A Quick Note from Ishaan Every once in a while, someone in our community reminds us what consistent effort, the right mindset, and love for the game can really lead to. Hayul is one of those people. He’s not just an incredibly strong player, he’s also one of our coaches and…
When people think of leadership, they usually imagine big things - starting a company, leading a team, giving a TED Talk. But for us, that’s not how it began. Real leadership didn’t start with a boardroom or a title. It started with figuring out who would load the chessboards into the…
At Puddletown, we’ve learned something important: leadership doesn’t grow out of perfect plans. It grows out of chaos. When you’re working with kids, chess boards, clocks, pizza boxes, and a tournament hall full of buzzing energy, things will go sideways. And that’s exactly where spontaneous leadership shows up. The Tournament Tiebreaker…
At first glance, it looks simple: if you’re good at chess, you can coach chess. Right? Well… not quite. At Puddletown, we’ve seen that being a strong player is just the baseline. Our coaches actually juggle three very different hats every single session: chess expertise, communication skills, and leadership. Without all…
Back when we first launched Puddletown, we had no idea we’d one day run 36+ webinars for chess players across the world. We just wanted to bring more people into our growing community - and maybe make it a little easier for beginners to level up. Fast forward to today, and…
At Puddletown, volunteers are not just helpers—they're the backbone of everything we do. When people hear about our nonprofit, they often ask how we’ve managed to grow so fast or how just four teenagers can organize training & tournaments for hundreds of kids across the world. The real secret? Volunteers. From…
We decided to dedicate our 2025 June tournament theme to the people who make Puddletown way more than just a place to play chess. The ones who show up early, stay late, support our mistakes, cheer on our wins, and honestly believe in us even when we blunder five moves in…
If you’ve ever played a Saturday tournament with us, tuned into a founder-led webinar, or even just popped into one of our online training program sessions, you already know—we take chess seriously. But what you might not know is that we also take volunteering just as seriously. And if you’re a…
We’re thrilled to welcome National Master Nicholas Bruha as the newest member of our volunteer team! Nicholas is currently a sophomore at Northwestern University, where he’s pursuing a double major in economics and biology. Despite his academic workload, he continues to give back to the chess community—a game he’s been passionate about since 3rd grade.…
Introduction At Puddletown Chess, we’ve developed a unique and hands-on training program designed to help students grow their chess skills in a structured and engaging way. Unlike many traditional programs, we emphasize consistent coaching, interactive learning, and reinforcement strategies to ensure students not only learn chess but master it over time.…
This past weekend, Puddletown Chess celebrated our 2nd anniversary with our players, parents, coaches, and volunteers. Since our founding, we have remained committed to promoting accessibility in chess, ensuring that all players—regardless of background—have access to this incredible game. So far this year, we have donated $16,000 to directly support young…
My first impressions of chess tournaments were their size. Rows upon rows of long tables, filled with checkered boards and tall (or so they seemed to me at the time) people on either side of them; gigantic rooms and hallways dedicated entirely to chess. Gradually, though, as I played in more…