2025 was an eventful year for chess, and we surely had a lot to celebrate! We were lucky enough to see chess take over the world stage at the Esports World Cup, witness viral table-banging moments, gasp at brilliant sacrifices, and more.
We asked you to look back at 2025 and vote for the very best people, games, moments, and everything else that made chess special this year. And now we present the winners of the 2025 Chess.com Awards!
Player Of The Year
It was a close race, but eventually GM Magnus Carlsen emerged as the Player of the Year. Though second-place GM Javokhir Sindarov had a great run in 2025, it’s hard to beat the GOAT. Carlsen once more proved his dominance across all forms of chess: he won the Esports World Cup, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, Norway Chess, and many other events.
1st: GM Magnus Carlsen
2nd: GM Javokhir Sindarov
3rd: GM Hikaru Nakamura
All nominees:
Woman Player Of The Year
What a year it was for GM Divya Deshmukh! The young Indian prodigy had a breakthrough year, earning her grandmaster title, winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup, and making it to the next Women’s Candidates Tournament. The 20-year-old certainly has a bright future ahead, but it’s also clear that 2025 was her year.
1st: GM Divya Deshmukh
2nd: GM Ju Wenjun
3rd: GM Anna Muzychuk
All nominees:
Game Of The Year
On one side, Magnus Carlsen. On the other side… you! The Game of the Year award went to Carlsen vs. The World, the historic game between the world number one and more than 140,000 Chess.com members. At the time, the game broke the record for the biggest chess game in history, and against all odds, The World eventually held Carlsen to a draw.
1st: Magnus vs. The World
2nd: Praggnanandhaa vs. Rapport
3rd: Aditya vs. Erdogmus
All nominees:
Move Of The Year
Finding a brilliant queen sac to win a game surely feels great. But doing so against one of the next generation’s top talents in a sharp game right after sacrificing a knight must feel even better! And that’s why the stunning 37…Qf2!! by GM Ediz Gurel against GM Denis Lazavik is the Move of the Year.
1st: Lazavik vs. Gurel, 37…Qf2!!
2nd: Aditya vs. Erdogmus, 37…Qxf2!!
3rd: Praggnanandhaa vs. Rapport, 23…Bxc2!!
All nominees:
Rising Star Of The Year
What were you doing when you were 15? GM Yagiz Erdogmus was breaking into the world’s top 100 and defeating established players like GMs Peter Svidler and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave! Looking back, it’s no wonder the Turkish prodigy has won the Rising Star of the Year award.
1st: GM Yagiz Erdogmus
2nd: IM Faustino Oro
3rd: GM Abhimanyu Mishra
All nominees:
ChessKid Of The Year
It was another fantastic year for the ChessKid of the Year, IM Faustino Oro. The 12-year-old crossed the 2500 rating barrier and earned two grandmaster norms, coming closer than ever to his goal of becoming a GM. The Messi of Chess now has until March of 2026 to break the record for the youngest grandmaster in history.
1st: IM Faustino Oro
2nd: WIM Bodhana Sivanandan
3rd: FM Ethan Pang
All nominees:
Creator Of The Year
In October of this year, the chess world mourned the loss of a great man. GM Daniel Naroditsky has won over hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. His outstanding educational content, genuine passion for the game, and respectful attitude towards everyone made him one of the most beloved creators among chess players.
And as the community has made abundantly clear, Danya will be missed. Naroditsky is our Creator of the Year—and he will forever be in our hearts.
1st: GM Daniel Naroditsky
2nd: IM Levy Rozman
3rd: IM Julien Song
All nominees:
Commentator Of The Year
Watching strong chess events is always enjoyable. But watching high-level chess gets even more entertaining when you can understand what’s going on over the board. That’s where someone like GM David Howell comes in. With his great insights and charisma, Howell made events like Freestyle Chess, the Esports World Cup, the XTX Markets London Chess Classic, and many others all the more enjoyable this year—and that’s why he won the Commentator of the Year award!
1st: GM David Howell
2nd: IM Levy Rozman
3rd: IM Sagar Shah
All nominees:
Photo Of The Year
2025 was a year with many unmissable moments. And we were all lucky enough to have amazing photographers who immortalized them and shared them with us.
One moment that stood out was GM Gukesh Dommaraju‘s victory over Carlsen in Norway Chess. In a dramatic game, the world champion kept his composure in a tough position. When Carlsen blundered, Gukesh was ready to pounce. In an outburst of emotion, Carlsen hit the table with his fist before storming out of the playing hall.
Photographer Maria Emelianova captured this iconic moment on camera, earning the Photo of the Year award.
1st: Magnus Carlsen smashes the table after a huge blunder by Maria Emelianova
2nd: Beating Carlsen for the first time by Michal Walusza
3rd: Hikaru Nakamura appears to cry by Lennart Ootes
All nominees:
Book Of The Year
Those who know IM Danny Rensch are used to his playful attitude and dubious dad jokes. Looking at him now, it’s hard to imagine the tough times he had to endure growing up as a chess prodigy living within a cult.
Dark Squares tells the story of a lonely boy trying to live up to the expectations of an entire community—and how these dark days have helped shape him and Chess.com into what they are today. And that’s the story that got the Book of the Year award in 2025.
1st: Dark Squares by Danny Rensch
2nd: Capablanca’s Endgame Technique by Alex Colovic
3rd: The Stories, Games, and Intrigues of Capablanca and Alekhine by Luis Fernandez Siles
All nominees:
- Dark Squares by Danny Rensch
- Capablanca’s Endgame Technique by Alex Colovic
- The Stories, Games, and Intrigues of Capablanca and Alekhine by Luis Fernandez Siles
- An Introduction to Chess Endgame Studies by Oleg Pervakov
- The World’s Most Boring Chess Book by Ian Rogers and Lazlo Hazal
- Rebel Queen by Susan Polgar
- Rock Solid Chess Volume 3 by Sergei Tiviakov and Yulia Gokbulut
- Maximize Your Chess Potential by Dan Heisman
- Alexander Alekhine – The Russian Sphinx: Volume I by Sergey Voronkov
- The Greatest by Cyrus Lakdawala
- The Philosopher and the Housewife by Willy Hendriks
- Practical Chess Strategy by Julen Arizmendi
- Learn From the Legends 2 by Mihail Marin
And with this, we wrap up 2025! We thank you for taking the time to cast your vote and help us celebrate the best parts of the year. We will contact the winners of the premium membership raffles.
Now, let’s enjoy 2026! Happy New Year!
