Broken love that started it all; Ranjith's Chess Academy with market value of Rs 200 crore

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The chess academy started by a man who left his job at Facebook and returned to his homeland has a market value of Rs 200 crore. 20,000 people from all over the world are learning chess online.

Kottayam native Ranjith Balakrishnan, who runs the Premier Chess Academy in Thiruvananthapuram, achieved this feat in three years. The academy has about 100 trainers. There are also those who earn a monthly salary of Rs. 1.5 lakh. There are also 50 office staff.

The academy sponsors talented chess players. It organises chess tournaments. Initially, Ranjith's family was upset that he had to leave his high-paying job. Now, his wife Darshana and sons Rishith and Rithvik are happy with the success of the academy.

A friend from Ranjith's hometown, who is a chess player, lost his job in 2020 due to Covid. While Ranjith was in the US, he started online training in a small way in 2020 by hiring this friend as a coach. Ranjith left his job in 2022 and established the academy in Thiruvananthapuram.

Broken love that gave him a passion

Ranjith was a lazy in studies. He failed in the eighth grade. He responded to the teasing by getting a distinction in the tenth grade. When he reached pre-degree, the lazy nature raised its head again. He did not go to class and roamed around. In the meantime, he developed a crush on a girl. When he openly expressed his love, she looked him in the face and mocked him. She also advised him to go and study. He said goodbye to the failed love and took his studies seriously. After engineering, he got his first job in Hyderabad. He moved to America in 2007. Ranjith moved from Yahoo to Facebook in 2016.

Chess @ 1499

Chess training starts from Rs. 1499 at Premier Academy

Talking to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam during my college days strengthened my desire to do something of my own

- Ranjith Balakrishnan,

CEO, Premier Chess Academy