Staff 

Haoxuan Huang: Founder & Lead Designer

After being introduced to chess in 7th grade, I played and played until I reached a rating that was suitable for competitive chess.  However, upon searching, I found a lack of chess tournaments within SGV. 

The nearest tournaments were always at least 20 minutes away by car, and it almost always required fees which built up overtime.  I thought to myself one day: "This is such a tiring and expensive hobby, why can't it be more accessible?"  That was my motivation for creating TCI.  I wanted more consistent chess tournaments/meetings in my home town, and I wanted people to enjoy it alongside me.

Eason Cheng: Co-Founder & Recruiter

First finding and learning about chess in 5th grade, I never had too much of an interest in chess until around 7th grade, where chess reached its peak popularity. That truly sparked my interest in chess, as before, it had only been at the back of my mind. I started playing and learning chess everyday and helped introduce the game to my friends.

However, starting high school, again I started losing my interest due to the amount of work and the new environment. In the summer of 2023, I joined Chess4All, another chess non-profit that taught chess to children that were interested. After attending my first local inter-school chess tournament, I decided to help Haoxuan make this organization to help spread chess as I myself also wanted more tournaments.  

Vandan Tran: Designer & Artist

Vandan joined shortly after the DSH workshop and tournament.  He has been a crucial figure in creating graphics for events such as the May Blitz and our t-shirt design.

Nicholas Flores: Assistant Designer & Volunteer

Nicholas also joined shortly after the DSH workshop and tournament.  He has played a key role in facilitating person-to-person connection within our tournaments.  He is often a physical promoter in our events.

Shengrui Lin: Volunteer Coordinator & Volunteer

Shengrui has attended our events from our very first one, the Vincent Lugo Blitz.  He decided to join TCI around the same time as Vandan and Nicholas.  He is responsible for managing volunteers for our event and being a treasurer.  In addition, he also acts as a volunteer during TCI's events.