GRANDMASTER IN RESIDENCE

Axel Bachmann is Grandmaster-in-Residence for Rose City Chess. He earned the Grandmaster title in 2007 and later achieved a peak FIDE rating of 2662, which ranked him as one of the top 100 players in the world. He has won several national and international championships. Most importantly to Rose City Chess, he is a terrific chess coach who works as hard on his teaching as he does on his own chess. Axel "coaches the coaches," as well as working with our most motivated and advanced students.

ACADEMY MANAGER

Robert Hecht is a Candidate Master and Academy Manager for Rose City Chess. Robert learned chess at 14 and won a State Championship with Adlai E. Stevenson High School in 2008. He shared first prize in the under 2000 section of the World Open in 2011 and has achieved a peak rating of 2175. He is a trained educator who has taught High School Physics and worked privately with hundreds of students in academic tutoring. Robert has great pride in his teaching and works hard to diagnose his students' needs and help them set and achieve new goals. He is available for private coaching.

FOUNDER

Chad Lykins is Founder of Rose City Chess, President of Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation, and Oregon’s Scholastic Coordinator and State Delegate to the United States Chess Federation. He is a FIDE National Arbiter and US Chess Senior Tournament Director, as well as a club-strength chess player with peak ratings of USCF 1650 and Lichess Rapid 2110. He teaches beginner and intermediate students up to US Chess 1200. Chad started chess coaching as a volunteer for Chess for Success at Hayhurst Elementary School in 2016, where all three of his children played on the school’s award-winning chess team. Chad holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy and has published research on out-of-school learning.

COACH

Reed McNames has been part of chess teams for most of her life, starting with her elementary school chess team and continuing through Portland State University’s Chess Club in the Spring 2022 Collegiate Chess League. She plays in tournaments and attends casual chess events in her free time. When not playing chess, she likes to go for walks around the city and spend time with her friends and family.

COACH

Elizabeth Moore is a professional writer and piano teacher who began playing chess with her father at age 10. Having excelled at math and music from a young age, she always enjoyed the complexities of chess, but has only recently dipped her toe in the world of rated tournaments. The coach and steward of the Winterhaven K-8 Chess Club since 2019, she has a passion for teaching and doing chess puzzles with her daughters and students. When not pushing pawns, you can find her bouldering, cycling, and cheering on her beloved Timbers and Thorns.

COACH

Ethan Morehouse is the recipient of an Oregon Chess Project Fellowship and the former Captain of the Ida B. Wells HS Chess Club. Ethan started playing online chess in ninth grade. He progressed through Rose City Chess’s Advanced I and Advanced II classes with NM Matt Zavortink and GM Axel Bachmann, recently achieving a peak rating of USCF 1788. Now a student at Portland State University, Ethan continues to study his chess in order to become a better player and teacher.

COACH AND TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR

Dave Murray competed off and on as a kid, eventually winning a share of first place in the U1300 section of High School Nationals in 1998. Dave returned to chess as an adult in 2013 and has earned a peak rating of USCF 1951. Dave tied for first place in the U2000 section of the 2021 Oregon Open and won first place in the 2022 Portland Chess Club Championship. Dave currently coaches students up to USCF 1400. He is a software developer by training and lives in Portland with his wife, two kids, and dog.

COACH

Jonathan won four all-state honors and two team state championships as a scholastic player at Lincoln High School. He has taught chess off and on for twenty years in Portland and in Washington, DC. Jonathan also co-coached three national champion constitutional debate teams at Lincoln and will be competing in nationals for contract bridge. He currently teaches chess and bridge and cares for his three young children in SE Portland. When not doing those things, you can find him on the tennis or pickleball courts or watching his beloved Blazers.

COACH

Nick Rogstad coaches after-school clubs for Rose City Chess in Bend, Oregon. He is a math and music educator with a passion for pedagogy across many subjects, including chess. He learned the game at a young age from his dad and brothers but began seriously studying chess online in 2013. His greatest joy is in inspiring confidence in his students and demystifying apparently complicated concepts.

COACH AND TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR

Nesara Shree is Founder of Chess4Girls PDX and a Board Member of the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation. She has presented at national STEM conferences, won Oregon Chess Project Fellowships in 2022 and 2023, and is the recipient of competitive grants from US Chess Women. In addition to coaching several Rose City Chess Camps, Nesara designed and taught an after-school chess program at Aloha-Huber Park. Nesara loves to work with kids and watch them grow into confident, young chess players.

MASTER IN RESIDENCE

Matt Zavortink is Master-in-Residence for Rose City Chess. He is an USCF Life Master and three-time Oregon State Champion with a peak US Chess Rating over 2300. Matt coaches beginner through advanced students as well as adult improvers. Matt is also an accomplished music teacher and mountain rescue volunteer.