Advisors
Advisors
The experts who mentor our organization with their expertise.
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GM Andrew Tang
Andrew achieved the FIDE Grandmaster title in 2017 and is currently in the Class of 2023 at Princeton University. His chess Twitch channel has over 50,000 subscribers and he is a part of the Cloud9 eSports team. He is the top player of hyperbullet (30 seconds) and ultrabullet (15 seconds) in the world.
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GM Larry Christiansen
larrychr@gmail.com
Larry earned his FIDE Grandmaster title in 1977, and he was the U.S. Champion in 1980, 1983, and 2002. He also competed in the FIDE World Championship in 1998 and 2002. He is a renowned coach in the U.S.
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WGM Jennifer Yu
Jennifer Yu is a Woman Grandmaster and the 2019 and 2022 US Women’s Champion. Yu won a World Youth gold and World Junior bronze medal. She earned an individual bronze medal at the 2018 Olympiad. She is currently a student at Harvard University.
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GM Darwin Yang
Darwin started learning chess in 2004. A year later, he became the national 3rd grade champion. Since then, he has been a top chess player in his age group globally, winning bronze at the World Youth Championship in 2009. Darwin earned his FIDE GM title in 2016. He attended Harvard University for his undergraduate schooling and is now seeking a Ph.D. in economics at Princeton University.
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GM Jeffery Xiong
Jeffery has been an icon of the US chess players born in the new millennium. He qualified for the Grandmaster title at age 14, after he became the youngest champion in the history of the Chicago Open. He had a dominating performance in the World Junior Championship held in India in 2016, becoming the World Under-20 Champion at the young age of 15. In 2019, Jeffery joined the prestigious rank of Super Grandmaster. In 2021, he led Team USA on first board to win silver in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad.
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GM Gregory Kaidanov
kaidanov@yahoo.com
Gregory is one of the strongest chess players in the US, having played in the Olympiads six times , winning a team bronze in 1996, a team silver in 1998, an individual silver in 2004, and a team bronze in 2006. Kaidanov also competed in the World Team Championships three times, winning a team gold and an individual silver in 1993, and a team silver and individual gold in 1997. His major tournament victories include the 1992 World Open, 1992 U.S. Open, 2002 Aeroflot Open, and the 2008 Gausdal Classic. Besides competitively playing chess, he also currently teaches students.
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NM Winston Ni
Winston is in the Class of 2027 at Cornell University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in CS. He has been playing chess since the age of five and won the K-9 National Championship in 2018. In the same tournament, he led his school team to become National Champions.
The Administration
The Administration
Leaders who impact our organization on a national scale. Responsible for our core operations.
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Eric Wu
PRESIDENT
Currently attending Georgetown University in the Class of 2028, Eric started playing chess at the age of 7. He is a 3-time NJ state grade champion. He also attended the World Chess Cadet Championships in 2018. The same year, he contributed to his school team becoming National Junior High School Champions. In high school, he was a Co-Head of the Phillips Exeter Chess Club as well as the service chess organization.
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Joanna Hou
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Joanna started playing chess in kindergarten, and she still plays as a hobby. She has two cats and enjoys playing the piano, reading, and science. She is in Princeton High School’s class of 2026.
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Cindy Zhou
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & DESIGN
Cindy attends Princeton High School and is graduating in the year of 2025. She loves helping younger kids find their love for chess. Cindy invests a lot of her time in coding & designing websites. In her free time, she enjoys playing various video games and exploring art.
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Steven Li
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Steven is in the Class of 2025 at Princeton Day School. He has been playing chess since the age of eight and has not won tournaments. Apart from chess, he enjoys playing tennis and improving personal fitness.
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Liam Cavanaugh
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Liam started to play chess when he was 7 years old, and was able to place as high as 5th in Minnesota Chess Tournaments. Although he is a casual player now, he still loves the game of chess.
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Rochelle Wu
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA & NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Rochelle began attending chess tournaments at the age of six. She has become a gold medalist at the World Chess Cadet Championships in 2016. The Kasparov Chess Foundation recognized her achievements, and she joined the program for many years. She continues to balance chess and school and still competes in tournaments whenever possible.
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Leon Zheng
DIRECTOR OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES & CANADA OPERATIONS
Currently attending Princeton Day School in the Class of 2026, Leon has played chess since 2018 and has been NJ State Champion for 6th grade in 2020.
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Ryan Wang
DIRECTOR OF VIDEO MEDIA & MASSACHUSETTS OPERATIONS
Ryan started chess at the age of 5 and is ranked top 10 nationally for his age group. He was the K-1 National Champion in 2015, and he placed 6th place in the 7th Grade National Championship. He has qualified and participated in the World Chess Cadet Championship 3 times. He has also taught chess in several organizations.
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Tianna Wang
CHIEF EDITOR
Tianna started playing chess in first grade and since then has been ranked in the top five female players of her age group in the nation. She has been invited to represent Team USA in the World Youth Championships every year since 2016 and attended 3 times, tying for the bronze medal in Brazil. She has also taught chess to young children in several organizations.
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Rianne Ke
DIRECTOR OF FUNDRAISING
Rianne has been playing chess since she was in preschool. She competed in every World Youth/Cadet Championships from 2014-2018 while being the official representative twice. She made history when she became the first female ever to co-win an Elementary National Chess Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2018. Besides playing chess competitively and teaching chess consistently, she enjoys singing, dancing, golfing, skiing, drawing, and cooking in her free time.
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Patrick Zhou
DIRECTOR OF SAFETY
Patrick Zhou is a Computer Science major that currently works for a self-driving car company. He has since played chess casually from when he was 8 years old and continues play chess with friends and family to this day.
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Hadrian Lynn
DIRECTOR OF FILM & MEDIA
Hadrian is in the class of 2024 at The Pennington School. He started playing chess in 3rd grade and is now pursuing directing in film and media. He has extensive experience in education and community outreach nonprofits.
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Doris Tao
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH
Doris Tao currently attends Stuart Country Day School in the class of 2025. She is really interested in chess and has experience operating social media as well as creating business collaborations. She enjoys playing the piano and running track for her school team.
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Andrew Dai
DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Andrew is a lifelong chess enthusiast who began playing at the age of 7. He has a FIDE rating of around 1400. He is in the class of 2026 at Princeton Day School.
Regional Leaders
Regional Leaders
Leaders of events, campaigns, and community opportunities. They are the roots of our local operations.
Student Leaders
Student Leaders
Student leaders are our ambassadors and members who help broaden our impact
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Yunsheng Xu
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Eric Zhang
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Yohan Ghosh
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Alison Zhou
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Jesse Ren
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Ryan Zhong
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Will Cige
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Calvin Zheng
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Kritanu Saha
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Sisira Yerrajennu
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Justin Li
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Jonathan Angwenyi
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Audrey Li
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Premsai Nallapareddygari