CHESS

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation is moving its 30 kW truck-mounted directed energy weapon toward a first production model, expected within a year, after successful 2025 trials by its CHESS laboratory. The system is designed to destroy drone swarms and fixed-wing UAVs with high-energy lasers, and reports say it is advancing to mass production.

Turkish chess player Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş, at just 15 years old, has broken a record for the highest ELO rating achieved at his age. The young grandmaster is regarded as one of the most promising talents in world chess, and the milestone is drawing attention to his rapid rise in the international rankings.

FIDE is holding its 'Every Lesson Counts' summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, placing chess education at the centre of its global development agenda. The event brings together federations and educators to expand chess in schools and promote the game as an educational tool worldwide, underlining chess's growing role in international education policy.