Teaching elite GMs: challenges and rewards

Grandmaster Surya Ganguly is a six-time champion of India, a popular Chessable author, and a former member of Viswanathan Anand’s World Championship preparation team. He is also a co-founder and coach at ProChessTraining.com, where he works with students ranging from adult amateurs to elite grandmasters.

Surya joined me shortly after returning from the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships, where his own results fell short of expectations. This experience led to a thoughtful and honest discussion about perspective, gratitude, and what truly constitutes a challenge in life.

We also talk about the impact of Indian government support for chess, Surya’s love of 1. E4 and (non-chess) board games, and how recent health scares in his family have helped keep chess in its proper place. I always find Surya to be wise and introspective, and it was an honor to speak with him again.

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0:01- Surya Ganguly joins me! He discusses the importance of understanding rather than memorizing, both in chess and in life. 

03:30- Observations and lessons learned from competing the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz

You can see Surya’s bishop ending game, as well as Magnus’ in games 33 and 34 of this Lichess study:

https://lichess.org/study/PbwMAIXZ/y7DRWHu1

14:00- What is it like to teach Pragganandhaa, Aravindh and other top GMs in ProChessTraining.com classes?

16:45- Surya’s favorite (non-chess) board games 

18:00- Why Surya never shows openings in his classes

23:00- Surya’s approach to teaching lower rated players 

26:00- The importance of Surya’s government-supported job at Indian Oil. 

32:00- How should students utilize Surya’s course if they don’t have time to consume the 36 hours of video content it offers?

Mentioned:

The idea in the Keres attack is #35 in this study (And can be found in full detail in Surya’s Chessable course!) 

https://lichess.org/study/PbwMAIXZ/rRDeHWmk

41:00- Surya’s FIDE Candidates thoughts and plans 

42:30- What was it like having an Indian movie made about Surya’s life?

Learn more about Daburu here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6eprCvDPDc

49:00- Can chess be a means of upward mobilization for underprivileged kids in India? 

51:00- What Surya learned from spending days with a fishbone stuck in his throat. 

Mentioned: Surya’s interview with Chessbase:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0PQmDTtMsI&t=1041s

Must watch interview with Surya about his daughter here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PKWPZJVMyQ

1:01:00- How working with Anand taught Surya to develop an "eternal student” mindset. 

GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly's childhood friends share with us the secrets of what makes Surya great

Photo in thumbnail- By Diptansusengupta - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89961412

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