Meet Our Team 

Experienced, Passionate Organizers and Coaches

Bhavna Jain (Co-Founder)

Advisor, Dublin High School Chess Club

Co-Founder and Organizer, Wallis Ranch Chess program 

Co-Lead Organizer for Fallon Chess program, 2019 to 2021

5+ years of volunteer experience organizing and leading school projects including chess classes and tournaments.

Maths and Chemistry tutor and Computer science grad

Eric Lai (Co-Founder, Coach)

Co-Founder, Organizer and Coach, Fallon Middle School Chess Club

Advisor, Dublin High School Chess Club

Co-Founder, Wells Middle School Chess Club

10+ years as professional chess teacher

USCF tournament player (peak OTB rating: 1738) competing at state and national scholastic tournaments

Former journalist and Silicon Valley corporate director

Kaushik Bakhandi (Coach)

Co-Founder and Coach, Fallon Middle School Chess Club

10+ years as a professional chess teacher

State ranked junior player in India; USCF A player currently with 2000 tournament rating

Full-time IT consultant

Sana Tsogtsaikhan (Coach)

USCF Candidate Master with peak rating of 2199

Former California Women's State Champion and U.S. Women's Open Champion

5+ years as a professional chess teacher


Evan Ai (Coach)

USCF National Master with 2200+ rating

One of Top 40-rated 18 year olds in America; among Top 50 by age in U.S. for more than a decade

2019 CalChess State High School Champion

Defeated multiple IMs and GMs in international-level play

Katherine Pask (Coach)

Top 50 in the US for girls by age for last four years

Tournament player for 10+ years

Chess teacher for 3+ years, including at Wells Middle School, Mavin Academy, and Emerald Hills

Student Coaches

We also train and hire local high school and college students as volunteer assistants and paid coaches. 

Many of them are current members or alumni of the DHS, Fallon or Wells chess programs. 

Not only are they strong players, but many have extensive experience as volunteer chess teachers. 

If you are interested in spreading your love of chess, contact us!