SMCA’s Online Chess Tournaments

SMCA’s Online Chess Tournaments
KEYWORDS: online chess coaching, chess training online, learn chess online
Despite the government imposed lockdown and social distancing, SMCA is adamant in keeping its
learners on their toes. SMCA’s belief of routine practice still finds a way to the advancement of its
students. Since the current ailments call out for staying away from gatherings and being too close to
someone, chess practice in centres with coaches and fellow players cannot be concluded with the same
routine.
“This platform gives a great chance for people with different calibre to play chess and learn from each
other”- Binju Vora, Mother of Manav Vora, on the online chess coaching platform.
SMCA has successfully hosted its live website, smcalive.com. This website is acting as an online portal for
chess enthusiasts who want to learn chess online during the quarantine period in the country and to
keep its young champions safe and sound as they take online chess coaching from a vivid panel of
coaches led by Chief Coach Balaji Guttula. SMCA’s long-standing player Advait Jain’s mother, Shilpi Jain
says it is “a good experience and a better option than travelling to the coaching centre”. Chess players
require a practice regimen and training to sharpen their skills and that is where SMCA has proven its
worth as the topmost chess academy in India with “…with students across 15 countries including USA,
UK, and UAE…” according to SMCA director Nagesh Guttula.
Once every week, the SMCA live website hosts a grand tournament open for players and its students,
where they put their chess training to test in an online game with a shared virtual chess boards. In the
words of Sunila Rao, Mother of Rohan Rao, “After trying several tournaments, we found the right club
that is SMCAlive.com to increase rating.” It is appreciable that the academy has given the players a
comfort zone to think creatively from their homes, while they compete with the same enthusiasm and
develop their game. Sunila Rao also says that “SMCAlive.com is a great way to improve your chess and
to gauge your result every week by participating in the Sunday tournaments”.
SMCA live website is organizing these tournaments in a methodized manner. SMCA has come with an
exciting virtual chess engine that connects players. The engine is helping a lot of students who have
participated through learn, measure and improve tactic.
“My son Manav Vora has participated in the chess tournament for the 3 rd time today and he likes
playing here. I appreciate the teams effort” says Binju Vora. Through this engine, the students can play

and learn chess online with their fellow students at SMCA. The engine allows students to compete
together on a shared chessboard where the game is recorded automatically to assess the scores and for
later analysis. A modified engine is provided to the players when there is an online open chess
tournament.
The puzzle training has still been traditionalized with the engine. A student can easily take homework
puzzle lesson where they can solve quick puzzles and can receive instant performance insights on their
way of solving the chessboard riddles. “We are using chess to teach him how to do things in the right
attitude and the tournament is the most effective way for him to see if he is focused enough on his
game through his results,” said Sunila Rao, Mother of Rohan Rao.
SMCA is not only providing an alternative to chess practice but is also offering online chess coaching to
applicants who wish to keep up their chess training going online with a panel FIDE Rated coaches.
Students can take advice get their games analyzed by coaches through the games they record while
playing with a bot or with a player in a tournament.
“I’ll recommend every budding chess player to participate in SMCAlive.com Sunday tournament”, says
Sunila Rao. SMCA sees heavy participation in their online team championship which is organized for
internationally rated players and parents are satisfied with the results that SMCA is providing with their
chess coaching that doesn’t seem to have any hassles with the lockdown.