These World Cup photos took my imagination on a trip
One of the greatest freedoms in this world is... IMAGINATION! If you don't have the liberty to imagine, life would be so boring. We all do it. You see a luxury car, you imagine having it. You read a tempting food recipe, and you imagine tasting it. You look at the World Cup trophy, and you imagine winning it. How important imagination is in our lives! With the ongoing FIDE World Cup 2025, we are witnessing amazing games every day. But the cherry on top is the beautiful moments captured by the photographers. Some photos make your imagination wander into unexpected stories. This article is exactly that little adventure. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Let’s just imagine…
I was going through the photos from the first game of Round 3, and suddenly a completely different scenario popped into my head. With the same pictures, it felt… not like the World Cup, but something else entirely. Maybe it’s just me… or do you also feel it? Go through these pictures and tell me what you think!
A fashion show of chess players!
I think we should have a proper ramp walk of chess players. It would be fun to see how each one will carry themselves in their own style. It would be iconic! Why do I say this? Just look at these images…











This was all outside the playing hall. But once I entered inside, everything changed. First of all! Guys, I went to the playing hall! For. The. First. Time. Yes, that’s a flex. A big one! I couldn’t believe I was stepping into the battlefield where world-class players were fighting their games. My heart was racing, but the “mahol” was unbelievably calm. Like someone pressed mute on the world. I had only 10 minutes! Only 10 minutes to soak in the entire experience.

So as I said, inside the playing hall was entirely different. It felt like an examination hall. Well, chess is an exam in its own way, but some scenes reminded me of my exam days (maybe yours too!) Let me take you through my imagination…



























I just want to say... thank you for reading this. Was it wild? Boring? Fun? Okay-okay-ish? Whatever! These were simply my first reactions to the photos. Feel free to give me your feedback. How and where? Just come to the venue. I will be around! And if you are a player thinking, ‘Why did she choose this picture of me?’ or ‘Why did she write that about my photo?’ please meet me… we will settle it over a game.
Until then, keep imagining… because it’s freeeeee!
