Chola Chess Club in Chennai draws huge crowd on its very first day

by Rasika Ratnaparkhi - 08/05/2026

The Chola Chess Club officially began on 2nd May 2026 at Phoenix Marketcity Mall in Chennai. The club is a part of the CSR activities of the Cholamandalam Finance Group. It is supported by ChessBase India and Chess Gurukul. It is absolutely free and open to all. The opening day saw players of all ages come together to enjoy chess in a relaxed atmosphere. The special guest for the day was young chess talent Sarbartho Mani, who added to the excitement by playing with visitors. Check out the article for photos and moments from the very first day of the Chola Chess Club. Photos: Chola Chess Club

Chola Chess Club launched in Chennai

The Chola Chess Club began on 2nd May 2026 at Phoenix Marketcity Mall in Velachery, Chennai. The club is a joint effort by Chola Chess, which is the CSR initiative of Cholamandalam Finance Group, ChessBase India, and Chess Gurukul. It is completely free and open to everyone. It will be held every Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the 2nd floor near Fab India. The idea behind the club is to create a welcoming chess space where people of all ages and skill levels can come together to play, learn, and enjoy the game.

Here are some glimpses from the very first day of the Chola Chess Club, held on 2nd May 2026. A total of 145 players visited the club on its opening day.

All set for the very first day of the Chola Chess Club.

The first move of the day began at the registration desk!

On the right, you see Vellayan Subbiah, one of the important people behind Chola Chess and Chola Chess Club.

Kanika Subbiah (middle) and WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy (right) are among the key people behind the Chola Chess Club initiative. Kanika’s son, Karthik (left), had visited the ChessBase India Chess Club in Mumbai and was one of the people who inspired the idea of bringing a similar public chess space to Chennai as well.

Many visitors paused to observe the action at the Chola Chess Club.

One of the biggest advantages of having chess clubs in public spaces is that they naturally invite curiosity!

An exciting game attracted a crowd of spectators!

This little boy found his own way to reach the board!

Vellayan interacting with participants.

Special guest Sarbartho Mani was one of the biggest attractions at the club.

He inaugurated the Chola Chess Club.

Visitors at the club got the opportunity to play against Sarbartho.

The club welcomed several young chess enthusiasts.

A wonderful example of how chess brings people of all ages together.

The successful opening day was just the beginning. The club will continue every Saturday at Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Chennai, and everyone is welcome to join. To receive regular updates about the Chola Chess Club, join the official WhatsApp community.

One of the most beautiful aspects of having a chess club inside a mall is that it brings the game directly into public spaces. People who may never visit a chess academy or tournament hall suddenly get the opportunity to stop, watch, ask questions, and even play a game themselves. It makes chess feel open, welcoming, and accessible to everyone, regardless of age or playing strength. The atmosphere also becomes very unique, with children, parents, casual players, titled players, and curious visitors all sharing the same space. Over the years, we have seen how impactful this concept has been in Mumbai, and now Chennai has started building its own chess community through the Chola Chess Club. We hope this idea continues to grow and eventually reaches many more cities across India.

The people behind the Chola Chess Initiative - Kanika and Vellayan Subbiah

Here is what Kanika Subbiah had to share about the Chola Chess Club and its vision:

"Chola Chess is a CSR initiative of Chola Finance, launched in Jan 2026. Our mission is simple but ambitious: to offer free, high-quality chess training to the brightest young minds in India and create future champions, while building a unique ecosystem for chess development in the country. After just 15 months, Chola Chess is training 250 of India’s top young chess players aged 6-25 years. Among these are Vaishali Rameshbabu - winner of the 2026 Women’s Candidates, Praggnanandhaa- her brother.

This is a first-of-its-kind initiative - not only in India, but globally. At higher FIDE levels, quality chess coaching can be prohibitively expensive, placing it out of reach for most talented young players. Chola Chess seeks to make world-class training more accessible, regardless of financial circumstance.

Chola Weekend Chess Club is a natural extension of this vision. A joint initiative between Chola Chess and ChessBase India, the club is an informal weekend meet-up where players of all ages and skill levels can drop in to play, learn, improve their game, and simply enjoy chess together. The drop in chess club is presently running in Chennai and Mumbai in partnership with Phoenix Marketcity, our venue partner. We hope to expand to all Phoenix Marketcity locations across India in the coming months.

Last Saturday, we hosted our very first club session in chennai - and honestly, we weren’t quite prepared for what followed. In just three hours, 145 players dropped in to play. There were children challenging adults, tournament regulars, first-timers, and players in wheelchairs. Our oldest player was a woman in her 70s determined to beat her 15-year-old opponent. Everyone wanted to play Sarabartho Mani, the under-10 world champion who was also our ribbon cutter! All 26 boards were full, as were the aisles. Between the blitz games, arguments over illegal moves, managing queues, players wanting to play/watch ‘one last game’, and riveted spectators, we realised a simple truth - people are hungry for spaces like this.

More than anything, the Chola Weekend Chess Club hopes to strengthen and grow the chess community by creating welcoming, accessible spaces where anyone - regardless of age, rating, or background - can simply walk in, sit down for a game with someone like-minded, and just be in the moment."