Indian chess grandmasters

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Esports To Make Its Mark At KIYG 2025 With BGMI, Street Fighter 6, Chess, EFootball

By IANS News May 05, 2025 • 14:40 PM View: 1048

Bihar State Esports Open Championship: For the first time in the history of the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), esports will be stepping into the spotlight as a demonstration event. Currently taking place in Bihar from May 4 to 14, KIYG 2025 will host its esports competitions from May 6 to 7 at the Patliputra Sports Complex, featuring popular titles such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Street Fighter 6, Chess, and eFootball on both mobile and console.

While BGMI remains the most popular esports title in India, Chess stands out as a particularly noteworthy addition to KIYG 2025. Once considered a purely traditional sport, Chess has increasingly found a home in the esports world, most recently as part of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025, which boasts a prize pool of USD 1.5 million (Rs 12.6 crore) for the title.

NODWIN Gaming, a leader in South Asia’s esports and gaming ecosystem, has been one of the pioneers of this shift in India. In 2021, the company organised the Chess Super League, featuring national and international stars and also hosted Chess tournaments at DreamHack India 2024 across rapid and blitz formats.