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The Journey of The Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 in Pictures

by Rasika Ratnaparkhi - 22/05/2025

A place where chess players come to meet, learn, play, and grow. A place where you are never too young or too old to discover chess. A place where you learn at your own pace. A place where you feel right at home the moment you walk in. That’s what the chess camp at the Phoenix ChessBase India Chess club is all about. It’s a place for players of all ages and skill levels. We recently organised The Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 at the Phoenix Marketcity Kurla, Mumbai, from 9th May to 14th May. Over the past two years, these camps have become truly special for us. This year, we saw a fantastic turnout with a total of 535 participants. Everyone found something to take back from this camp, not just in terms of chess, but also memories, friendships, and a whole lot of fun. Take a look at some photos that made this camp one to remember!

A place that feels like a chess home!

The Big Chess Summer Camp officially wrapped up on 14th May 2025. Every edition of this camp creates memories that last a lifetime. Ask any volunteer or participant, and they will tell you there is something special about this camp. It’s the vibe! There is just something about the place that makes everyone feel right at home. Whether you are just discovering the game or you are already a seasoned player, you will find joy in what the camp has to offer!

This year, the camp saw a whopping 535 participants. Some had been here before and couldn’t wait to come back. Others were newcomers who were a little shy when they arrived, but left with excitement by the end. Some made new friends, some battled it out with old friends. But all of them came together to share their love and curiosity for the game!

Every camp starts with unpacking sheets, chess sets, and books... | Photo: Nehal Deshmukh

Setting up the venue takes time and effort, and our wonderful volunteers are always there to help out! | Photo: Nehal Deshmukh

The activity sheets are neatly arranged so that every participant gets exactly what they need without any delay. | Photo: Nehal Deshmukh

The lady found out about the camp from a stranger at a restaurant, and she decided to bring her daughter along! | Photo: Sagar Shah

A casual mall visit turned into the start of these girls’ chess journey, all because they just walked past the club. | Photo: Sagar Shah

One of our most dedicated participants and volunteers! She was new to the city, but she came to the camp with a simple goal - to learn, and help others learn too! | Photo: Sagar Shah

These kids recently started learning chess and came to the camp with their moms…

After watching them learn, the moms also got curious! One of them told me, 'What if they ask us questions? We should be able to answer.” And just like that, they joined in! | Photo: Sagar Shah

Mitali Naik, once a sincere participant at our camps, returned this time as a volunteer! | Photo: Sagar Shah

This boy had a tournament coming up, so he came to the camp to prepare and practice. He was taking some tips from head coach Nithin Chandan. | Photo: Sagar Shah

She came from Rajkot to explore Mumbai, but ended up exploring chess! She struggled at first but quickly picked up the moves. | Photo: Nithin Chandan

Former U-10 State Champion Neemay Bhanushali chose to celebrate his 13th birthday with us at the camp! | Photo: Sagar Shah

During the camp duration, there was a special ceremony organised by the Lions Club of Bombay Uptown in which they donated 100 talking watches to visually impaired chess players. | Photo: Sagar Shah

Over the past few years, we have had the joy of teaching chess to the students of Chembur Children’s Home. Some of them attend every camp we organise. Seeing how far they have come is truly inspiring. | Photo: Sagar Shah

It wasn’t just the students; even their caretaker, Samadhan ji, couldn’t resist joining in for a game! | Photo: Sagar Shah

At the camp, you would see people gathering for either solving sheets together… | Photo: Sagar Shah

… or for a bughouse game!

Coach Nithin Chandan patiently guiding the little learner through the ChessPa sheets | Photo: Raju

Head coach Shashank took the time to sit down and personally address players’ doubts. | Photo: Sagar Shah

11th May was Mother’s Day, and we had the joy of seeing moms and their little champions learning chess together at the camp. | Photos: Neeraj Dwivedi

The Israel Chess Solving Championship also took place alongside the camp on the same day. There were a total of 30 participants for the contest. | Photo: Neeraj Dwivedi

Sagar Shah signing an autograph for a young fan! | Photo: Tanmesh Mokal

That deep-thinking zone where everything else fades! | Photo: Sagar Shah

National U-7 Champion Narayani Marathe took on Sagar Shah in a friendly game! | Photo: Nithin Chandan

This photo booth was a new addition to the camp this year. We picked a message that truly reflects what this camp is all about.

Shrirang travelled all the way from Pune every single day just to volunteer at the camp. That’s the kind of dedication that keeps us going!

When players help each other with sheets before even going to the coach... moments like these remind us why this camp is so special! | Photo: Akshat Prajapati

We collaborate with Gyansthan to bring chess to schools, and Aman from their team visited the camp one day to experience its magic firsthand! | Photo: Sagar Shah

ChessPa made the last day of the camp extra special! Here he is holding our newly launched book, “ChessPa meets Guki”. | Photo: Tanmesh Mokal

We also had Niklesh Jain joining us with his wife Angela and son Shreshth on the last day of the camp! | Photo: Tanmesh Mokal

ChessPa has been a part of many young players’ chess journeys. He just couldn’t resist teaching the kids the basics of chess! | Photo: Tanmesh Mokal

Vedant Panesar and Aakash Dalvi honored us by joining the prize distribution ceremony on the camp’s final day. | Photo: Nehal Deshmukh


Interview with Aakash Dalvi - India’s latest International Master. | Video: ChessBase India

The superheroes of the Big Chess Summer Camp 2025!

Special thanks

A big thanks to the Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Kurla, for giving us a space to organise such exciting events!

To everyone who feels like they missed out on this camp, or those who just can’t get enough of it, don’t worry, we will be back with the Winter Camp later this year. We can’t wait to see you there!


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