Travis Olson, Founder and President
Travis has been teaching chess professionally for over 13 years! He taught his first private chess lesson in the summer of 2012, and taught chess in his first school in the spring of 2013. This started a long career of coaching chess for Travis. He has worked for several chess companies starting in 2013, first Chess4Life, then Orlov Chess Academy and Chessmates for 10 years, and finally Excel with Chess in 2024 and 2025. Travis achieved a peak U.S. Chess rating of 1961 in the year 2016, without any help from a particular coach! He is currently rated 1910 in U.S. Chess, and seeks to break the 2000 threshold in just a couple more years, from traveling to and competing in high-stakes tournaments!
Travis is grateful to have a wide variety of experiences both teaching and playing chess. Since 2012, he has met and worked with dozens if not hundreds of chess coaches and players within the greater Seattle chess community. He has also had dozens of private lesson students, and has taught chess at nearly 100 different schools! From his experiences, Travis learned not only how to teach chess and work with kids effectively, but also how to run (and not to run) a chess business!
Chistian Townsdin, Vice President
Christian Townsdin is a board member who champions the joy of chess. Originally from Whidbey Island, Christian is focused on supporting the community and making the game a positive experience for everyone. He is dedicated to good sportsmanship, prioritizing the handshake and a "good game" after every game. Christian is pretty bad at blitz, but he always beats that Martin guy online, everytime!
Greg Lambert, Secretary
Greg grew up in Snohomish County and learned chess when he was young—though, by his own admission, he’s still a beginner (and most people who’ve played him would probably agree). He enjoys spending time on Chess.com and learning about the game—mainly by watching way too much of Hikaru Nakamura.
Raj Choudhury, Treasurer
Rajesh Choudhary, known as Raj, developed an interest in chess during his high school years in India in the early 1995. He enjoyed the game as a hobby, playing in a few local tournaments, and always aspired to be an ambassador for chess, helping to make the game more accessible to a wider audience. After moving to the US in early 2001, Raj continued playing chess as a hobby within the local community, sparking interest in the game among children and families in the area. Raj works full-time in a leadership role in Substation Engineering with ComEd and is also involved with a local Snohomish residential real estate team at Keller Williams. He is passionate about working with the community to promote chess education and is eager to help build new chess initiatives.
Chessi, Mascot
He exists in our imaginations. He loves to play chess, is very friendly, and wants to help others play chess too!
