iWorld
Nodwin Gaming set to launch Chess Super League
Mumbai: South Asia-based esports company, Nodwin Gaming is teaming up with chess streamer Samay Raina and chess media company ChessBase India to launch a new online chess league – Chess Super League (CSL). The online esports league is also the first property announced by Nodwin Gaming, an independent subsidiary of Nazara Technologies after the acquisition of the gaming business of OML Entertainment for Rs 73 crores.
The first season of the Chess Super League will run between 8-11 pm from 11 to 17 October featuring six top Grandmasters across the globe. It will include the top six players in both men and women categories from India as well as junior categories. The six teams of six players each will give viewers an opportunity to see players come together to battle for a prize pool of a whopping Rs 40 Lakhs.
The teams will be spearheaded by franchise owners who will support and represent their squad through the Chess Super League. The franchise owners of the debut edition include Tanmay Bhat, Raftaar (Kalamkaar), Zakir Khan, MortaL (S8ul), Biswa Kalyan Rath, and PayTM Insider CEO Shreyas Srinivasan. These franchise owners will act as ambassadors and will be the torchbearers for their teams for the entirety of the league, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Chess Super League is a testimony to the fact that gaming, eSports, and comedy have significant synergies and shall come together in a big way. It is a sampling of many such collaborations between the different forms of gaming entertainment that the world will see,” said Nodwin Gaming MD Akshat Rathee.
The league will be broadcast on Samay Raina’s YouTube channel and will feature ChessBase India CEO Sagar Shah and Samay as the hosts and commentators. “Indian chess is on the rise and experts all across the world have dubbed India as the next powerhouse in the world of chess. We have many strong players and young talents. This online league will give more exposure and opportunity to Indian players, especially the youngsters,” said ChessBase India founder Sagar Shah.
The league will see Grandmasters like Ding Liren, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Teimour Radjabov, Hou Yifan (the strongest female player in the world), Muzychuk sisters, Nana Dzagnidze, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and others.
iWorld
Tata Play Binge adds Pocket Films to micro drama platform Shots
Over 210 micro dramas and 220 hours of content strengthen short form play
MUMBAI: Short stories are getting shorter and sharper. Tata Play Binge is doubling down on snackable storytelling, adding Pocket Films to its micro-drama hub Shots as it looks to capture India’s fast-growing appetite for quick-consumption content. The move expands Shots into a deeper, more diverse catalogue, now featuring over 210 micro-dramas and 220 hours of short-format programming across genres such as action, drama and thriller. The content spans Hindi and key regional languages, reflecting the increasingly local yet mobile-first nature of viewing habits.
Pocket Films brings with it a library of emotionally driven, culturally rooted narratives, including micro-dramas like Chaturanga, Vidushi, Maasa, Silent Cycle and Pilibhit, alongside short films such as Lock-up, Dubki and The Disguise. The addition builds on existing partnerships with Bullet and Stage, strengthening Shots as a one-stop destination for bite-sized storytelling.
Designed for vertical viewing, the platform leans into scroll-friendly interfaces, auto-play sequencing and seamless discovery mirroring the habits of always-on, digital-first audiences. The content remains ad-supported and is available within the Tata Play Binge app at no additional cost.
The integration also sits within a broader aggregation strategy. Tata Play Binge currently offers access to 30 plus OTT services including Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee5 and Apple TV+ through a single subscription and interface, aiming to simplify fragmented streaming consumption.
As platforms race to keep up with shrinking attention spans, Tata Play Binge’s bet is straightforward: when stories get shorter, the catalogue needs to get bigger and faster.
