Kerala-based international chess players offer online training for children and adults

Global chess academy founded by childhood friends in Kerala, training over 3,000 students worldwide with FIDE-rated trainers.

Playing chess can make you smarter; as opposed to the perception that only the smart can play chess. A bunch of international chess players from Kerala, also childhood friends, have been dispelling myths about chess and helping children find joy in the game. 

Eight Times Eight (8X8), a Kochi-based online global chess academy they founded in 2021, has so far trained over 3,000 students between five and 15 years of age from over 30 countries (including the US, the UK and Canada).

Athul Krishna S, Adesh Joshi, Arijith M, Abhijith M, Manu Manikandan and Chandar Raju met at a children’s chess tournament in 2005 and have been friends ever since.

The idea of starting a training platform began when a relative approached Athul with a request during Covid-19 (in 2020). “A relative asked me if I could teach her child chess because he was addicted to social media,” Athul says.

This led to a discussion among the friends and they launched an online chess training programme for children, while they were still in college, in 2021. They were surprised by the positive feedback from the parents. Some of the parents even pointed out how the lessons had helped their children improve their focus and attention. “Especially in this age of online gaming and social media, parents feel that this is a great way to engage children creatively,” says Adesh.  

They soon had over 50 students learning under them and they decided to formalise their efforts. 

By March 2022, the team raised ₹35 lakhpre-seed funding at a ₹1.6 crore valuation from Artem Art of Consulting, an investment consulting firm (led by IIM graduates Shamin Sahar and Zubin Kabeer). While the investors helped them structure their business for scaling, setting strategic goals, and improving operations, including defining roles and responsibilities, the six-member team formulated the course that covered beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Eight Times Eight became a private limited company in August 2022.