Hello Chess Champions, Parents, and Chess Enthusiasts!
Happy New Year! As we step into 2025, let’s embrace a fresh start with optimism and determination. Here’s wishing you all a fantastic year filled with growth, learning, and victories both on and off the chessboard.
At Chess Gaja, we cherish the tradition of reflecting on the past year through an annual report. It’s our way of sharing our journey, celebrating milestones, and giving you a glimpse of the exciting ideas we’re brewing for the future. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the story of Chess Gaja in 2024.
From Moves to Milestones: Student Achievements
2024 was a year of leaps and bounds for our students. We crunched the numbers to track their rating journeys, and the results are nothing short of inspiring:
- Average Rating Gain: Our students saw an average increase of 150.68 rating points between January and November.
- Record-Breaking Growth: Sanjay, one of our rising stars, achieved an astounding 430 FIDE rating points increase in just one year!
- Standout Performers:
- 7 students gained between 100-199 points.
- 5 students soared by 200-299 points.
- Another 5 students climbed an impressive 300-430 points.
Our students didn’t just grow—they excelled. They held their ground, with 10 of them being in the USCF Top-100 rankings consistently. And across the globe, Chess Gaja’s influence expanded.
A proud moment came in Singapore when Aurik Joshi clinched 4th place in the National U-10 Championship. Aurik’s success signals the dawn of brilliance in our Singapore cohort.
Chess Without Borders: Expanding Globally
Chess Gaja has always been about breaking barriers and borders. In 2024, our mission took us to exciting new destinations. We welcomed students from New Caledonia, Belize, Nepal, and Romania, bringing the total number of countries we serve to 30+. Chess truly knows no boundaries!
A Smarter Chess Gaja Website
This year, we worked to enhance your experience at chessgaja.com:
- Rating Conversion Chart: Wondering how your Lichess or Chess.com rating compares to FIDE or USCF? Our new chart takes the guesswork out.
- Student Success Stories: A new section featuring testimonials and lessons from Chess Gaja families—perfect for inspiration and practical advice.
- Meet the Coaches: Discover the expertise and dedication behind our exceptional coaching team.
- Free Chess Resources: From beginner tips to advanced strategies, our dedicated resource page is a goldmine for chess lovers.
Innovating for Better Student Experiences
2024 saw us listening closely to parents and students, leading to game-changing updates:
- Monthly Parent-Teacher Meetings: These sessions provided a platform for personalized feedback and improvement plans, fostering closer collaboration between students, parents, and coaches.
- More Tournaments: Based on your feedback, we increased our Chess Gaja Lichess tournaments from 2 to over 10, giving students more opportunities to practice and compete.
- Streamlined Learning: All one-on-one classes transitioned to Wise.Live, making it easier to track progress, access materials, and enhance learning outcomes.
Pioneering Tamil Chess Content
We embraced our roots by creating Tamil chess content that resonated with a wider audience:
- Olympiad Round Recaps: Our Tamil Chess Podcast covering the 2024 Chess Olympiad were a hit.
- World Championship Coverage: We brought the Gukesh-Ding showdown to life with engaging recap videos, further bridging the gap between chess and language diversity.
- Bite-Sized Learning: With 170+ YouTube Shorts in English, we made chess learning more accessible, one short video at a time.
Subscribe to Chess Gaja YouTube Channel for more engaging chess contents
Recognition and Partnerships
Your trust fuels our journey, and your reviews prove it.
- Google Reviews: With 112 reviews and a 4.9/5 rating, Chess Gaja stands tall as a community favorite.
- Feedspot Rankings: For the second year, we ranked #2 among Indian Chess Blogs, a testament to the value we offer.
Our tech partners—Razorpay, Wise.Live, and Bigin by ZOHO CRM—also celebrated Chess Gaja as a case study, spotlighting our innovative approach to education.
What’s on the Horizon for 2025?
The new year is brimming with ambitious goals:
- New Content Creators:
- Our YouTube channel will host fresh faces sharing advanced strategies and chess secrets.
- Global Game Showcases:
- Students can now share their best games in video format to be featured on our YouTube channel.
- Bigger Team, Better Support:
- Our backend team will grow from 6 to 10+ members, ensuring smoother operations and enhanced services.
- New Services: PlayStyle Analyzer
- The PlayStyle Analyzer is a game-changing service for chess players above 1500 rating. Whether the rating is online rating or a FIDE or USCF rating. Our service provides personalized analysis of your games to highlight strengths, identify weaknesses, and study plan put together by a Grandmaster that would help you reach your goals.
- Click here for more details – https://chessgaja.com/playstyle-analyzer/
- World’s 1st AI-Generated Chess Podcast:
- ‘Chess Times – A Chess Gaja Podcast‘ Introducing the world’s 1st AI-Generated Chess Podcast stay updated with the latest news, trends, and stories from the chess world like never before.
A Heartfelt Thank You
To every student, parent, coach, and partner—you are the heart of Chess Gaja. Your passion, trust, and support inspire us daily. Together, we’re not just teaching chess; we’re shaping sharper minds and brighter futures.
Here’s to making 2025 a year of strategic moves and spectacular wins. Thank you for being a part of our story.
Warm Regards,
GrandMaster and FIDE Trainer Priyadharshan Kannappan
Founder, Chess Gaja Academy
