When Aarav first walked into a session, he could just about set up the board. What he had in abundance was curiosity — and that turned out to be everything.
Building the foundations
We started with the non-negotiables: piece activity, king safety and simple tactics. Twice-weekly sessions paired with short, focused homework meant the fundamentals became second nature rather than something to memorise.
Learning to compete
By month nine Aarav was entering local rapid events. Early losses were reframed as data — every game was analysed together, and the same mistakes rarely appeared twice.
The turning point was when he stopped fearing stronger opponents and started studying them.
The breakthrough
At the under-12 state championship he stayed calm in time pressure, converted a tricky endgame in the final round, and finished first. It was the payoff for eighteen months of consistent, structured work.