Quantbox Research announces scholarships of Rs.60 lakh (US$70,000) for budding talents of Indian chess
Quantbox are the sponsors of Arjun Erigaisi. With their support Arjun has climbed up the world rankings and has also broken into 2800 Elo. Now Quantbox wants to extend their support to other players as well, this time by instituting the Quantbox research scholarship by contributing Rs.60 lakh (US$70,000) under their CSR initiative to HelpChess Foundation. This scholarship is meant as a support to the budding talents of the country. You can apply for it by filling the form given in this article.
Quantbox - Powering Arjun Erigaisi and Indian Chess
I first met the people at Quantbox in July 2023 when I visited their office in Bangalore. Quantbox - a high frequency trading company, had just made the announcement of sponsoring Arjun Erigaisi for a period of 5 years with a deal of US$1.5 million (Rs.12.4 crores). What stood out for me on that day was the genuine warmth that all the members of the Quantbox team showed towards Arjun.
I was in awe with this relationship shared by the sponsor and their brand ambassador. It was not about the deliverables, they were just happy to be in each others company. It was more about how Arjun can be best supported in his endeavours to become the best in the world. And Arjun has also kept up his end of the deal, by performing admirably in one event after another and becoming only the 16th player ever in the history of chess to cross 2800 Elo.
At the start of the year 2025, Arjun had a pretty dismal event at Wijk Aan Zee. He had lost 24 Elo points and moved from 2801 to 2777. Right after the event, the youngster took a flight from Amsterdam and went to the offsite of Quantbox which was held in Bali, Indonesia. Over there Arjun not only had a wonderful time but a beautiful surprise was in store for him - he was awarded BMW 5 series car! A wonderful gesture by Quantbox for Arjun. This support has naturally spurred Arjun to perform his best. The 21-year-old, who is playing in Norway Chess currently and just yesterday beat Hikaru Nakamura, is surely going to achieve quite a lot in the years to come!
The Quantbox Research Scholarship through HelpChess
When the World Cup 2023 was in progress, Prashant Singh, the founder and managing director of Quantbox research had contributed Rs.2 lakh towards HelpChess. This amount was well utilized for young talents and so in 2025 Prashant and Quantbox decided to take the next step in their bid to support Indian chess. From the CSR funds, the company has contributed Rs. 60 lakh (US$70,000) towards 10 talents of Indian chess. Speaking to ChessBase India Prashant said,
"This came from a very simple place — I’ve been lucky to have people believe in me at different points in life, and that’s made all the difference. Through Quantbox, I wanted to do the same for others. We come across so many young people with raw talent, strong drive, and ambition, but not always the support system. If we can be that support — even for a few — it’s worth doing."
How does this scholarship work?
These are the important points of the scholarship:
The scholarship of Rs.60 lakh is to be divided among 10 players with each player receiving Rs.6 lakh.
Each player would be given Rs.50,000 per month to use for their chess improvement
Note: We ideally would like to distribute Rs.6 lakh each to 10 players for the year. However, this number of players can be increased or decreased from 10 based on applications that we receive. Also each player could receive an amount greater than or lesser 6 lakh based on the applications received.
Prashant had something to share to all the players who would be applying to the Quantbox Research Scholarship:
This scholarship isn’t just about what you might do in the future, it’s a recognition of everything you’ve already put in. The effort, the discipline, the passion, this is something you’ve earned. Be honest, be yourself. We’re not just betting on potential; we’re acknowledging the journey you’ve already walked. And if you’re someone who believes in playing the long game, we’re with you.
A huge thank you to Quantbox for their magnanimous gesture of contributing Rs.60 lakh and powering the next generation of Indian chess.
Apply for the Quantbox Research Scholarship
Note: Please read and fill the form carefully while applying for the scholarship.