Checkmate with Dhruti Shah

 

In this blog, I am so excited to share this awesome discussion I had with my chess coach - Dhruti Shah. She is a young entrepreneur who is passionate about chess and made it into her very own business. Dhruti has won many chess tournaments and championships. Our conversation was really intriguing and found her journey very interesting. I was super excited to write this blog. These are some of the questions I asked her:

1. How did you get into chess and what inspired you to coach?

Dhruti started chess at the age of 6. Chess was her main interest because sports and arts were not something she was interested in. When Dhruti went to tournaments she always noticed that there were very few girls competing. That's when she realized that she wanted to make an impact on society and change that. In 2019 when Dhruti moved back from India she decided to start introducing chess to many other people. To spread the word she started to bike around her neighborhood and give out flyers that were advertising her free chess camps. A lot of people showed up to her camp and were showing great enthusiasm. That’s when she realized she could turn this into a business.

2. What were some challenges you had to face early on while you were building your business?

Dhurti started her business at the age of 12. A lot of parents did not necessarily trust a 12 year old to teach chess to their children. This was a major challenge that she experienced. The way she overcame this was by being determined and continuing to show her skill set through free camps. Eventually, she had built credibility and her business took off. Along with this, she was worried about how she could keep the engagement levels high while coaching, especially the younger kids who subscribed to her business. Dhruti felt she had the responsibility to keep the kids engaged and have a great learning experience.

3. What do you learn from while teaching kids chess?

Dhruti says that there are a lot of grandmasters or coaches in this world that don’t know how to communicate properly with their students. She tries to find ways where chess can be fun and interactive. Another life skill she learns is responsibility. Dhruti has to keep track of her students and what they need to learn. She says that if she doesn't keep track of her students they won’t be able to proceed and gain more knowledge.

4. What life skills do you learn from playing chess?

Perseverance is something that Dhruti believes in, while playing chess. In a tournament, you might be the best player but you may not win so overconfidence is not a good trait and one should continue to work on their craft. That teaches her also not to be overconfident and if one works toward their goals, they can achieve it.

5. As a young founder of the Knightingales chess club, how do you manage your school and studies especially on the tail end of high school?

She says there should be a balance between both. If Dhruti feels like there is too much of work from school, she creates a work schedule where her priorities can be managed properly.

6. Who is your favorite chess player and why do you like them?

She has 2 favorite chess players, one of them is Mikhail Tal and the other one is Judit Polgar. Dhruti follows Mikhail because he has the best game strategies. Judit is her favorite female chess grandmaster of all time and has been an inspiration to her as a female chess player.

7. Are there any famous quotes that stuck with you throughout your journey?

One of these quotes comes from a very popular movie. “ Do or do not, don’t try”. This quote was said by Yoda from Star Wars. She likes this quote because in chess if you don’t want to try it, then don’t do it. Do whatever interests you.

8. As a young female entrepreneur, what advice would you give to me and other young people who would like to make an impact on this world?

Dhruti says that you should find something in life that you’re good at and something that you’re passionate about otherwise you won’t enjoy whatever it might be that you’re doing.

I had a lovely conversation with Dhruti and this interview teaches me many things. Another thing she said that really touched my heart was “To be an entrepreneur you don’t have to have your own business, you have to have an idea of where you will be going in your life”. I would like to thank Dhruti for her time. I really hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I love playing chess. 

If you would like to reach out to her, here are his social media links down below.

Website: https://www.knightingaleschess.com/

I would really love to hear your feedback and comments. Please reach out to me@hanikachhajer.com.