Meet Our Coaches!
BIJAL ♟ ♞ ♝ Bijal has been teaching Math and Social Studies to school kids for more than 10 years, and has been playing chess since she was a kid. Teaching her daughter how to play chess inspired her to teach other kids as well and led her to join Silver Knights. She makes learning chess a fun experience and is very passionate about her job. When she's not playing chess, she also enjoys art and surrounding herself with nature.
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Bob ♟ ♞ ♝
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ALEXANDER ♞ ♝ ♜
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GLORIA ♞ ♝ ♜
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Noah ♞ ♝ ♜ |
JAMES ♞ ♝ ♜ James (USCF 1533) learned chess at age 6 has been playing ever since. He loves that chess is a strategy game of perfect information, and that any that any two people can meet and play on even terms. James has been teaching with Silver Knights since 2017. When he's not playing or teaching chess he likes snowboarding, playing the piano and studying Japanese. |
GINA ♝ ♜Gina Quintiliani (USCF 1400) has been an avid chess player ever since she taught herself how to play chess as a child. She has more than a decade of experience teaching chess on both the West and East coasts. She has degrees in biology, literature, and theology. |
Bryan ♜ ♛ Bryan (USCF 1663) began teaching chess in New York City, first with Chess-in-the-Schools and then with Growing Minds Chess Academy. In 2015, he was hired to lead the famed Marshall Chess Club as its executive director. In that role he significantly expanded the Club's educational offerings—introducing adult, senior, and a variety of scholastic courses—while overseeing a group of talented coaches. He is a FIDE certified instructor and arbiter. |
DAVID ♛ David (USCF 1810) has been teaching chess, math, and computer science for more than fifteen years. This includes some individual and school state champions in Maryland! David has a peak USCF rating of 2088, and once played blitz chess with world champion Mikhail Tal! David loves sharing his enthusiasm for chess with students of all skill levels, from new beginners to strong tournament playes. David is a graduate of the University of Illinois - Champaign.
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Laila ♛ Laila Faerman (Aka Lily Faerman) is a National Expert with a peak USCF rating of 2050. She has been teaching chess for 19 years now and began her tournament playing in Moscow Russia where she was born. Laila has taught kids of all ages and adults as well. As a child she was the 2nd highest rated girl in her age group (Under 14 years old) in the US and represented USA at the Youth World Championship in Paris, France in 1996. Laila also was a high school champion of the New York State in 1996 and competed in Hawaii at the Denker Tournament where there were winners of all 50 states. In 1998 Laila finished 3rd in the NYS woman’s championship. She loves working with kids, helping them to develop and manifest their talents. She is also a singer and an ultra runner. |
ADARSH ♛ ♚ Adarsh is a FIDE Master (FIDE 2361) and has been playing chess since the age of 7. Adarsh is a commerce student and has won multiple International/National/State achievements which include a Commonwealth Silver Medal in U12 (2017). Adarsh is currently actively pursuing his ambition of getting an International Master title while simultaneously fulfilling his passion for nurturing and training young talents in chess by working with MCA. |
UTHRA ♛ ♚ Uthra started playing chess at a summer chess camp at the age of 6. She fell in love with the game, and went on to earn the WFM title and won a gold medal at the Asian U-17 games. She has a peak FIDE rating of 2114 has been coaching kids for more than 4 years. She holds a BA in Engineering, an MBA. Uthra lives with her husband and two children in Charlotte, NC. |
SID ♛ ♚
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Aasa ♛ ♚
Aasa (USCF 2075) started playing chess at the age of 5 and it has been a part of her life ever since. She has participated at several International competitions since 2012 (World Youth events 2012 -2015 and Pan American & North American Youth events 2013 to 2019). She won her title as a WFM at the 2018 Pan American Youth Championships. She was also the Virginia State K-3 champion and K-5 champion. She was the president of her high school chess club, where she helped organize scholastic tournament fundraisers for kids. Aasa loves teaching kids chess along with playing tournaments, especially because it reminds her of when she was little and just started to play! She’s currently pursuing a BS in Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech. Along with being active at the university’s chess club, she’s also part of an Indian Bollywood Dance team, both of which she enjoys! |
GM Coach Johan
GM Johan Hellsten is one of the most skilled chess players out of Sweden. Just a year after achieving his grandmaster title, Hellsten made a clear first place finish in the 2005 Copa Entel tournament in Chile with a remarkable 10/12 points. In 2006, he achieved the top chess honor in his country by becoming Swedish Chess Champion. He represented Sweden at the Chess Olympiads and has taken home a gold medal from the European Chess Championships. |
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