"Choker" is now available for iOS and Android worldwide

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Press release:
London, November 26, 2019 – Award-winning games maker Andrew Finan and developer Queenside Games are proud to announce that the chess and poker fusion game, CHOKER, is now available worldwide on
iOS and
Android.

CHOKER™, a free-to-play game, sees the worlds of chess and poker collide in a modern reinvention of the classic games, where players need cunning and cool calculation to claim victory and win the pot.

Being crushed by the World Chess Champion sparked an idea
Andrew Finan, the CEO of Queenside Games, ran the 1995 World Chess Championships at the top of the World Trade Center in New York between reigning Russian World Champion, Garry Kasparov, and the young Indian challenger, Vishy Anand.

Inspired by their brilliance, Finan worked on his chess game hoping to be able to challenge them. When he did play them casually, he found that not only could they crush him with ease – they could do it while blind folded and playing twenty other people at the same time. In chess there is no element of chance to help the underdog, no double six,

no lucky deflection, no Royal Flush. He found himself musing about the differences between chess and poker in which you always have a chance – even against the greatest.

He wondered what would happen if you added elements of poker to chess. Minutes later the basics of Choker were sketched out.

The best of both worlds
Choker brings the bluff, street smarts and unpredictability of poker into the pure skill and knowledge-based game of chess. The result is an unfathomably deep game – a Mixed Mind Sport which requires new divergent skills.

CHOKER™ has three enthralling game phases:

1- BET: Start with just a King and a Pawn on the chess board! Then bet on the five cards depicting your additional chess pieces. This is the time to keep cool, play the odds and outwit your rival.

2 – PLACE: Place your chess pieces in special drop zones on the chess board. You’ll need a winning game strategy. Defend your King but be ready to strike.

3 – CHESS: Once all your pieces are on the chess board – it’s real chess! Outplay your opponent and win the pot before time’s up!

Features:
Multiple Game Modes – CHOKER™ allows you to match yourself against the AI to practice, your friends for bragging rights and thousands of players from around the world.

Ranks and Titles – Play real Chess Pros and Masters to become a CHOKER™ Master! Win tournaments, win rewards and rise up the global leaderboard.

Speed Chess – Players use a Chess Timer to place their pieces and play real Chess. Its blitz-speed 2-player chess! But armed with only 7 pieces, who will hold their nerve?

The players
Choker is a fast paced, strategy game that brings 21st century gaming techniques to the ancient game of chess. From today, chess players will be able to experience levelling up by winning Guru Points as well as being motivated by rewards and achievements. Steve Martin, CEO of M&C Saatchi Sports, described chess as “the “sleeping giant of the sports & entertainment world”.

Queenside Games hopes to wake up this giant from its slumber with Choker. There are an estimated 600 million chess players worldwide and 200 million poker players.

About Queenside Games
Queenside Games is developer with deep expertise and has successfully completed 2 fundraising rounds. Included on the board is the former CEO of William Hill, David Harding;

founder of Sporting Index, Compton Hellyer; Director of the English Chess Federation, Malcolm Pein; Director of Strategy at Ubisoft, Cyril Voiron; acting Marketing Director of PartyPoker, Gary Oakes.

About Choker
Choker is a fast paced, strategy game that brings 21st century gaming techniques to the ancient game of chess. Steve Martin, CEO of M&C Saatchi Sports, described chess as “the “sleeping giant of the sports & entertainment world”. Queenside Games hopes to wake up this giant from its slumber with Choker. There are an estimated 600 million chess players worldwide and 200 million poker players.

Onboard the Choker team is five-time United States Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura, as well as Anna Rudolf, Hungarian International Chess Master and Woman Grandmaster.

About Andrew Finan
Finan, is a multi-award winning games designer having created the board game KLOO, an Amazon category best-seller and ToyTalk’s “Board Game of the Year”.

Until 2006 he co-owned the London Triathlon and other mass participation sports before selling the business to IMG where he worked as Managing Director until 2009. He is also an author having written the critically acclaimed (and controversial) business book “Corporate Christ”.