Chess Camps in Surat
Intensive chess camps at Surat Chess Club, Vesu — one-day masterclasses with titled players and holiday camps in the school breaks, open to all levels and to players who are not enrolled with us, in small groups on real boards. This page is the record of what we have run and the place to hear about the next one first.
The August 2026 camp with IM Anup Deshmukh
On Monday 3 August 2026, fourteen students spent the afternoon and evening — 4:00 to 8:30 PM — with International Master Anup Deshmukh at the Vesu classroom. Two sessions with a break between: openings as plans rather than move lists, then converting won positions and surviving a whole tournament, the part of the game where juniors lose the most points. He taught in Hindi and English, and complete beginners sat at the same tables as rated club players.
The camp was capped at fourteen and filled. The entry fee was ₹999. The full record, with photographs from both sessions, is on the camp page.
- Titled coach at the demonstration board, students at their own boards
- Two focused sessions, one theme each
- Capped group so every student is seen
- All levels welcome — beginners and rated players in the same room
May 2026: FM Jeet Jain's first camp at the club
Before he took over the King Plan, FM Jeet Jain — FIDE Master, 2312 standard, two IM norms — ran his first camp at the Vesu classroom on 2 May 2026. The day included over-the-board games against the students: the fastest way to find out what a 2300-rated player sees that you do not, and the part the students still talk about.
He now coaches the King Plan on Monday evenings, so the camp turned out to be the start of something permanent rather than a one-off.
- Games against a FIDE Master, over the board
- Open to all levels, at the club in Vesu
- The coach the King Plan students now see every week
What a camp day looks like
A camp is not a longer class. It is a chance to go deep on one or two themes with a coach the students do not see every week. This is how the August 2026 day was built, and the shape we use for camps.
Session one
The guest coach takes one theme — in August, openings as plans and the fundamentals underneath them — and works through it at the demonstration board with students following on their own boards.
Break, then session two
Half an hour off the boards, then the second theme — converting won positions, and managing energy, clock and preparation across a whole tournament.
A game to finish
The August camp closed with one of the coach's own games played out on the demonstration board — the ideas of the day, seen in a real game against a world champion.
Who our camps are for
A day with an International Master or FIDE Master, open to all levels. Beginners hear the ideas early; players stuck at the same level for a year hear them from a new voice. The August 2026 room had both.
Masterclasses depend on when a titled player is in Surat, so they are announced as they are fixed. Diwali Chess Camps 2026: 27–31 Oct, 17–21 Nov and 24–28 Nov. See the dates and register. Holiday camps in the school breaks are planned — dates go up here and in the camp WhatsApp group as soon as they are set. Seats are capped.
You do not need to be enrolled at Surat Chess Club to attend a camp — the August 2026 room had players from across the city. Seats are capped, so the WhatsApp group is the way to make sure you hear in time.
Message us with the player's age and level. We will tell you honestly whether the next camp is right for them, or whether a term of regular classes would do more.
Chess camps in Surat — questions
When is the next chess camp in Surat?
Do you run a summer chess camp?
Can my child join a camp without being a student?
What level is needed for a masterclass?
What does a camp cost?
What should a student bring?
Hear about the next camp first
Seats are limited and the camp WhatsApp group hears before anywhere else. One message with the player's age and level is enough.