Meet Sandeep Sethuraman | Chess Player, Coach, and Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sandeep Sethuraman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandeep, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve been a member of the chess community here in Arizona for almost a decade now, and as I grew up I realized how lucky I was to have the chance to pursue expensive tournaments and coaching. Being a professional chess player isn’t very profitable except for a few of the most elite players in the world, so masters often make their living through coaching. This leads to very expensive lessons (often ranging up to $100 per hour for seasoned coaches!) which isn’t a viable option for far too many prospective players. I started The Chess Effect because I realized I had the platform and resources to start an organization that would make chess lessons accessible to all players, regardless of their socioeconomic status. I knew how to recruit the perfect coaching team from the many other high schoolers I knew who were dedicated to chess, and this combined with the fact that my mission through The Chess Effect wasn’t to make a living gave me the perfect setting to create a sustainable chess-based nonprofit organization.

What should our readers know about your business?
I started The Chess Effect as our only coach with just two students. Not exactly the widespread impact I was hoping for, but it was a start. The first challenges I experienced with The Chess Effect came with expansion efforts. I wanted to bring the gift of chess to a larger population, so I recruited a team of coaches. I turned to my teammates at the BASIS Chandler Chess Team, and after receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback, I started recruiting volunteers from all across Arizona, and later, Texas. The only issue with this approach is that it was difficult to have a centralized approach to volunteering; everyone had their own coaching style, and a standardized teaching curriculum would severely hamper that. The solution we found to this was to allow our coaches enough freedom to tailor the lessons to their own style while keeping in place a “syllabus” to ensure they were teaching their students all the required basics. So, what sets us apart is our ability to combine quality teaching with making a personal connection with each student’s unique situation on and off the board.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d start by traveling to Monument Valley park and camping there for a couple nights while enjoying the beautiful rock formations. After returning we’d definitely spend some time at the famous Grand Canyon (after all it’s one of the must-see places in Arizona). Eating local food at those two places would be nice of course, but upon return, there’s no way we’d miss out on Vero’s Pizza or Green Corner’s Mediterranean food. And we could spend some afternoon relaxing playing soccer at Legacy Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents. Their unwavering support is the reason I’ve been able to get to where I am as a chess player. Spending days with me at tournaments and traveling across the world to see me play is something I’ll never be able to fully pay them back for, but my way of trying to do so is by helping those who don’t have the same support for chess.

Website: https://chesseffect.org/

Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAMPyhZYCzc