Shikhar Saxena - This tech founder is a silent supporter of Indian chess

Chess tournament at a wedding?!

Shikhar Saxena’s professional roots are in the high-stakes world of Indian startups. An IIT Guwahati graduate, he was an early product manager at Meesho and is now the founder of Binary. However, the chess world knows him best for a "crazy" decision: hosting a chess tournament at his wedding.

Explaining the move, Shikhar says, "We wanted to do something fun in the wedding outside of all the rituals, because probably I was in this chess mode and we had a bunch of friends who were following chess as well, we were like, 'why not do this?'". The event wasn't just for fun; all proceeds went to the HelpChess foundation. "I had a lot of confidence that whatever amount we are contributing would go to the right people. You guys run it in such a nice transparent fashion," he notes regarding his trust in the ChessBase India team.

Shikhar's journey:

Shikhar Saxena’s entrepreneurial journey began at IIT Guwahati, where he studied Chemical Engineering and first discovered the concept of entrepreneurship through the college's development cell.

Despite having "zero clue" about starting businesses initially, he began organically building websites and apps in his second year after a formative internship at a small startup convinced him that the tech world was his true calling. In early 2018, he joined Meesho as one of its first product managers, spending five years gaining a "ringside view" as the company grew into a billion-dollar e-commerce giant.

Driven by a persistent desire to solve new problems from scratch, he eventually left Meesho to launch his own startup, SuperDM, which has since evolved into Binary, a platform dedicated to helping companies and individuals manage overwhelming inbound communication and hiring more efficiently. We, at ChessBase India, have been using SuperDM and Binary extensively.

Tech Advisor to ChessBase India

Without any formal planning Shikhar became the tech advisor for ChessBase India, providing vital guidance to both Amruta and me. He is someone whom we trust deeply and in many ways has been instrumental for whatever growth ChessBase India has had in the tech domain.

Shikhar and his friend Siddharth (Bulia) personally helped to build HelpChess website and introduced the innovative donation widget used to raise funds during live streams. Shikhar was also the one who pushed us to introduce the Big Believer simul concept, a system that honours significant contributors with unique opportunities to play against top grandmasters. Most recently, he has been a guiding force for ChessRanga, helping shape the platform's unique course format and user experience.

Getting to know Gukesh

Shikhar Saxena’s friendship with World Champion D. Gukesh began in Bangalore after one of the WACA events, where the two quickly bonded over a shared interest in tennis. In fact Gukesh even visited Shikhar's home and played Tennis with him and Charmie.

Having spent time with him during the final days of the World Championship in Singapore, Shikhar was deeply impressed by Gukesh’s mental fortitude, noting that he has a "maturity which is way beyond his age" and remains remarkably "disciplined with trusting the process and not getting distracted". He also highlights Gukesh's grounded nature, describing him as "super humble" despite his massive success. Notably, Shikhar draws a direct parallel between Gukesh and his sporting idol, MS Dhoni, stating that "humility being the first one... calmness being probably the second one" are great qualities common to both champions.

Inviting Vidit Gujrathi to his home

As Vidit's interest in the tech domain increases, it is natural that his frequency of visits to Bangalore have increased. On one of this occasions he decided to stay at the home of Shikhar and Charmie. Shikhar got to know him more deeply. "The first trait that comes to mind I think is just how self-aware he probably is." He notes the bravery required for a player of Vidit's caliber to pursue interests outside of the board, stating, "In his shoes, I think it's a quite bold decision. I know how much courage it would probably take for him to be able to do that and that to publicly." Shikhar admires Vidit’s intellectual drive, describing him as "just so incredibly curious, so non-apologetic about chasing his curiosity."

Things Shikhar believes in

Before the interview began, I just did a cursory Google check on Shikhar and I saw his website, with a very interesting section in it titled "Some things I believe in". I wanted to go over each of the points and Shikhar was kind enough to elaborate upon them.

1. Most of our success depends on luck

Shikhar maintains that a significant portion of a person's success depends on luck, specifically the privileges one is born with. He views individuals as a "function of their upbringing" and environment—factors like the city you are born in or the education you can access—which are largely outside of an individual's control.

2. Tying our happiness to a goal is a bad idea

Process Over Goals - following what he calls "Dhoni principles," he advocates for falling in love with the process itself, aiming for a mindset where you remain as happy in losses as you are in wins while focusing solely on getting better every day.

3. Complaining about anything is a terrible idea

Shikhar views complaining as unhelpful because there is almost always a proactive step one can take instead. He suggests that rather than venting, one should focus on changing their own thought process, building empathy for the person they are frustrated with, or simply accepting that a situation is outside of their control.

4. People who love their craft generally work on weekends

Shikhar believes that people who truly love their craft find it difficult to segregate their lives into "weekdays" and "weekends". He notes that when you are genuinely excited about what you do, it becomes tough to stop yourself from working on it, leading to a more organic and fluid approach to one's career.

5. Falling in love with the boring work can be life changing

Shikhar defines "boring" as anything that lacks instant gratification. Whether it is business administration, healthy eating, or gym routines, he believes that consistently doing the tedious, non-exciting tasks is the only way to achieve long-term progress and major life goals.

6. Relationships bring meaning to our lives and relationships are about giving

For Shikhar relationships are what bring the most meaning to life, but they must be approached with a spirit of giving without expectation. He advocates for being completely non-transactional, focusing on what you contribute to others rather than what you receive in return.

7. There is probably no good reason to hate anyone.

There is no good reason to hate anyone because people are products of their specific life experiences and lack of privileges. If you had lived their exact life and faced their exact circumstances, it's quite probable that you would be exactly like them.

Video interview with Shikhar

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction about Shikhar by Sagar
1:12 - How Shikhar Discovered Chess
2:18 - Chess at His Wedding & the "HelpChess" Initiative
4:53 - Role as a Tech Advisor for ChessBase India
7:40 - The Launch of Chessanga and Its Unique Format
9:15 - Early Life in Lucknow & Getting into IIT Guwahati
11:48 - Meeting Charmie & Their Collaborative Journey
12:58 - Discovering the Entrepreneurial Bug in College
14:33 - The Appeal of Startup Culture & Problem-Solving
15:28 - The Meesho Journey: From Early Employee to Billion-Dollar Success
19:36 - Founding Binary (Super DM) to Solve Inbox Spam
23:17 - How IIT-JEE Prep Shaped His Analytical Thinking
24:10 - Friendship with Gukesh & Watching the World Championship
26:14 - Lessons from MS Dhoni: Calmness & Unorthodox Decisions
29:43 - Vidit Gujrathi’s Bold Transition into Tech & AI
31:47 - Philosophy: Why Success Depends Largely on Luck & Privilege
32:58 - Process vs. Goals: Why Tying Happiness to Goals is a Bad Idea
33:44 - The Power of Not Complaining & Building Empathy
35:00 - Loving Your Craft & Working on Weekends
36:30 - Falling in Love with "Boring" Work for Long-Term Progress
37:57 - Relationships: The Importance of Giving & Being Non-Transactional
39:08 - Learning Discipline and Empathy from Charmie
40:23 - Why There Is No Good Reason to Hate Anyone
41:28 - Health & Nutrition: Prioritizing Sleep and Protein Intake
43:15 - Closing Thoughts: The Humility of the Chess Community