Our Team

Bernie is a rising senior at Westwood High School. He started playing chess at age 6 and has won many chess tournaments, including two-time MA Scholastic Champion of U8 and U11 and 2nd place in the High School section. In February 2020, Bernie won the Best Board award at the 50th US Amateur Team East Chess Championship in NJ. He is currently a Candidate Master with a USCF peak rating of 2131. Bernie wants to share his chess knowledge and unique chess experiences with all his students. Besides chess, he also enjoys playing with Rubik's Cubes, playing the piano, fencing, and hiking in his spare time.

Alex has been playing chess for about 10 years. Currently residing in Acton, MA, he loves to play chess both as a hobby and competitively. In competitive chess, he has achieved many milestones. Some of his most memorable achievements were winning 1st place for the Spiegel Cup for 8&U, 11&U, and 2nd place for 14&U. In addition, he has scored fantastic results in all 4 years of the World Amateur Team (2017-2020) and has even played for the US team against China, breaking the 2000 rating barrier at the age of 12, as well as winning various local and non-local tournaments. His peak USCF rating is 2133.

Alan has been playing chess for 8 years and has been an assistant teacher for the chess class at the Wellesley Chinese Language School for 3 years. At the age of 12, he achieved the title of National Chess Master. He also has won many local tournaments and has had a peak USCF rating of 2260.

Starting from 2nd grade, Jerry has played chess for more than 9 years. He has played in a multitude of tournaments, winning trophies and cash prizes. Most notably, he placed third in the 2017 North American Youth Chess Championship U14 Section, winning the FIDE CM title, and placed 9th in the 2022 K-12 Grade Championships 11th Grade. He obtained the National Master title in 6th grade and still plays chess frequently. Jerry's USCF peak rating is 2212. He likes to spend most of his time practing tactics, learning new openings, and preparing for the next big chess tournament.

For over 8 years, Joy has been a competitive chess player, reaching a peak USCF rating of 1989. Throughout her chess career, Joy has consistently ranked national top 10 in her age group, and has won a multitude of championships, including the Massachusetts Girls Championship and the North American Youth Championship. Joy loves the game with her heart and soul and hopes to share the Joy (forgive me) of chess with younger players. Outside of chess, Joy also squanders her free time on art, poetry, and the nerdy side of youtube. 

Tianna started playing chess in the first grade and is now ranked in her age group’s top three highest rated female players in the nation. Consistently placing in the top 10 in local and international tournaments, she has been invited to represent Team USA in the World Youth Championships every year since 2016. She attended 3 times, and tied for the bronze medal in the World Championship in Brazil. She loves chess and is excited to share it with new young players.

 Jasper has been playing chess since kindergarten and enjoys playing in his free time. He has won many tournaments and loves the mental aspect of the game. In his free time, Jasper enjoys playing tennis, reading history books and National Geographic magazines, exploring nature, and playing league. He loves helping people and is using this opportunity to teach people how to play chess.

Kevin has been playing chess since 6 years old. He has reached a peak USCF rating of over 1700. He won many chess tournaments, one of which included 1st place in a section of the Continental Open, which awarded 800 dollars and a massive trophy. His other hobbies include playing the piano and studying biology.

  Ryan has been playing chess for 8 years. He is currently an 8th grader. Ryan became the national champion in first grade and has consistently placed top ten nationally every year. His peak rating is 2128, and he is still playing chess competitively. 

Yizhang is a rising junior at Emerson College majoring in Journalism, having enjoyed photography from a young age. He is the chief photographer and video producer of CHESSINSPIRE.