harder!)

• A place where you can earn money with your chess skills in our 1vs1 Matches and Monthly Tournament Challenges
• A platform to discover tournaments, online and offline
• A space to find or become a chess trainer, and even teach classes online
• And most of all, a place where chess people finally feel at home

Built With the Community

We’ve built Outpost with the community, not just for it. We listened, we adapted, and we delivered features that chess players truly wanted. The Outpost journey is one we walk together—with thousands of passionate players, mentors, and supporters from all corners of the globe.

We're especially grateful to the amazing people who helped shape this platform:

• Mentors like Ethan Mayers, Saša Krsmanović, and Maria Carolina Romero :money_with_wings: Investors—both funds and angels—who believed in our mission
• Our unstoppable team, including:

• Dragutin Miladinovic, co-founder and CTO • Matt Thomas, chess-boxing world champion and co-founder • Maja Borković, our marketing lead

…and so many others behind the scenes who work every day to push Outpost forward.

What’s Next?

We’re just getting started. :dart: Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming soon:

• The Outpost Mobile App Take your chess journey with you—anytime, anywhere. Play, organize, and connect right from your pocket.

AI-Powered Chess Improvement Tools We’re integrating artificial intelligence into our platform to help you upgrade your chess skills—from personalized training recommendations to in-depth analysis and improvement plans tailored to your playing style.

Whether you're a grandmaster, a chess coach, a club manager, or someone just learning the ropes, Outpost is your community.

A place to play, earn, teach, organize, and most of all—belong. So thank you to every player who gave us a shot.

Thank you to everyone who believed in an idea born out of passion and purpose.

Here’s to the next move. Here’s to you. Here’s to Outpost.

PLAY & EARN.