About us
We put chess in Indian classrooms, and we do it properly.
Chess in Schools India is a not-for-profit working with government and private schools across eighteen states.
How we started
We began in 2019 with three schools in Hyderabad and one borrowed idea: that the Chess in Schools model working well in the United Kingdom would work at least as well in a country that has produced more chess talent per rupee spent than almost anywhere on earth.
What we did not anticipate was how quickly the demand would come from government schools rather than private ones. Within two years, most of our waiting list was schools with no budget at all. That reshaped the organisation — today the majority of our funding goes to schools that pay us nothing.
India already has the chess culture, the coaches and the talent. What has been missing is a structured, funded route from an ordinary classroom to a child who can actually play. That is the gap we work in.
Reach the children who need it
Two-thirds of our work is in government and low-fee private schools. If we are only in schools that can pay, we are not doing the job.
Teach it properly or not at all
A trained coach, a real curriculum, thirty weeks. Handing a school a box of chess sets and calling it a programme helps nobody.
Say what the evidence says
We publish findings that do not flatter us. Overselling chess damages the case for it more than any critic could.
Build something that lasts
We train your teachers precisely so that you stop needing us. A club still running five years after we left is the only result that counts.
640+
Schools in the programme
1.2 lakh
Children taught since 2019
18
States and union territories
91%
Teachers report better concentration
The team
A small central team and a network of regional organisers and coaches.
Programme Director
National strategy and state partnerships
Head of Coaching
Coach recruitment, training and quality
Curriculum Lead
Scheme of work, workbooks and the online academy
Regional Organisers
Eighteen states, school-level delivery
Safeguarding Officer
Verification, child protection and complaints
Research Associate
Evaluation design and published findings
Work with us
We are recruiting coaches and regional organisers across eighteen states, and always want to hear from schools.