A Conversation with The Chess Friends about their new book Q&A Chess: Tournament Edition
A Conversation with The Chess Friends about their new book Q&A Chess: Tournament Edition
Get it now at: https://a.co/d/e069gQD
The Chess Friends: Benjamin Frederick (13), Sarang Sankrithi (11) and Vivaan Sankrithi (7) are three chess buddies who have created something unique in the world of chess books for kids: a book that is equal parts informative and fun.
This new book is not about chess openings, endgames, tactics, or strategy, though there are some fun puzzles.
It’s an inspiring how-to guide that informs players and their parents how to successfully navigate the complicated world of chess tournaments.
I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek of their new book and an opportunity to meet the members of this team in a wildly energetic, charming, and funny conversation.
From the start, it was clear how close these kids were to each other and how their thought process effortlessly blended.
On their blog (https://www.chessfriendsbooks.com/blog ), they refer to themselves as The Man (Benji), The Myth (Sarang) and The Legend (Vivaan), so it’s appropriate to let them respond as MML.
Ken: When did you come up with the idea for this chess tournament book?
MML: The idea to write a book came up when Benji started homeschooling again in the fall of 2024. We were good friends but didn't get to see each other too often. This writing project became a great way for us to connect regularly, and work on something new together. More than that, it became our shared ELA (English Language Arts) experience, as we wrote, discussed, and revised the book, with the help of our parents (Siva, Sarang and Vivaan’s Dad, and Sasha, Benji’s Mom).
Ken: When did you first start working on the book?
MML: About a year ago in September 2024.
Ken: How did you come up with the idea for the book?
MML: From the start we knew that the book would be about chess, what brought us together. There are tons of great books for kids that teach the basics of chess. We’ve read and learned from them, but we didn’t want to write another traditional chess book for kids. We wanted to write something different: a book explaining what chess tournaments are like, and how to handle the dynamics of chess competition. Usually, kids learn that by asking their friends and coaches, and through trial and error, but we wanted to make that transition even smoother for them.
Ken: The book is broken down into three sections.
I. Before the Tournament
II. During the Tournament
III. After the Tournament
Who came up with the brilliant idea of utilizing a Question-and-Answer format?
MML: We just came up with it together, through brainstorming, because we thought it would be the fastest and most effective way to communicate information. In the book, we answer 64 (squares on a chessboard) of the top questions every chess tournament player needs to know.
Ken: Let’s talk about some of the mechanics of the actual writing process. How did that unfold?
MML: Actually, the best part of this process was that we got to meet once a week for several months in a row.
We would meet on Zoom or at our favorite local bakery, Grand Central, and bring our laptops. Then we would write our sections and take turns editing each other’s material and come up with homework for ourselves for the next week.
We just kept working step-by-step until we thought we had answered every question we could think of for each section of the book.
We learned that writing a book takes many steps including brainstorming, writing, revising, and editing. We are excited about all the marketing too!
Ken: Who helped you with the layout of the book?
MML: That was Benji’s mom, Sasha. She helped us layout and illustrate the book. We came up with a fun cartoon character to introduce ideas in the book, Peshka – which means Pawn in Russian.
Ken: The book is out today! Congratulations! What fun things will you do now that the book is out?
MML: We are going to start promoting the book at a bunch of chess clubs and tournaments.
We’ve been invited to the famous Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club in San Francisco to do a book event and we’ve confirmed events at the Langley Chess Club in British Columbia, Canada, as well as The Washington Challenger’s Cup and Washington Women’s Championship!
We are prepared to do live workshops at various chess tournaments and are also open to doing Zoom events too. If you want us to do an event at your location, email us at chessfriendsbooks@gmail.com
Ken: Where else can people find out more about you and your upcoming events?
MML: We share that on our website (https://www.chessfriendsbooks.com/ ). The website tells stories about how we created the book and even gives people an inside look at the process of writing the book. It also shows some advanced blurbs of what people have said about the book.
Hopefully you will enjoy our blog there (https://www.chessfriendsbooks.com/blog ), which we try to update weekly. It has already been read over a thousand people from 17 countries! We also recently shared a blog post in our favorite Northwest Chess magazine and hope to post exclusive articles there once a month moving forward.
Ken: What else does the future hold for The Chess Friends?
MML: We have our own chess goals, and we keep learning and playing chess, growing our individual and shared experiences. Together, we have some ideas to add to this line of books. We still meet weekly to write and publish our blog posts. We just want people to have the knowledge and resources to make the most out of their own chess journeys, with us as their friendly guides.
Ken: What is the most important thing you want chess players to learn from your book?
MML: We want players to feel more prepared and comfortable in the chess tournament world.
We hope our book will help them as they navigate some of the ups and downs that come with the game. We also wish that the book will make them smile! Yes, even if it helps just a few kids, that would make us very happy!
Ken: I understand that, collectively, you spent over 500 hours working on this project. That’s a lot of work.
MML: It’s not that hard when you are working with friends and having fun!
Ken: What’s your last bit of advice to all the chess players in the community?
Benji: My advice would be that any chess kid can do whatever their heart desires if they just keep pushing for their dreams. Someday it'll come true.
Sarang: I think kids should be a lot more friendly, kind, and helpful to other people during chess tournaments. Then good things will come to them.
Vivaan: I think kids don't need to be afraid of when they play adults – because they will soon realize that adults are often even more scared of playing them. Believe in yourself! You got this!
Ken: Check and mate.
Mini Review of Q & A Chess Tournament Book
Q&A Chess: Tournament Edition by The Chess Friends is remarkable. You can actually hear the author kids think and laugh as they share their joy and knowledge about chess tournaments. No other book on the market manages to blend so much information and fun in such an engaging way!
Q&A Chess: Tournament Edition
