India, May 31 -- In early 2020, after her passport was confiscated resulting in a temporary travel ban from Iran, Sara Khadem didn't know what to do with her life. The Covid pandemic extended the frustration, and forced Sara to even ask her husband, an Iranian movie director who worked at an advertising company then, for a job in his office.

Chess was the farthest from her mind for the International Master.

"I stopped looking at chess," Sara said. "I was thinking of what else I can do."

Five years on, she is among the six women featuring in a strong field in the ongoing 2025 Norway Chess Women. This invitation has helped rekindle her motivation, which had gone missing during a period of upheaval and uncertainty.

The trickling test of ...