Top 0.01 % on Chess.com with 2400+ rating. AFM title from World Chess Federation. 10 years experience of enabling Rapid Chess imporvement. Experience Demo Class once, to know my unique methods.

Find out more about Tejas

• Tell us more about your subject. How did you develop an interest in this field?

  I was always interested in puzzle-based and logical games in my childhood. Because of that, my parents thought chess would be a good game for me to learn, since it is one of the most challenging and rewarding games in that category. In the beginning, I played casually at home, but once I started beating my parents, my interest grew even more. After that, I began taking personal coaching and started playing tournaments regularly.
  
  One thing I really loved about chess from a young age was that it gave me the chance to travel to new cities, play the game I enjoyed the most, and spend time with my chess friends during tournaments. Those experiences made chess much more than just a game for me. I also remember how happy I used to feel when I won prizes, when relatives and school friends congratulated me, or when my name appeared in the newspaper sports section after a tournament. All these small moments made my connection with chess stronger and slowly turned my interest into a serious passion.

• What or who is the motivation behind you choosing to teach & why?

  My motivation to teach started quite naturally. In one of the chess academies where I used to train, my coach would sometimes ask me to teach lower-rated students just for fun. I enjoyed those moments more than I expected. It felt really satisfying when a student came back and told me that they had used something from my class and that it helped them improve their rating or understanding.
  
  That was probably the first time I seriously thought that teaching could become a part of my journey in the future. A few years later, I played a game against a FIDE-rated elderly player, who was a retired Education Director of Maharashtra, and I won that game. Afterward, we discussed the game in detail. He appreciated the way I explained the mistakes, the principles behind them, and the logic a player should follow in such situations. He then asked if I could teach him after the tournament. In many ways, that was the real beginning of my coaching journey.
  
  Since then, things have grown step by step through results, trust, and referrals. What keeps me motivated even today is seeing students understand the common tactical and positional mistakes we discuss in analysis sessions and then successfully apply those ideas in serious tournament games.

• How does your work help society?

  Playing and learning chess teaches children and adults to think before acting, stay patient, and handle pressure better. These qualities are useful not only in chess, but also in studies, work, and daily life. Chess teaches a person to take responsibility for decisions, stay calm after mistakes, and keep looking for better solutions even in difficult situations.
  
  Another important part is tournament experience. When students travel to different parts of the country to play chess, they do not only gain chess experience, but also real-life experience. They learn how to adjust to new places, manage their time properly, deal with different kinds of people, handle losses, recover mentally, and solve small problems on their own. At the same time, they also have to stay focused on preparing for the next round and managing the pressure of an important game ahead. So in my view, chess is not only helping to build better players, it is also helping to build maturity, independence, and practical understanding of life.

• If you had to think of a role model for your work, who do you think of & why?

  If I have to name a role model, I would say RB Ramesh. He is not only a Grandmaster, but also one of the most respected chess coaches in India. He has trained many strong players, contributed a lot to Indian chess, and has also been recognized at the national level for his coaching work. What I admire most about him is the depth and clarity of his teaching.
  
  He has very instructive insights on almost every major chess topic and explains them with practical examples, which makes the learning process very effective. I also like the fact that he seems open-minded about new methods, new training ideas, and the use of technology in chess improvement. That mindset is very important in modern coaching.

• Tell us about your hobbies outside teaching.

  Outside teaching, I enjoy solving logical reasoning and puzzle-based problems. I have always liked activities that make me think deeply, so that interest naturally goes beyond chess as well. I find such puzzles interesting because they challenge the mind in a different way and keep the thinking process sharp.
  
  Apart from that, I am also very interested in investing, especially in global technology stocks. I follow tech news quite closely and enjoy understanding how innovation, companies, and market trends are developing. It is something I am genuinely curious about, and I like learning more about it in my free time.

• Do you have an anecdote to tell us about your student or professional life?

  One thing I have noticed many times is that students do not only improve in chess, they also change in personality. I remember one student who was quite nervous and would lose confidence very quickly after making even a single mistake. In the beginning, even when the position was still playable, the game would become mentally difficult for him because he would start doubting himself too much.
  
  So our work was not only about finding better moves. We also focused on how to stay calm under pressure, how to think properly after a mistake, and how to keep fighting without giving up mentally. Slowly, he became much more stable and confident. Later, during tournament games, I could clearly see the difference in both his body language and decision-making. That kind of progress stays with me, because it reminds me that coaching is not only about improving rating points. It is also about helping a student become stronger from inside.