Credit: Special arrangement
After Gukesh Dommaraju was announced as the youngest world chess champion on December 12, Bengaluru chess training academies are receiving an influx of calls. Representatives of these centres say the enquiries have increased from 20 to 50% since last week.
Most of these centres offer both online and offline group classes, and they charge between Rs 1,800 and Rs 5,000 per month.
Increased severalfold
Enquiries at Sajjan Academy, which has seven branches across the city, have spiked sixfold approximately. “Earlier, we used to get around 3 calls per day, now we are at 20. Most of these calls are from parents of six to eight year olds,” says Punith Sajjan, director of the Academy. The centre offers online and offline classes, and also hosts free online playing sessions. For details, visit sajjanacademy.com
Karthik Jagannath, owner of Dazzling Chess Academy in Deepanjali Nagar, says he used to get four enquiries in a week, and gets around four calls in a day now. “We teach students at beginner and intermediate levels,” he adds. Call: 80882 80923
Online classes
Post the pandemic, many academies continued their online classes.
Chess Shoots, with two branches in the city, has seen an increase in enquiries by at least 40-50%, says Anjan Hanumantha, who runs the Hanumanthanagar branch. “Around 80% of our classes are online. We have students from across the globe — including Canada, Australia, and Singapore,” he adds. For details, check chessshoots.com
No to toddlers
Some institutes have been receiving calls from parents of three-year-olds.
Chess Saga, with centres in Koramangala and JP Nagar, is one of them. “While we are receiving a good number of enquiries for classes for 5 to 12 year olds, we have also been receiving more calls from parents of toddlers but we have been turning them down,” says Sameer Ghotane, one of the coaches of the academy. Call: 63618 52403
Even adults
Started in 2019, Chess Klub which has seven centres in Bengaluru is seeing a 25-30% surge in enquiries.
Sahana Kulkarni, COO and a founding member says: “This time, we are even getting calls from adults and working professionals who are interested in the sport.” Call: 87922 36904
Tournaments and events
Formed in 2016, Bangalore Chess Club has around 2,000 active members. The Club hosts events every weekend, and charges Rs 150 to Rs 500 for events, informs Archit Jain, one of their coordinators. They host offline and online events. Check bangalorechessclub.in