A CHESS fan has turned his love of the sport into a start-up which has attracted £96,000 of funding.

David Kramaley co-founded Chessable last year to create a less difficult way for new players to learn the tips, tricks and techniques used by the pros.

Mr Kramaley only started learning chess in 2013 and found it a challenge.

He said: “Trying to learn with the research that was available was really hard and all the hours I put in didn’t seem to make a difference.

“I thought that expanding on what digital language learning programmes like Memrise do and applying it to chess with a few videogame elements integrated in might make learning chess more fun, engaging and accessible.

“People say that the older you are, the less likely you are to become good at the game and I wanted to prove them wrong.

“Humans are capable of doing anything they set their mind to when they have the right tools and support.”

The website has a free unqiue training method for its members and has dozens of guides from chess masters available to view.

Mr Kramaley currently lives in West Swindon with his girlfriend Annelise, from Stratton, and their one-year-old daughter Amelie.

He previously founded a company which made Facebook games and used that experience for his next business which he found much harder to get off the ground.

The 29-year-old added: “People doubted that chess could make a good business, I feel so happy that we’ve reached this milestone.”

Mr Kramaley was a fan of chess professional John Bartholomew and contacted him in July 2016 to explain his ideas and methods.

Mr Bartholomew was so impressed that he decided to work with David to set up the company which has now received funding from various investors through the SEIS initative.

Mr Kramaley will soon graduate with a Master’s in Psychology of Education after already obtaining a BA in Computer Science.

Combining his passion for chess with his psychology knowledge, love of learning, computer skills, and business expertise has lead to a successful start-up that continues to grow.

If you fancy giving it a go, visit chessable.com