India, March 19 -- Erling Haaland is backing the new Total Chess World Championship, joining as a key investor in Norway Chess, which will run the tournament jointly with the world chess body, FIDE. The Manchester City forward, together with Norwegian business leader Morten Borge, has set up the company Chess Mates, which will be a significant owner of Norway Chess-the only classical tournament that fellow Norwegian and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen consistently participates in. Carlsen is expected to feature in the Total Chess World Championship, which will bring together all three formats of the game into a single tournament.

"Chess is an incredible game," Haaland said, "It sharpens your mind, and there are clear similarities to football....