World Diving Chess Championships 2025
By Etan Ilfeld
Dutch FM Zyon Kollen claimed his first World Diving Chess Championship title in Groningen on Sunday, triumphing at the 2025 edition of the event – the largest in the sport’s history.
The 30-year-old entered the sixth and final round with a perfect 5โ0 score, needing only a draw to secure the title, which he achieved swiftly. A former Dutch Diving Chess Champion, Kollen said he is eager to return next year to defend his world crown.
Data, plans, practice โ the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase โ26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.
Jurrian de Graaf finished second, with Michel Timmer taking third place.
The championships were oversubscribed and capped at 40 competitors due to the limited availability of custom-built underwater chessboards. All players competed in a single open tournament.
A separate Women’s World Championship title was awarded to 17-year-old Josephine Damen as the highest-placed female competitor. The field highlighted the sport’s broad appeal, with three ten-year-olds competing alongside seasoned veterans.
Photo: Oscar Bos / Etan Ilfeld
Photo: Oscar Bos / Etan Ilfeld
Diving Chess is a hybrid sport, combining traditional chess with underwater swimming. Players repeatedly dive to a submerged magnetic chessboard to make their moves, holding their breath before resurfacing. The result is a high-pressure contest of strategy, stamina, and nerve, played in cold water with fogged goggles.
The sport was invented by American chess master Etan Ilfeld and uses weighted, magnetised pieces to keep the board intact underwater. Each move is dictated not only by calculation, but by breath control – turning every game into a battle against both an opponent and oxygen.
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EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS
Data, plans, practice โ the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase โ26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.
