Chess.com Awards: Everything You Need To Know – Chess.com
The Chess.com Awards is our yearly celebration of the best of the chess world. At the end of every year, we invite the chess community to vote on the best games, moves, creators, and everything else involving the game we love. The awards are a perfect opportunity for the community to remember, discuss, and commemorate the greatest things about the royal game that happened throughout the year.
Here's everything you need to know about each category of the Chess.com Awards, our nomination criteria, and more:
Every year, we ask the community to vote on their favorite content creators, players, moves, and more. Nominees will be announced in mid-December after major events in early December are concluded. Voting will be open until January 1st.
Any achievements taking placed after voting is opened may be considered in the following year's Chess.com Awards.
The Player of the Year category celebrates the player who defined chess that year. The nominations in this category consider players' year-round performance instead of a single-event victory and are open to all players.
The Woman Player of the Year category awards the top woman player with the most significant chess accomplishments of the year. The nominations in this category consider players' year-round performance instead of a single-event victory.
The chess world is consuming more content than ever before. Whether it's a YouTube video, a legendary X post, a great new book, or any other type of content, there's always a creator putting out amazing chess pieces to their adoring audiences. This category highlights everyone in the content creation space. We consider creators' impact, innovation, and reach to come up with nominations.
The Game of the Year category celebrates the most fantastic game of the year. From tactical slugfests to positional masterpieces, any game played during the Awards consideration period can be nominated. This category highlights the complete effort of a game, from the very beginning to the last move.
Sometimes, a move is so stunning that you can enjoy just staring at it in amazement for several minutes. The Move of the Year category highlights these brilliant moves that come out of nowhere and swipe you off your feet. Unlike the Game of the Year category, the Move of the Year award doesn't consider what happened in the rest of the game but rather celebrates a single moment when one of the players busts out a brilliant move.
The Rising Star category celebrates the young chess players who quickly rose through the chess ranks during the year. Players nominated for the Rising Star award must be 18 or younger. Players who have already won this category in previous years are not eligible to be nominated again.
While watching your favorite players battling over the board is great, the experience can be even better when a fantastic commentator goes through the game with you. The Commentator of the Year category celebrates those who sit in front of the camera to bridge the gap between the audience and the players in an entertaining way.
There is no shortage of top-tier events throughout the year, but the Event of the Year award celebrates those events that stand on a level of their own. This category awards the event that got the most attention from chess fans around the world during the year. The winner is determined by the highest viewership.
Chess improvers out there should pay attention to the Book of the Year award. This category celebrates the best chess books released in the year.
Chess education has expanded way beyond printed books, and students now have more resources than ever to learn and expand their chess knowledge. This category awards the best course from one of the best learning resources out there: Chessable. Courses are nominated by Chessable's staff, with the community voting for their favorite to receive the award. Nominated courses must have been released between January and December of the year of voting.
Are you excited about this year's Chess.com Awards? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Chess.com Awards: Everything You Need To Know - Chess.com
- Magnus Carlsen agreed to the photo. Then he turned around and told the judges. - World Chess - April 5th, 2026 [April 5th, 2026]
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- Sindarov Ahead in Candidates, While Asaubayeva Shares Womens Lead - The Times Of Central Asia - April 3rd, 2026 [April 3rd, 2026]
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- Untold: Chess Mates | Where to Stream and Watch - Decider - April 3rd, 2026 [April 3rd, 2026]
- Striking gambit: Erling Haaland invests in new world chess championship - The Guardian - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- Erling Haaland invests in new Total Chess World Championship Tour - BBC - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Hear the 1st Single From the Chess Broadway Revival Cast Album - Playbill - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- POLL! So Who Do You Got in the 2026 Candidates Tournament, the Second Most Prestigious Event in Chess? - Lost Coast Outpost - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- 'Gukesh became world champion by accident...Carlsen is effectively still the champion': Russian chess legend Karpov - Firstpost - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- Medieval chess was more inclusive than the world around it - Popular Science - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- Lea Michele to Exit Chess on Broadway in June - Variety - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Lea Michele Shares Why Recording Nobodys Side From Broadways Chess Was One of The Most Incredible Moments Of Her Career - Billboard - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Erling Haaland invests in Norway Chess to launch the new Total Chess World Championship Tour - FIDE - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- See Lea Michele, Nicholas Christopher, Aaron Tveit, Perform Songs From Chess for Broadway on the Radio - Playbill - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- Why Erling Haaland Signed Up For Norway Chess: 'The Project Was Too Exciting To Pass Up' - World Chess - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Chess: Scotlands Freddy Waldhausen Gordon, 15, routs the English in British Rapidplay - The Guardian - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
- Erling Haaland has another business venture. This time in chess - Yahoo Sports - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Erling Haaland Invests in Chess! New Total World Championship Tour Announced - WION - March 22nd, 2026 [March 22nd, 2026]
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- Alohi Gilman already sounds like the perfect chess piece for Steve Spagnuolo - Arrowhead Addict - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
- Jan Timman Dies at 74; Fearless Chess Grandmaster and Bon Vivant - The New York Times - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
- Judit Polgar on Gukesh: Am sure he has great future, but not sure hes going to be world champion after next match - The Indian Express - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
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- Life-Threatening Hazard Sparks Massive Recall Of Popular Board Game - dailyvoice.com - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
- Wesley So gets the job done in the American Cup after four failed attempts, including runner-up finishes to Hikaru Nakamura in 2023 and Levon Aronian... - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
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- Pictorials: That was the year that was - Chess News | ChessBase - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
- The American Cup EndsNow The Cold War Before The Candidates Begins - World Chess - March 13th, 2026 [March 13th, 2026]
- Hans Niemann Feels His 'Entire Life' Has Been 'Destroyed' from Cheating Scandal in Untold: Chess Mates (Exclusive) - People.com - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
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- Busy weeks of competition for young Evanston chess players - Evanston RoundTable - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- Hannah Cruz Talks Chess, Working With Lea Michele and the Long Game of Filming Merrily We Roll Along - Broadway Shows - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- FIDE Candidates 2026 Fan Zone: Meet the players in Paphos International Chess Federation - FIDE - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- More than just a game: Free chess classes aim to reduce youth violence in Boston - The Boston Globe - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- Filipino-born chess player Wesley So closes in on his first American Cup title following runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024 - facebook.com - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- Uzbek Grandmaster Abdusattorov Wins in Prague: I Was Always in Control. - The Times Of Central Asia - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]
- Magnetic chess game recalled in Canada due to possible life-threatening risk - Inside Halton - March 11th, 2026 [March 11th, 2026]