From the CEO
Hello everyone,
September was a busy month. I was in Bangalore for the Global Chess League (1-13th Sept), then travelled to Samarkand for the Olympiad (14th to 28th Sept), spent a few days in Pune at Amruta’s parents’ home, and now I am back in Mumbai.
India won their 3rd Gaprindashvilli Cup in a row at the Chess Olympiad! | Photo: Michal Walusza
I have travelled so much over the years that I have stopped separating “travel” from “home”. The way I see it now, home is wherever four things are in place:
1. Amruta
2. my laptop,
3. good internet
4. A charging point.
If I have these four, I am home.
An old photo of me and Amruta at the airport - a place which often turns into home!
Today I want to write about a subject that has been part of my mind for some days now. The topic is: Acceptance. Here is what I wrote in a park yesterday.
Why is it so difficult to accept people as they are? Why does an honest person have to look down upon a liar? Why should a loving person look down upon one who doesn’t love? Isn’t it fine to live just the way one would like to and accept others the way they are? Why the constant need to change someone?
People, in order to make decisions, need to have some principles. Now I do understand and respect that for structures to function, principles are in general helpful. But at a personal level, why should any principles matter?
You have your principles - you live with it, and others have theirs and they live with it. Just different. Nothing superior, nothing inferior. Different people expressing their differences in their own way! What matters to them is their own way. You want no one to change, you want no one to adhere to what you think. You don’t even feel attached to the way you think or your principles - what Freedom! Celebrating existence and beauty of life.
Just browse through every person in your life and in your mind and accept them exactly as they are. If it makes it any easier, attribute their way of functioning to their conditioning. Maybe they didn’t really have a choice.
Agreeing upon some principles and rules when you want a common outcome together makes sense. Profitability for a company and peace and calmness for a society. But at an intrinsic level, at a personal level, it doesn’t matter. Does it?
Until next time,
Sagar Shah
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
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LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
ChessBase India at the YouTube Impact Summit 2026 panel in New Delhi
ChessBase India was among the creators invited to the YouTube Impact Summit 2026, held at the Leela in New Delhi on 29th of September. Sagar Shah was part of a panel discussion. The impact summit is one of YouTube’s marquee event where they release to the country the impact that YouTube has managed to create.
Prishita Gupta and Adhiraj Mitra become 36th National Under-17 Champions
WIM Prishita Gupta of Delhi and FM Adhiraj Mitra of Jharkhand are the 36th Under-17 National Girls and Open Champions. In the Girls section, Prishita scored 9/11 points to clinch the championship; Shivamshika G of Telangana and Saranya Devi Narahari of Andhra Pradesh secured 2nd and 3rd places. In the Open section, Adhiraj Mitra and Haridev S of Tamil Nadu scored 9/11 points to finish in the top 2 places according to tiebreak scores. Vedant Garg of Chandigarh secured 3rd place with 8.5/11 points. Photo: Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta
Bhadohi’s Government Schools Open Their Doors to Chess
What does it take to build a chess community where there was none? In Bhadohi, it took two cousins, a handful of borrowed boards and ten young women willing to teach what they had just learned. This is the story of Checkmate Her Limits, and of the mentors leading it. Checkmate Her Limits, launched by Shreejan Learning Hub on January 1, 2026, aims to empower these young girls and teach them chess.
Meet the 100+ coaches now teaching on ChessDial!
Finding a chess coach usually relies on word of mouth or WhatsApp forwards. ChessDial by ChessBase India provides a structured directory where you can search for coaches by location, language, skill level, or preference for online vs. in-person lessons. Over 100 verified coaches and academies - from Grandmasters to beginner instructors are currently listed with transparent pricing. Listings are free for coaches!
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