Community voting for the 2025 Chess.com Awards winners opened on December 17. The vote covers ten categories for performances and events from the past year. Participants are entered into a draw for ten Diamond memberships. Voting closes on December 31.

Categories for the 2025 awards:

• Player of the Year: Awarded to the player with the strongest overall performance this year

• Woman Player of the Year: Awarded to the top-performing woman player of the year

• Creator of the Year: Honoring the creator who delivered the most impact, innovation, and reach across the chess community

• Game of the Year: Celebrating the most extraordinary game played this year

• Move of the Year: Recognizing the single most remarkable move of the year—no matter how the rest of the game went

• Rising Star of the Year: Awarded to the best player aged 18 or younger

• ChessKid of the Year: Awarded to the top-performing player aged 13 or younger

• Commentator of the Year: Honoring the person who most clearly and engagingly explained the action during live events

• Book of the Year: Celebrating the best chess book published this year

• Photo of the Year: Highlighting the most striking, memorable, or iconic chess photo captured this year

Chess.com has been holding the annual community-voted awards since 2020. The platform hosts online events like the Champions Chess Tour and weekly Title Tuesday tournaments, with past winners including elite players and prominent content creators.

Credit: Chess.com