Pune Chess Hangouts: How free cafe meetups are attracting hundreds at weekends - The Indian Express

Every weekend in the mornings, an unusual scene unfolds in multiple cafes across Pune. Groups of people walk and lay their chessboards across the tables and enjoy the game for the next couple of hours. These meetups, organised under the name of Pune Chess Hangouts, have been continuing for the past three years and now attract hundreds of people.

The latest meetups held on September 12 and 13 saw a participation of 130 people at cafes in Deccan, Pimpri, Baner, Kalyani Nagar, Kharadi, Mundhwa, and Kothrud.

It all began with a reddit page after the COVID-19 lockdown, where a user asked if there were any chess meetups happening in the city. A WhatsApp group was formed where people would decide a time and meet up. At one such meet, only two people turned up—Sanjana Desai, an illustrator, and Chaitanya Bidkar, an independent designer and marketer.

“That’s when we decided to make it a regular thing. We started taking efforts into making it a more structured community to have a better timetable for all the meetups,” says Desai.

Now, the community runs like a well-oiled machine. Many people discover it through its Instagram page and join the WhatsApp community link provided there. Within the community, they can join the group of the specific area they want to attend the meetup in.

One of the biggest issues free meetups face is a lack of consistency in people showing up. Pune Chess Hangouts has come up with a simple solution for this. A hangout is held at a location only if six or more people confirm they will be attending, using a poll on the WhatsApp group. If someone votes yes and does not turn up, they are sent a warning notice. Multiple violations lead to members’ removal from the group.

Further, any new member joining the WhatsApp community must message Desai with their name. “We wanted to ensure that at least in some way we are able to safeguard the community from undesirable elements. So that’s our way of just making sure that we know everyone’s names, and that they are not bots or scammers,” she adds.

Bidkar says they also ensured the meetups remained free, with the only insistence being that all attendees order an item from the cafe the meetup is being held at. Cafes happily come on board knowing that 25-30 people might show up at a time when they usually are empty.

People of all ages, from senior citizens to children, have been attending these meetups, with a majority of the crowd being in the 20-35 age range.

In a new initiative, a Cocktails and Chess evening was organised at the Shisha Cafe last week for the first time. This was to include people who could not find time during the weekends. Around 40 people were expected, but a lot more showed up.

Varad Kalyankar, a regular attendee at the Kalyani Nagar meetups, said, “I attend these meetups once a month. It is quite a well-organised event and the organisers do a great job. The players are also strong enough for you to want to get out of your house.”

Vikram Singh, who hosts the hangouts in the Dhankawdi area, says the meetups are a great place to meet and socialise with like-minded people.

At the national stage, India’s chess profile has grown significantly, with D Gukesh winning the world title and several Indian grandmasters achieving high global rankings. In cities, communities like Pune Chess Hangouts have been brewing the love for the game in cafes and bars.

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read More