Our story
Tej is nine. He has been playing chess for three years, and I have been his first teacher.
But a chess board needs two players. When I wasn't free, Tej had no one to play with. I looked for a chess app, but the ones I found were only in English, and Tej studies in a Gujarati-medium school. They also felt limited: they let him play, but they didn't really teach him.
So I decided to build one myself, just for him.
I built it on my phone, at night, during my bus rides to and from work, and in small moments in the evening.
When it was ready, the first screen showed a photo of the two of us and one line: "Made by Darshan Gor for his beloved son Tej." He loved it. Then he wanted more: more lessons, more puzzles, more to learn. Every new feature I added, he explored with the same excitement. He is still exploring.
Watching him, I thought of the many children like Tej. Most children in India do their primary studies in their mother tongue. They love chess too, but most chess apps don't speak their language.
That is how Tej's app became Chess Buddies. It's in English, Gujarati, Hindi and 8 more Indian languages, for every child who loves chess and wants to learn it.
Made with love by a father for his son, and now for yours.
— Darshan Gor, Tej's father