About me#
I represented my school at district and state level from 2010–2019, with multiple top-10 finishes in CBSE and inter-school competitions, and 5th place in the Kanpur District U-15 Championship. When I started coaching in 2019 it began as a passion and turned into a mission — to help kids think with chess, not just play with chess.
In the last 7 years I’ve trained over 700 students across India, the USA, the UK, Singapore, Australia, and the Middle East. Every session I run is structured, interactive, and student-centric. The goal isn’t memorising — it’s giving children a framework so the position on the board starts to make sense.
Playing experience#
- 5th place — Kanpur District U-15 Championship
- Multiple top-10 finishes in CBSE Inter-School Chess (2010–2019)
- Active rated player on Lichess and Chess.com (1900+ rapid)
- FIDE rating 1850 — peak rating in active tournament play
Teaching experience#
Seven years of full-time chess coaching, almost exclusively to children aged 5–15. I’ve conducted more than 1,200 demo sessions, with a 75–80% conversion rate to paid programmes. I built ChessWize’s structured curriculum after watching too many promising students plateau because their coach was just “playing a lot of games” with them.
Coaching methodology#
Every student gets a learning plan that maps to their current rating band. Foundation tier is about piece-coordination and basic tactical motifs. Intermediate tier introduces opening principles and middlegame planning. Advanced tier focuses on endgame technique, repertoire-building, and tournament psychology.
Sessions are 1:1 over Lichess study or Chess.com classroom. Every week the parent gets a WhatsApp summary listing exactly what their child covered, what improved, and what the next session will focus on.
Best skills#
- Diagnosing exactly what’s holding a student back
- Tournament preparation under deadline pressure
- Making complex ideas (back-rank weaknesses, opposite-side castling attacks) feel obvious
- Building a parent-friendly weekly study rhythm
Notable students#
- Gahan C, age 6 — youngest FIDE-rated student in the academy
- Multiple national-level performers in U-9, U-11, U-13 brackets
- Several state-level qualifiers from CBSE and inter-school events
How I prepare a student for tournaments#
Three weeks out I drill repertoire gaps. Two weeks out we play training games at tournament time-control. The week of, we shift to tactical sharpening and rest — no new openings. After every round in the actual tournament I review at least one game with them on WhatsApp video. Parents see the analysis too.
Languages#
English and Hindi — comfortable explaining the same concept three different ways until it clicks.
