The Chess Mate Team

Chess Mate Foundation is led by a Board of esteemed Trustees whose diverse backgrounds — spanning psychology and counselling, academic leadership, and industry expertise — shape the direction and integrity of our mission. Together, President Mrs. Rima Pal, Secretary Ms. Archisa Pal, and Treasurer Dr. Anindya Pal bring a rare blend of compassion, creativity, and professional rigour to our mission of empowering children. Their collective experience and dedication shape our strategy, safeguard our values, and help ensure that every child we serve — underprivileged, orphaned, or specially-abled — has access to the life-changing benefits of chess accross Bharat.

Artisan, Counsellor & Community Advocate

Rima Pal has an educational background in psychology and counselling, and is a government-certified artisan. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Philosophy from the University of Calcutta.

Beyond counselling, she runs a successful handicrafts business, with her work exhibited across many parts of India for decades. She is also deeply involved in NGO work focused on children, driven by her passion for mentoring young people.

Rima uniquely combines artistry, entrepreneurship, and compassionate community service.

Rima’s role: Chief Program Officer
Rima leads Chess Mate Foundation's programs, working closely with our Psychology Leads to understand how chess shapes cognitive growth in the students we serve. She champions our research efforts, sharing data-driven insights and real student stories that reflect the impact of our work.

Archisa Pal is a Delhi University Humanities student who blends academic excellence with strong leadership and artistic achievement. A top scorer across disciplines, she's also a trained Kathak dancer honored with the Central Government Ministry of Culture Kathak Scholarship and has performed at prestigious platforms, alongside experience in vocal music, choir, theatre, and national dance competitions. Her leadership shows through her roles as General Secretary of the Student Council and Co-founder of a civic initiative, and she volunteers with NGOs teaching underprivileged students. Guided by creativity, knowledge, and compassion, she aims to make a meaningful social impact while continuing to grow as a well-rounded individual.

Archisa’s role : Chief Experience Officer
As Chief Experience Officer, Archisa leads Chess Mate Foundation's social media presence, shaping how our story reaches the world. She works to amplify the organization's visibility in service of our mission, sharing regular updates on events, milestones, and the impact of our work. Through thoughtful, consistent storytelling, Archisa helps connect our community of supporters, players, and volunteers to the cause we champion.

Dr. Anindya Pal is a veteran techno-commercial professional with more than two decades of specialized experience spanning polymer compounding and the broader petrochemicals industry. Based in New Delhi, he has carved a distinctive dual identity — part industry practitioner, part academic bridge-builder — positioning himself as an independent researcher, natural educator who connects corporate expertise with institutional learning. He also serves a few NGOs in his own individual capacity, reflecting a strong personal commitment to social contribution alongside his professional pursuits.

Dr Anindya’s role: Chief Impact Officer (Honorary)
Dr. Anindya serves as the Chief Impact Officer (Honorary) at Chess Mate Foundation, where he leads stakeholder engagement and strategic coordination to drive the Foundation's programs forward. Working closely with a network of NGO partners, he ensures seamless collaboration and support that helps translate the Foundation's vision into real, on-ground impact. His efforts are central to building strong partnerships that expand the reach and effectiveness of Chess Mate's initiatives.

Mrs. Rima Pal, a trained counsellor, and Dr. Anindya Pal, an independent researcher and natural educator, have been teaching orphaned and underprivileged children through community-based initiatives in collaboration with social workers for the past several years. Their work has provided firsthand insights into the educational, emotional, and cognitive challenges faced by children from marginalized communities.

In parallel, Dr. Anindya Pal completed his research on social mobility, examining the impact of skill development, women's empowerment, quality education, intergenerational mobility, intragenerational mobility, and inclusive growth on India's social and industrial development. The findings reinforced a crucial observation: while external training programs can help individuals achieve short-term objectives, long-term success in a rapidly changing world requires strong internal capabilities such as resilience, critical thinking, emotional regulation, and strategic decision-making.

Driven by this understanding, the couple envisioned a sustainable and scalable intervention that could strengthen children's cognitive abilities from an early age. Their objective is to empower underprivileged children to become independent thinkers capable of making informed career choices—whether in entrepreneurship, research, public service, or emerging professions of the modern economy.

After reviewing several evidence-based learning approaches, they identified chess as a powerful educational tool with the potential to enhance cognitive skills, including:

• Pattern recognition
• Strategic thinking
• Critical thinking
• Analytical reasoning
• Emotional regulation
• Decision-making under uncertainty
• Problem-solving and planning

To translate this vision into practice, they formed Chess Mate Foundation. They have visited several NGOs across the Delhi NCR region and identified partner organizations where structured chess-based cognitive development programs could be implemented for orphaned and underprivileged children.

Beyond social intervention, they designed the initiative as a research-driven program. Under the guidance of psychology experts and academic collaborators, they aim to conduct systematic field studies using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Data collected during program implementation will be analyzed using modern statistical and big data techniques to evaluate the impact of chess on children's cognitive development, emotional resilience, academic performance, and decision-making capabilities.

By extending these initiatives to diverse and underserved communities, Chess Mate Foundation contributes towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Ms. Sonali Bharadwaj
  Our Child Psychology & Field Research Team Lead
• Mr. Karun Duggal & Mr. Atanu Lahiri
  Our Chess Training Team Leads
• Mr. Saurabh Ghosh
  Our Accounts & Financial Auditing Team Lead
• Mr. Subharghya Das
  Our Web Presence & Promotion Team Lead