Coach Mike joined BAC coaching team in December 2018

Mike Jones is an experienced chess player. Coach Mike has been teaching chess for the past 20 years in the Bay Area. He was the Director of the Friday Night Chess Club in Sunnyvale.  He graduated with a BA in Recreation Admin from San Diego State University. Coach Mike is also a Pastor with a MA degree in Ministry. He is an outstanding teacher and coach. He continues to teach chess to children and adults in group and private lessons.  He is always learning and likes to read and bike in his spare time.

Steven Zierk is a Grandmaster born and raised in the Bay Area, best known for winning the World Under-18 championship in 2010.
Steven learned the game at age six and climbed to 1500 before spending five years away from serious chess. After returning in 2007 Steven gained six hundred rating points in a year with rating gains in twenty-four consecutive tournaments. Steven’s climb culminated in victory at the 2010 World Under 18 Championships, winning by a full point with 9.5/11.

Alan Hung, one of the enrichment coaches, who joined BAC in the summer of 2018, is committed to providing an encouraging and inspiring environment for everyone to learn and master chess.

He believes that the attributes required for one to play the game of chess can also be applied elsewhere in life, including academics. Playing chess allows kids to develop the ability to focus, use critical thinking skills, and even to plan and visualize multiple steps ahead. These are all characteristics that can be applied to many professions and occupations.

Hi! My name is Nataliya and I am glad to be your  coach and do my best to help you improvе and acquire new chess skills.

I have spent a lot of time behind the 64-square board and I still admire the beauty of the ancient game.

Hello! I am a new BayAreaChess coach, starting Jan 1., 2018! Besides being a prolific chess professional and winner of many tournaments (peak FIDE rating: 2602), I’ve also written chess books and coached world champion players. And I’m looking forward to coaching all of you!

Coach Bada joined BayAreaChess Team of professional and dedicated coaches in October 2017.

Coach Bada holds a Woman Fide Master title from FIDE, she is passionate about teaching chess to children as well as improving her games. She is a vivid chess tournament player, with respectable results all around the country. Coach Bada bears the Fide Title of Women Fide Master.

We are happy to have coach Bada on board!

Coach Michael joined BayAreaChess in October 2017.

Coach Michael learned to play chess in 1972 -"a Fischer baby!" -  and began playing competitive chess in 1991. 

Jennifer Ly is an avid chess player, and has been playing chess since she was 18 years old, having been introduced to the game at a later age than many. However, having played casually for many years, her love of the game inevitably developed into a passion and then eventual commitment. This dedication to learning the fine nuances of this beautiful and classical game had led her to seek out and study for a short time with an International Master, and then under regular private instruction with a Candidate Master for the past year. 

Coach Jeff joined BayAreaChess 2017 Spring.
He is an experienced lead coach as well as a SAT prep tutor.
 

Coach Jason joined BayAreachess 2017 spring. His expertise in strategy games and chess makes him an excellent addition to our BAC Coach Team.

When Jason isn’t spending time with his amazing son, Jacob, or working on his latest novel, he’s studying strategy games and playing chess.