Chess in India has exploded beyond a mere game, transforming into a cultural phenomenon with a thriving ecosystem. While major tournaments now draw massive crowds of fans seeking autographs, a distinct group of enthusiasts engages with the 64 squares on a profoundly deeper level. These individuals are not just spectators; they are channeling their love for chess to discover, build, and fuel their own unique passions and careers.
From Corporate Ladder to Chess Influencer
Lokesh Natoo exemplifies a successful dual life. While building a corporate career in telecom, e-commerce, and real estate, he has also become a bona fide chess influencer. His journey began at age six, taught by his mother. Although academics in engineering and an MBA took precedence, his passion never faded.
Frequent tournament visits led to a treasure trove of photos and videos. Fearing he might lose this digital memorabilia, Natoo started an Instagram channel, Chess With Lokesh. His consistent effort and outreach caught the eye of Sameer Pathak, now CEO of the Global Chess League (GCL). This connection led to a pivotal opportunity: a corporate simul against legend Viswanathan Anand.
Today, Natoo strategically uses his work leave to cover premier global events like the Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz in Kolkata, the Chennai Grandmasters, the Gukesh vs. Ding Liren World Championship in Singapore, Norway Chess, and the FIDE World Cup in Goa. He has also produced 20 podcasts for GCL on Amazon. Despite amassing nearly 200,000 followers and a staggering 160 million views during Norway Chess alone, he has no plans to quit his corporate day job, proving one can excel in both worlds.
The Superfan's Epic Pedal-Powered Quest
For Rahul Kamble, a 31-year-old chess trainer from Belgaum, Karnataka, meeting World Champion D Gukesh became an all-consuming dream. His dedication was so intense that he cycled approximately 850 kilometres to Chennai after Gukesh's triumph over Ding Liren in 2024.
This quest came at a high personal cost. When his school denied him leave, Kamble chose to resign. He began his cycling tour in March 2024, coinciding with Gukesh's historic Candidates Tournament win in Toronto. A friend's superstition that his journey was bringing Gukesh luck solidified his resolve, turning a personal mission into a symbolic one.
Tragedy struck when his brother-in-law, an Army man, passed away, forcing Kamble to abandon his bicycle in Chennai and return home. With his old job gone, he worked as a waiter while continuing to teach chess. He later brought students from his small academy to the FIDE World Cup in Goa, hoping to finally meet his idol, but Gukesh had already been eliminated. Undeterred, Kamble is now raising funds to retrieve his bicycle and complete his interrupted pilgrimage.
Filmmaking and the Human Stories of Chess
Kshitij Deshmukh, an engineer from NIT Trichy with a FIDE rating and national championship experience for Maharashtra, found his calling at the intersection of chess and film. The pandemic reignited his connection to the game through coaching, which also provided an income stream.
His childhood passion for writing and theatre, combined with formal training at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), set the stage. The announcement of the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa was the catalyst. Inspired by the electric human stories he witnessed as a volunteer at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad, he moved to Goa to capture the narrative beyond the moves.
After receiving encouraging feedback from ChessBase India and Chess.com-India, Deshmukh recorded a four-episode documentary focusing on players' lives, their support systems, and families. He is currently editing the footage, with plans to release the documentary soon, aiming to highlight the often-ignored human element of high-stakes competition.
One Passion, Multiple Chess-Centric Roles
For Dimple Chainani, chess is the central pillar of her professional life. A transformative experience as a volunteer at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram showed her how to build a sustainable career around the sport.
Today, she seamlessly juggles multiple roles: an active player, a coach for beginners and intermediate students worldwide, and a full-time content creator. She reinvests her coaching income into her own development, funding tournament travel and a personal trainer.
Chainani's YouTube channel, Learn Chess With Dimple, boasts over 300 videos, a skill she honed during the pandemic. Her Olympiad experience also led to a tangible reward: winning a Chessbase India "best selfie" contest with pictures of legends like Judit Polgar, Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, and D Gukesh. The prize was a trip to cover the 2025 World Cup in Goa, proving that passion can open unexpected doors.
The Chocolatier Fueling Grandmasters' Minds
Nayanava De, a Bengaluru-based software engineer with a degree in nutrition, entered the chess ecosystem through a sweet and scientific route. His initial goal was simple: create a healthier chocolate for his three-year-old daughter.
This evolved into Melted Joy, a brand designed to support mental performance for chess players. De explains that the brain's energy consumption spikes during a game, and standard carbohydrates can lead to energy crashes. Dissatisfied with artificial sweeteners, he developed a chocolate sweetened with honey and rich in dark Kerala cocoa.
His product found an eager audience at the chess World Cup in Goa, receiving positive feedback from top grandmasters like Vidit Gujrathi, Anish Giri, and Surya Shekhar Ganguly. De's journey shows how a personal project, rooted in care and science, can find a perfect niche within the chess community's specific needs.
These five stories from December 2025 illustrate that India's chess boom is not just about producing world champions. It is also about creating a vibrant, multifaceted community where the game becomes a canvas for entrepreneurship, art, extreme fandom, and innovation, proving that passion for chess can take as many forms as there are squares on the board.
