Instructors

Listed below are all of the current instructors.

Adam Epling

Adam has been a casual chess player his whole life, but began playing and studying chess more intently in 2020 when his twin daughters started to show an interest in the game. He has been coaching the Midtown Elementary chess team since January 2022, and has volunteered in other capacities with the MCCL, including teaching the beginner class at summer chess camp, and acting as a floor TD in a number of MCCL tournaments.

CM Jonathan Rasberry

Jonathan Rasberry is a husband and father who now makes chess teaching his full-time occupation! He has coached chess since 2015, leading multiple students to state scholastic championships. Two of his students have won a national girls’ team championship. In 2021, Jonathan founded the Rasberry Chess Academy in Montgomery, where he teaches over 300 kids in after-school classes, hosts camps, and directs tournaments. Jonathan is a candidate chess master with a peak USCF rating of over 2100 and has won three Alabama state championships. He served as the president of the Alabama Chess Federation for over three years. He helped organize and promote chess across Alabama, resulting in tremendous growth in tournament participation. You can contact Jonathan at rasberrychess@yahoo.com.

David Hayes

David began coaching chess at Randolph School in 1994 leading teams to State championships. He served as President of the Huntsville Chess Club from 1994-1997. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Huntsville Chess Club and coaches chess at Heritage and Mill Creek Elementary schools in Madison. David is a Certified Local Tournament Director with the United States Chess Federation. David is also available to teach private lessons and can be contacted at dahleet@gmail.com.

Joel Friedman

Joel coaches at Madison Elementary and Journey Middle School in Madison. Joel also teaches at summer chess camp. He is available for private chess lessons in-person ($40) or online ($25). You can contact Joel at joel122333@icloud.com.

Will Stevenson

"I have been playing chess casually since I was about 17, but did not begin competing in tournaments until around 2006 (about age 26). I joined the Huntsville Chess Club around 2001, which gave me good training and a good place to test my skills against strong competition. Since entering competitive tournament play, I have been able to finish strongly and even win several tournaments. Among the victories have been two state championships, two Huntsville City Championships, a win in a Grand Prix tournament in Tennessee in 2010, and a victory in an individual game against Grandmaster Anatoly Lein at the Kings Island Open in 2009. I also have some experience as a personal chess instructor, having mentored several kids between the ages of 7 and 15. I am a general chess enthusiast and chess addict who enjoys playing with and teaching the game to people of all ages and levels." Will currently coaches at Rainbow Elementary and Discovery Middle. Coach Will is available for private chess lessons. He charges $40 per hour and can be contacted at will.t.stevenson@hotmail.com.

Tournament Directors

Listed below are all of the certified tournament directors.

Guy Calinsky

As a father of two Madison City Schools chess players, Guy Calinsky began supporting tournaments as a Backroom Tournament Director in late 2015. His work is mostly behind the scenes, for each round running the software to pair the players in each section, collecting and entering results, and then updating the madisonchess.com tournament website. He works to address any problems that may arise over the course of a tournament with a focus on having everything in place for a timely start of the next round. At the end he produces the final tournament standings for the awards ceremony and supports the posting of the ratings report to the US Chess Federation.

Nitin Badhe

Nitin is certified as a Local TD with the USCF.

Todd Guthrie

Todd is a USCF certified Senior Tournament Director and National Arbiter. Todd has served as Chief TD of numerous MCCL tournaments and State Championship events. He has also served as floor TD of the National K-12 Championship, National Elementary Championship, and tournaments for the Nashville Chess Center.

Zachary Calinsky

Zachary Calinsky has been playing chess with Madison City Schools since 2013. He has played in tournaments at the city, state, and national levels and has played across Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. He has been a member of the Discovery Middle School and Bob Jones High School chess clubs and is proud to have won numerous awards over the years. As a more senior player in Madison City Schools, Zachary has taken on additional roles within the program, including reviewing the games of younger players and supporting tournaments as a Floor Tournament Director.

Student Instructors (Level 1)

Listed below are all of the current level one student instructors.

Victor Lundy

Victor was a member of the Bob Jones Chess Team and graduated in 2023. He coached the All Star Chess Club for MCCL for three years. His hourly rate is $20. You can contact him by Email Here.