Global NewsUnderwater chess sees new world champion, players submerged in deep pool

A new world champion was crowned Monday at the 2025 Diving Chess World Championships in the Netherlands. Forty competitors tested not only their brainpower at this classic game of strategy, but their athletic capabilities, too, as they had to dive to the bottom of a pool and hold their breath to reach the submerged chessboards. Former Dutch Diving Chess Champion Zyon Kollen emerged from the pool as the men’s champion, while 17-year-old Josephine Damen – also native to the Netherlands – was crowned women’s world champ. #Chess #Diving

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