Who We Are

Board of Directors

Keith Ammann (Vice President) is a U.S. Chess Federation–certified Local Tournament Director and District Chess Coach. He holds a master of education degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Illinois Type 03 teaching certification with middle school endorsement.

Bill Brock (Treasurer) specializes in corporate and personal taxation. He has been a CPA since 1987. He also holds a Ph.D. in English (Loyola University Chicago, 1995) and taught in Loyola’s English Department from 1988 to 1997. At the age of 9, Bill played in the 1967 U.S. Junior Open Chess Championship and lost his first seven games before finally winning one. He has previously served as bulletin editor, treasurer, president, and membership secretary of the Illinois Chess Association and currently serves as an at-large board member. Brock writes frequently for national and regional chess publications, edits the Chicago Chess Blog, and teaches students privately.

Chris Christmas has been playing chess for more than 45 years. He is a chess tutor and coach who has taught more than 1,000 students between the ages of 4 and 75. He teaches before- and after-school chess classes in Evanston and Niles and has conducted chess camps at the North Avenue Beach chess pavilion.

Will Gane (President) is vice president of a global business intelligence firm and has successfully established and developed businesses in Europe, the Asia/Pacific region and the Americas. Originally from the United Kingdom—and a lifelong fan of Liverpool FC—he has been playing chess since age 9 and is passionate about the importance of chess to children and their social/cognitive development. An avid long distance runner and triathlete, Will has competed twice at the ultra-running world championships and completed many endurance events to raise money for charity. Will is dedicated to developing mentoring programs across all walks of life and embracing the spirit of Amelia Earhart: “You should never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.”

FM Pieta Garrett (Secretary) is an accountant pursuing certification as a charted financial analyst. He earned his National Master title at age 15 and won the U.S. Cadet Championship in 2002. He served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2011, during which time he won the 2009 Interservice Chess Championship at Fort Benning, Ga.

Kamau Murray is a sales representative at Novo Nordisk A/S. He is the founder, president and CEO of XS Tennis and executive director of the XS Tennis and Education Foundation, and he co-coaches professional tennis player Taylor Townsend. He holds an MBA from Florida A&M University.

Advisory Board

Our Advisory Board is made up of individuals who have endorsed the Chicago Chess Center and offered their expertise in support of our mission:

GM Mesgen Amanov
Michael Cardinale Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago
FM Albert Chow
Allison Clark John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Zack Fishman Chess Education Partners
Kiran Frey Chess Without Borders
GM Dmitry Gurevich
Daniel Hart
GM Nikola Mitkov
GM Yury Shulman
 

Join Our Board

Chicago Chess Center NFP Inc. is seeking to enlarge and diversify its board of directors. We’re looking for people who are committed and passionate, who show common sense and good judgment, who respect group process, who are centered and self-aware, and who have a sense of humor. As a startup organization, we need self-starters, risk-takers and freethinkers along with organized and dependable professionals. We need people with experience in fundraising, entrepreneurship, for-profit and/or nonprofit management, curriculum development, and/or marketing or public relations. Also, as an organization seeking to serve the entire city, we want to include members of demographic groups underrepresented in the chess community. For more information, please reply through our contact page.

Your generosity will help us open our doors and ensure the viability of this new educational, recreational and civic institution. With your support, the Chicago Chess Center will provide regularly scheduled chess instruction and training for players of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, along with a full calendar of U.S. Chess Federation–rated tournaments.

Give a gift of $250 or more and become a a member of our Founders’ Court. You’ll receive all the benefits of membership plus free instruction, access to exclusive events and more. In addition, you and a guest will be invited to attend the grand opening of the Chicago Chess Center.

Founders' Court

The Chicago Chess Center thanks its founding members: