The story behind Pune's newest chess academy

A new chess training centre in Pune

A new chess training centre, SW Chess Academy, was inaugurated on 21st May 2026 in Wagholi, Pune. National Instructor Satyam Warude founded the academy. Alongside offline training at the new centre, the academy also offers online coaching programmes. It has been established in response to growing interest from students and parents in the area, as well as requests from Satyam's online students for offline training opportunities.

ChessBase India reached out to Satyam Warude with a few questions regarding his coaching journey, the academy, and his approach to chess education. Read his responses below.

Q: How did your journey as a chess coach begin in 2016? What motivated you to start teaching chess, and how has your coaching philosophy evolved over the years?

A: My journey as a chess coach started in 2016. At that time, I was pursuing a Diploma in Animation and had weekends free, as there were no college lecturers on Saturdays and Sundays. Since I was an active chess player, I wanted to spend my free time doing something connected to the game I loved.

One of my chess friends, who was already working as a trainer at Victorious Chess Academy (VCA), suggested that I should join the academy as a part-time chess trainer. The founder of VCA, Kapil Sir, had actually been my coach when I was playing competitive chess, so I already knew him well. I contacted him and asked whether there was an opportunity for me to work as a part-time chess trainer. He immediately welcomed me and said yes.

That opportunity marked the beginning of my coaching journey. What started as a weekend part-time job soon became a passion. As I began working with students, I discovered how rewarding it was to help young players learn, improve, and gain confidence through chess. Over the years, coaching became much more than a job. It became my profession and my mission.

My coaching philosophy has also evolved over time. In the beginning, my focus was mainly on teaching chess moves and strategies. Today, I believe coaching is about much more than that. It is about developing critical thinking, discipline, patience, decision-making skills, and a love for continuous learning. Every student is unique, so I try to adapt my teaching approach to their individual needs while building strong fundamentals and a growth mindset.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while establishing yourself as a coach, and how did you overcome them?

A: One of the biggest challenges I faced in the early days was building confidence as a coach. While I had experience as a chess player, teaching is a completely different skill. I had to learn how to explain concepts clearly, handle students of different ages and skill levels, and keep them motivated throughout their learning journey.

Another challenge was gaining the trust of students and parents. As a young coach, I had to prove that I could deliver results. I focused on being sincere, well-prepared, and giving personal attention to every student. As my students started improving and achieving good results in tournaments, more parents began trusting me through word-of-mouth recommendations.

Balancing coaching with my studies and personal chess activities was also challenging. Since I started as a part-time trainer while pursuing my Diploma in Animation, managing time effectively was very important. I learned to stay disciplined and organized, which helped me handle multiple responsibilities.

When I later decided to pursue coaching full-time, there was naturally some uncertainty about turning my passion into a career. However, I believed in the long-term impact of quality chess coaching. With consistent hard work, continuous learning, and the support of my students, parents, mentors, friends, and family, I was able to grow steadily.

Looking back, every challenge taught me valuable lessons. Instead of seeing difficulties as obstacles, I treated them as opportunities to learn and improve. Those experiences played a major role in shaping me into the coach and academy founder I am today.

Q: How does your approach differ when working with a complete beginner compared to an advanced or tournament-level player?

A: My approach varies significantly depending on the student's level and goals. When working with complete beginners, my primary focus is on making chess enjoyable while building a strong foundation. I introduce the basic rules, piece movements, checkmates, simple tactics, and fundamental principles in an easy-to-understand manner. At this stage, it is important to develop interest, confidence, and good habits rather than overwhelm students with advanced concepts. I also use interactive activities and practice games to keep learning engaging.

For advanced or tournament-level players, the approach becomes much more structured and personalized. The focus shifts toward deeper opening preparation, positional understanding, calculation training, endgame mastery, game analysis, and tournament strategy. I spend a lot of time analyzing their games to identify strengths and weaknesses and then create training plans based on their specific needs.

At the higher level, mental preparation is equally important. Tournament players often need guidance on time management, handling pressure, recovering from losses, and maintaining consistency during competitions. My role becomes less about teaching basic concepts and more about helping them refine their decision-making process and maximize their potential.

Regardless of the level, my goal remains the same: to help each student improve steadily, enjoy the learning process, and develop valuable life skills through chess.

Q: Beyond ratings and tournament results, what is the most important lesson or value you try to instill in your students through chess?

A: Beyond ratings and tournament results, the most important values I try to instill in my students are discipline, patience, and the ability to think independently. Chess teaches us that every decision has consequences. Just like in life, we must analyze situations carefully, take responsibility for our choices, and learn from our mistakes. I encourage my students to focus on the learning process rather than just the outcome of a game or tournament.

Another important lesson is resilience. In chess, losses are inevitable, but every loss is an opportunity to improve. I want my students to develop the mindset of learning from setbacks instead of being discouraged by them. This ability to bounce back from failure is a skill that helps them not only in chess but also in academics, careers, and everyday life.

I also emphasize sportsmanship, respect for opponents, and continuous self-improvement. While winning tournaments and achieving higher ratings are great accomplishments, I believe the real success of chess education is when students become more confident, disciplined, focused, and capable of solving problems independently.

If my students carry these qualities with them throughout their lives, then I consider my role as a coach successful, regardless of their chess rating or tournament achievements.

Q: How do you help your students stay motivated and continue improving during difficult periods?

A: Every chess player, including me, has gone through periods of frustration, tough losses, and slow progress. One of the first things I tell my students is that these phases are completely normal and are a part of every player's journey. When a student is struggling, I try to help them focus on improvement rather than immediate results. Ratings and tournament standings can go up and down, but the real measure of progress is how much a player is learning and developing their skills. I encourage students to analyze their games, understand their mistakes, and view each setback as a learning opportunity rather than a failure.

I also share examples from my own journey and from top players who have faced difficult periods before achieving success. Knowing that even strong players experience setbacks helps students understand that challenges are a natural part of growth.

Another important aspect is setting small, achievable goals. Instead of focusing only on winning tournaments or gaining rating points, I encourage students to work on specific areas such as improving calculation, reducing blunders, managing time better, or understanding a particular endgame. Achieving these smaller goals helps build confidence and keeps motivation high.

Most importantly, I remind my students to enjoy the game. Chess is a lifelong learning process, and improvement does not always happen in a straight line. With patience, consistent effort, and the right mindset, progress eventually comes. My role as a coach is to support, guide, and encourage them during both the highs and the lows of their chess journey.

Also, to all new students, I always keep giving examples of my students Avirat Chauhan and Advik Agrawal about how can hard work, patience, and dedication can give you good results at a very young age.

Q: What does a typical training session at SW Chess Academy look like? Can you walk us through how you structure a class and engage students of different levels?

A: At SW Chess Academy, I believe that learning should be both educational and engaging. While the structure of the class varies depending on the level of the students, the overall goal is to create an interactive environment where students are motivated to think, learn, and improve.

For advanced and tournament-level players, I prefer teaching from high-quality chess books. Books provide deep insights into strategy, calculation, positional play, and endgames, helping students develop a stronger understanding of chess beyond memorization. We study instructive positions, analyze games, and discuss different ideas to improve their decision-making skills.

One unique feature of our classes is the points-based learning system. During lessons, students are encouraged to actively participate by answering questions, solving problems, and sharing their ideas. Students earn points for correct answers and active involvement. At the end of each class, we can see who has scored the most points. To keep students motivated, anyone who finishes at the top for three consecutive classes receives a special prize.

What makes this system even more exciting is that it applies to both online and offline students. No matter where a student is located, they have an equal opportunity to participate and win. If a student from another city or state wins a prize, I personally arrange to send it through courier so that every student feels equally valued and recognized.

We also have our own SW Chess Academy Ranking Leaderboard App, which adds another layer of motivation for students. Every month, we conduct ranking tournaments where students play games on Lichess and improve their ratings. The ranking is determined by the rating points gained during the tournament period. The more a student improves, the higher they climb on the leaderboard.

At the end of each ranking tournament, prizes are awarded to the Champion. This system encourages regular practice, healthy competition, and consistent improvement. It also helps students stay connected with the academy and remain motivated between classes.

Overall, a typical training session at SW Chess Academy is not just about learning chess concepts; it is about creating an enjoyable learning experience, encouraging active participation, rewarding effort, and helping students develop a habit of continuous improvement.

We wish NI Satyam Warude, SW Chess Academy and its students all the very best as they begin this new chapter.

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Important links

SW Chess Academy Instagram profile