Nithya Marimuthu said her husband Suresh Suruliraj is a chess player and taught their children how to play the game.

“Our kids started doing tournaments then neighbors and friends asked, ‘Why can’t you teach our kids when you are teaching your kids?’ So we did,” Marimuthu said.

The interest steadily grew but a problem needed to be addressed.

“Some of our friends’ kids, who were playing excellent chess, their parents weren’t able to take them to tournaments so they quit playing chess,” Marimuthu said. “If the kid is enjoying it and has a talent, there needs to be someplace for them to go. We thought, ‘What can we do?’”

In May 2022, the couple, without entrepreneurial experience, opened Coppell Chess Club.


The set up

Marimuthu evaluates new students to determine their chess–playing skill levels—beginner, intermediate or advanced. Following that assessment, she gives the parents details about classes and coaches.

There are seven chess coaches including Suruliraj, who is the lead coach, president and CEO of Coppell Chess Club.

“My dad taught me to play when I was 7 years old. I [eventually] started beating my dad. I wish I had something like this when growing up,” Suruliraj said. “I was in a district-level tournament when I was in school. I got first place but didn’t know that I could take it further.”


In addition to hourly classes, weekly tournaments are held every Saturday. Typical tournaments will have between 30 and 40 participants.

“Most of the chess clubs we found, there wasn’t enough space for the parents to sit. If they are going for a tournament, the parents also have to be there for six or seven hours,” Marimuthu said. “That’s why we have a parent room, it’s like a lounge, so you aren’t sitting in your car all day.”

The details

This business offers group and individual classes as well as summer camps. Lessons will focus on opening, middlegame and endgame.


“Chess has three phases, every phase is different,” Suruliraj said. “How you start the game is something you memorize. [The] middlegame has a lot of tactics ... [to] help [players] win pieces like capturing the opponent's queen or knight. Endgame has fewer pieces; they need a checkmate. There is a lot to learn and we teach that.”

Quote of note

Chess teaches critical thinking and problem solving, Marimuthu said.

“There will be a lot of problems in real life,” Suruliraj said. “Every decision you make is important. This helps them make right decisions. If you want to go to college you need to make certain decisions. It helps you think about the consequences of decisions.”