This chess loving cafe is about to be shut down
Cut Coffee Paste is a chess loving cafe started by Harsh Sirohi in Gurugram. In fact the cafe has a name for its chess club as well - Espresso Chess Defense! Over the last few months, the place has become a go-to place for the chess lovers in the city. However, the cafe is under financial crunch and is in danger of shutting down. It is for this reason that Harsh is hoping that the community that he invested in could come and save his dream.
A cafe that loves chess like no other!
Roughly a year and a half ago, we received a message from a chess lover named Harsh Sirohi that he would like to start a cafe in Gurugram region. And he wanted it to help the chess community in the region. The name of the cafe was Cut Coffee Paste and the chess club it launched was called the Espresso Chess Defense. In 2025, when Amruta and I went to Gurugram for the EWC 2025 commentary we visited this cafe. It was amazing to see that the cafe was right inside a metro station (Guru Dronacharya).
For me what stood out whenever I met Harsh was his love for chess! He would do tournaments at his cafe, setup chess boards, be open to anyone coming at any time and playing chess. There was a special bond he had for the sport. Chess loving people were always welcome at his cafe.
A few months later, Harsh got another space, a much bigger one and opened the 2nd outlet of Cut Coffee Paste. This was at the Golf Course Road in Gurugram.
Harsh took a decision that apart from organizing his own events, he would let any organizer host a chess event at his cafe for absolutely no cost. For him this meant two things - chess was reaching more people and more people were reaching his cafe! It looked like a win-win scenario.
I had a very pleasant experience visiting Cut Coffee Paste. Deep in my heart I hoped that people kept coming in the cafe and Harsh would continue supporting chess. However, there were other plans in store. The number of people visiting the cafe was not enough for Harsh to keep both his outlets open. So he closed down the Guru Dronacharya outlet. And at this point, he has just under a month left to keep the Golf Course Road cafe going. Not enough people are visiting the Cut Coffee Paste Cafe.
To understand the situation better, I decided to send some questions over to Harsh, so that you can understand what exactly is happening.
Sagar Shah (SS): How did you come up with the idea of Cut Coffee Paste?
Harsh Sirohi (HS): Cut Coffee Paste was born with a simple idea in my mind. I wanted to create a community cafe where everyone feels welcomed. Not another cafe with bougie interiors and over priced food. But a place where people come, enjoy the food, but moreover meet for chess, board games, art and book club meet ups. A cafe where people belong.
SS: What is your relationship to chess and how did the idea of espresso chess defense come about?
HS: Chess and I go long back, I am 32 now. I have been playing chess since I was 4 years old. The idea of Espresso Defense Chess Club came in mind, when I saw there was no cafe which promotes chess enough. Cafés only did chess tournaments in their lean hours. I wanted to create a place where chess is not just a mere activity, but it’s an identity. There is no Cut Coffee Paste without chess. That is why we host regular chess tournaments…
SS: You moved to the Golf course Road with your cafe. It is one of the most premium spots in Gurgaon. Was this helpful for the brand?
HS: It is definitely helpful for the brand. We are open 24x7. But it being relatively new to the location, we are struggling with sales as the place needs more marketing and the rentals and fixed costs are high. That’s one of the biggest challenges we are facing right now. Low sales and need of good marketing. But we are completely bootstrapped and currently low on funds to do so on our own. That is why I am reaching out to different people on social media. Cut Coffee Paste needs help and it needs it now!
SS: You have supported many communities, not just chess. Can you tell us about it?
HS: Yes, as I mentioned, Cut Coffee Paste is a community cafe chain and we support and host different communities like chess, running clubs, board games community, art and book club meets, biking and cycling groups and many more everyday. We believe community is something which stays through your thick and thin and the sight of people coming together and laughing and enjoying your food is an absolute delight.
SS: You are looking for an investor for the cut coffee paste brand. Can you tell through us why should an investor invest in cut coffee paste brand?
HS: We are completely bootstrapped and I have over 8 years of experience in running cafés. I have been doing business way before, since I was mere 12 years old. So the investors are not just investing in the brand, they are investing on me. I have been a Rotaractor and then a Rotarian since 2012, and philanthropy and community engagement are my core beliefs which translates into every decision we take in business too. If any investor comes in and support us today, not only will they make good returns, but they will genuinely help build a pan India brand, which gives back to chess and gives back to the people in need.
HS: If someone visits cut coffee paste, what would you recommend them to eat and drink? What is your favourite dish on the menu?
HS: Our kitchen is led by our head Chef who has over a decade of experience in working in all renowned 5 star hotel chains in India. So, you can rest assured about the taste and quality of any item you choose from our menu. But our bestsellers are Pastas, Sushi, Chicken Baskets, Chinese and our in house fresh Neapolitan Pizzas. And you should definitely try our Cold Coffees. They are truly one of the best in town.
SS: Any final words that you have for the chess community?
HS: I just hope, that someone with good resources in chess community like Samay Raina, Nikhil Kamath, Tanmay Bhat, Vishwanathan Anand, Anand Mahindra, Sagar Shah, Prashant Singh comes forward to support us at this critical moment as Cut Coffee Paste won’t survive on its own. It is going to be self sustainable in near future. But at this moment, it can’t survive without external funding to support its operational and marketing expenses for the next 6 months. And it won’t be just another cafe chain shutting down, with it, a dream of making chess accessible to everyone at Cut Coffee Paste will also shut down forever. Let’s save this dream together.
Important Info and Links:
If you are interested in helping Harsh in any way, you can do so through his phone number +919999930718 or via email harsh@cutcoffeepaste.com