Chess Quest Academy

If you head down Upper Kondhwa Road in Bibvewadi, you'll eventually find where we set up Chess Quest Academy. It’s not a loud place, which makes sense because you can't really play chess with a lot of noise going on. We have several tables set up with boards and clocks ready to go. The chairs are comfortable enough for sitting a long time. Some days it is very young kids trying to learn how the pieces move, and other times it is older players just wanting to get better at their openings. We don't have a lot of trophies or decorations everywhere, just the game itself. The Bibvewadi area is pretty busy, but once you step inside, things slow down a lot. We spend a lot of time looking at the board and talking about what move should have been made instead. Sometimes a game goes on for much longer than we expected, and we end up staying late. We don't use any fancy computer programs most of the time, just the physical pieces. It feels more real that way. The lighting could be a bit better in the back corner, but we make do with what we have. It’s just a place for people who like the game to come and get some practice. There's no pressure here, just a lot of thinking and occasionally someone knocking over a king when they realize they've lost the game.