From just fan to managing players: MGD1 co-founder on how pandemic sparked India’s first chess-only management startup

MGD1 recently secured a $1.5 million sponsorship deal for India No. #1 GM Arjun Erigaisi.

For decades, chess in India was a quiet activity in clubs and homes. But in 1951 everything changed with the formation of the All India Chess Federation, allowing organized play and leading to India’s participation in the 12th Chess Olympiad in Moscow. In 1961, Manuel Aaron became India’s first International Master.

But the real game changed with Viswanathan Anand, when in 1988, at just 19 years of age, he became India’s first Grandmaster He became the World Champion in 2000, and chess began its journey as a serious sport in India. Since then, India has produced 85 grandmasters, with some young prodigies changing the face of global chess, such as Gukesh D., who became the youngest World Champion in 2024.

As chess enters previously uncharted heights in the country, the MGD1—one of the new age startups—has emerged as a trailblazer in managing and nurturing the nation’s top talent and.

In an exclusive interview, Manu Gurtu, co-founder of MGD1—India’s first startup dedicated solely to chess management—shared insights into the venture’s origins, challenges, and future vision. Here are some excerpts from the interaction:

Q: Can you tell us about MGD1 and what it’s all about?

Manu Gurtu: MGD1 is a venture we started about four years ago, shortly after the Online Olympiad, which India and Russia jointly won. During the pandemic, when everything was at a standstill, I was closely following chess as a longtime fan. I already knew a few chess players who were part of the Indian team, and I noticed that we were losing games due to internet connectivity issues.

I was put in touch with the team to help them resolve their technical difficulties, and that’s how I got involved in the chess ecosystem. Over time, I saw a clear need to support our chess players, which led to the foundation of MGD One. Eventually, I brought in my co-founder, and we officially registered the company.

We are an esports company, but we are specifically a chess-first company, and we manage chess players, conduct tournaments, and oversee chess teams and our entire focus is on anything and everything related to chess.

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Q: Srinath Narayanan has played a crucial part in the success of this venture. How would you describe his overall role?

Manu Gurtu: Srinath was the captain of the online Olympiad team. When they faced Internet disconnections, he was my contact. He helped me understand the challenges athletes face. Srinath, the coach, guided many talents back then. He explained the problems they encountered and encouraged me to take action. Srinath provided a list of issues that needed solving. His support was vital, as he was a chess insider, while I was an outsider. He really helped us get started. I would say he was a crucial part of the entire venture.

Q: The pandemic played a role in highlighting the struggles of Indian chess players. How do you see the landscape evolving in the next five to ten years? How will MGD1 contribute to improving it?

Manu Gurtu: Our approach is to tackle one problem at a time. The most fundamental issue is generating more money within the ecosystem. This can happen through sponsorships, increased tournaments in India, and greater opportunities for athletes.

One of India’s biggest advantages is that after cricket, chess is arguably the sport where we excel the most. While we have had great athletes in various sports, chess is the only one where we dominate globally apart from cricket.

Our strategy has been to communicate this effectively to companies, sponsors, and even government bodies. If we can help them recognize India’s position in world chess, financial support will naturally follow. That has been our key approach.

Also Read: Top five greatest Indian chess players of all-time

Q: What do you think is currently missing in the chess landscape, and how does MGD1 aim to fill the gaps?

Manu Gurtu: A major challenge is the perception that chess is inexpensive. In reality, it’s a costly sport and the training is expensive, but more importantly, competing in stronger tournaments—most of which take place in Europe and other regions—requires substantial financial investment.

Indian players often travel for nearly 200 days a year, which involves costs for flights, accommodation, food, and even guardians accompanying young players and many of these expenses come from their own pockets, and not all tournaments provide financial returns.

India needs more high-quality tournaments at all levels and while grassroots-level events exist, elite-level competitions are lacking. Instead of having our players travel extensively, we should be bringing top international players to compete here. That’s something we aim to change.

Q: Securing sponsorships is a major challenge for many players. What difficulties have you faced, and how have you overcome them?

Manu Gurtu: Sreekar [Channapragada] and I come from different business backgrounds. I am a techie with a software development company. Sreekar works in marketing and branding. Right now, we are fully focused on MGD1, thanks to our other companies that support us.

When you start solving a problem, returns don’t come right away. Regarding sponsorships, we don’t seek them for our company. We operate like any agency, where we take a percentage to manage a player, but we don’t charge players until they earn money. If we secure a deal for them, we keep a cut. Our goal is to bring in more money for the ecosystem, earning our share only when we succeed.

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Q: You recently secured a $1.5 million sponsorship deal for India’s number one Grandmaster, Arjun Erigaisi. Can you walk us through how that happened?

Manu Gurtu: Chess has always been popular in India’s top-tier engineering colleges, where many students are chess enthusiasts. Many of these individuals go on to become successful entrepreneurs. Prashant, the head of QuantBox, is one such entrepreneur with a passion for chess.

QuantBox is the world’s seventh-largest quant trading firm. Since Prashant already understood the game and its value, explaining our vision to him wasn’t difficult. Sure, 1,500,000 is a big commitment. It requires professionalism and a clear explanation of potential returns.

Associating a company with a sport like chess can be valuable. Chess is an intellectual sport. Your approach can shape how your company is perceived in the market.

If you can address these points and provide meaningful deliverables, you have a strong case. Many people invest more in sports that don’t offer similar returns.

Also Read: Full list of chess Grandmasters from India

Q: Traditional sports management companies often dominate this space. What sets MGD1 apart?

Manu Gurtu: Our main difference is that we understand the game better than others. We know the athletes well, too. This sport isn’t like traditional physical sports. It’s about mental skills. Managing these young athletes requires a unique approach. They are kids, not fully grown athletes. Starting out, they need special care.

We explain their challenges to brands and share what they need. This focus is important. If you follow other sports, it’s easy to get distracted. Other sports often offer more money, which is obvious. By sticking with chess, we find it easier to succeed in this area.

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