How to Beat Your Dad at Chess. That was the book handed to Coppell High School sophomore Aarav Thilop at 5-years old. 

Father and son would play rounds and rounds and Thilop would fail to win. Until one day he gave in and eventually read the book. 

In his next game, he won.

“It was exciting. Once it happened, it was set in stone at that point,” Thilop said. “There’s no going back. I’ve already put so much time in.”

At 6-years old, Thilop reached over the table, sitting on three stacked chairs, desperately trying to move chess pieces across the board.

Thilop was going against adults, winning some, but losing most of the rounds in the open section he entered in his local Dubai chess club. Tears of frustration rolled down his cheeks, but determined to get better.

From that moment on his mother, Madhavi Neelakandan, knew there was a spark between Thilop and chess. Neelakandan observed Thilop as she silently watched her child align, memorizing the names and moves of every chess piece.

“When Aarav’s into something, I have to push him, support him so that he can actually learn something better,” Neelakandan said. “Not the way I learned chess or how my husband learned, but in a professional way”

Kings’ Chess Academy head of operations and enrollments Saketh Pedagandham coached Thilop during his early stages. Thilop was Pedagandham’s first student. 

“I said clearly, ‘I’m not a professional chess coach, but I would like to help our client’ and that’s where we got connected,” Pedagandham said.

Neelakandan, though, had faith in him. And later in the years, Pedagandham started to feel like family.

“Frankly, Thilop and Madhavi are not just a chess parent and a student, they are like my second sister and nephew,” Pedagandham said. 

The bond between coach and student motivated Thilop. With the familiar atmosphere and support, Thilop is confident in his gameplay, knowing he had someone who had faith and good intentions with his skill.

“It really humanized the game as well,” Thilop said. “It made me more comfortable, learning and talking to him and realizing that even if I made mistakes, I know he’s been through the same thing, and he can understand why I did something wrong.”

Thilop spent summers revising openings, endgames, doing combinations and tactics. Gradually there was more weight on his shoulders as he advanced. 

“It was more about preparing for the tournaments and the players I was going to face,” Thilop said. “I’ve usually faced these players in the past and I know their strategies, routines. Instead of preparing for everything at once, I can specifically prepare against a certain player.”

As he improved as a player, his ranking rose. After returning from a tournament, his mom walked up to him with an email pulled up on her phone.

“Are you OK with your name being officially published in the top 100 rankings in U.S Chess?”

“I was really excited. I remember celebrating and it was a fun moment knowing that all the hard work paid off,” Thilop said. “I thought it was just for fun. I would have never expected it to be a full activity that I do outside of school.”

Gallery • 11 Photos

Kings' Chess Academy head of operations and enrollments Saketh Pedagandham and Coppell High School sophomore Aarav Thilop play chess during his visit to the United States last summer. Thilop has been competitively playing chess since he was 6 and holds a national 2000 ELO rating. Photo Courtesy by Madhavi Neelakandan

Recently, he followed in the steps of his role model Pedagandham, teaching kids chess in the same atmosphere he grew up in.

“I decided to teach kids chess because I wanted to help them learn and enjoy the game in the same way I did. I love seeing them grow as players and watching their focus, confidence, and fascination with chess build over time,” Thilop said. “I adapt my lessons to each student’s likes and dislikes so they feel supported and inclined to learn as well.” 

The backbone of Thilop’s chess career is his closest relations, making his confidence in chess feel unbreakable. He always keeps this in mind as he pushes forward.

“The support that I had really pushed me to get better and also get more connected with the game.” Thilop said. “Even when I was going through hard losses or bad tournaments, bad days, they’re always there, I knew they were always there for me.”

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