From Lingavadi to the state chessboard

Sixteen months ago, chess in Lingavadi meant a borrowed set and a classroom that lost power halfway through the lesson. This October, seven children from CEDAR's Lingavadi center stood together at the 3rd Tamil Nadu State-Level Children's Chess Tournament holding medals, trophies and certificates.

The Lingavadi team after the tournament. Photo: CEDAR.

How they got there

After our first workshops in June 2025, CEDAR and Chess4Girls agreed that a handful of lessons were not enough. The students who wanted to keep going needed a real coach, so they moved on to weekly training with Darshini Chess Academy in Madurai, where coach Rajeev took over the group with Chess4Girls' support. That is the path we want for every student we meet: a first lesson, then a coach, then a tournament.

Over the past year those sessions turned curious beginners into tournament players. When the state-level children's tournament came around, seven of them were ready to compete against players from across Tamil Nadu.

What it means

The medals matter, but what CEDAR noticed first was the effect back home. In their words, the achievement “sparked inspiration among other children in the community.” More children in Lingavadi now want a seat at the board.

That is the whole idea behind Chess4Girls: give a child a board, a coach and a reason to keep showing up, and see how far she goes.

Thank you

To CEDAR for making the trip happen, to Darshini Chess Academy for the coaching, and to every donor who funds a week of lessons. You can see CEDAR's own post about the tournament on Instagram.