Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa
As you walk through the area adjacent to the playing hall at the FIDE World Cup venue, there are certain stalls lined up. Mostly merchandise and other promotional stuff. There is one which might catch the attention. It sells chocolates. Now, that is a bit of an aberration. What are those sweet bars doing here?
There is possibly a difference between what they are selling and what you consume from your average neighbourhood store. These are “anti-oxidant, molecular chemical reducing inflammation in the body” chocolates tried out by an entrepreneur who is targeting the sports market. Chess players like Vidit Gujrathi and Surya Shekhar Ganguly have tried it out and they have said that they have benefited from its energy-enhancing values, according to Nayanava De, the person behind this product.
“Vidit said he used it during the tournament (FIDE World Cup),” De says. “He said he felt different in the sense that there was no dip in energy. He felt full, without feeling heavy. There are others also who have tried it out. Our product has been verified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). It reduces the craving for sugar, which helps in recovery in the case of sportspersons.”
De is a software engineer by qualification, who worked for companies like Microsoft and Adobe among others. He is based out of Bengaluru and left his corporate job to launch this project. It started in August this year. Their manufacturing unit is in Bengaluru and their products are available on Amazon. At the moment, they have five varieties or flavours priced between Rs 360 and 480 for 78 to 104 grams. They advise that 26 grams per day is the ideal usage.
“We will take it to other fields as well and this is our first venture in the sports sector,” says De. “Quite a few players and others involved with chess have said that they felt a difference after using our product. Usually, chess players are given tea, coffee, biscuits and cakes during events. Unknowingly, they end up consuming extra calories. With our chocolate bars, that possibility is eradicated. This is tested by accredited organisations. We ensure quality.”
Conserving energy by consuming things that do not violate doping regulations is common in sports. A lot of sportspersons from different disciplines try different things ranging from bananas to energy-enhancing bars. De claims that these can be counterproductive at times because some of them may contain ingredients unhelpful for sports, like sugar.
“Our product is not specifically for chess players,” claims De. “But it can help them in recovery because it reduces the possibility of inflammation in the body. We got it tested before venturing into it. It can be a good snack for chess players. They spend hours concentrating on something and the body may require additional supplements in such moments. That’s what we are trying to provide. I can’t mention all the names, but a number of renowned chess players participating in the World Cup have liked our product.”
That is unfounded yet, but there is a bit of a buzz around that stall at the World Cup. Not a lot, but noticeable. It’s not about a sweet tooth, but about conserving energy and staying fresh over a period of time. If interested, try out Melted Joy.
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🚨Game 2 of Round 4 of the FIDE World Cup comes up today.
Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi, Harikrishna, Pranav and Karthik Vekataraman are the Indians in the fray.
All of them drew their games yesterday. Can they turn things around?@atreyom #FIDEWorldCup @ThumsUpOfficial pic.twitter.com/z3kx2B1m1s
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) November 12, 2025