An official 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring the next generation of problem-solvers to aspire through chess and STEM education
FREE to all
Local and International Chapters
Free Chess, STEM, and Cognitive Science Classes
Pittsburgh based
FREE US Chess (USCF) membership on a need-basis
Supports English, Spanish, Chinese, and French
We are currently in the process of setting up our next fall camps. Please check back soon for more details on registration.
If you want to host a FREE Chess/STEM workshop at your community/school, please contact us at team@chesspire.org.
Take a look at our photos and testimonials for Cognitive Science, STEM, international chess, and Spanish chess camps below! Previous Camp Details
Chapter Head: Mihiretab Hordofa
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Chapter Head: Parker Miller
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Chapter Head: Haresh Muralidharan
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Our child came home every day thinking he became an expert chess player
This was our son’s first time attending a chess camp. He learned a lot about the game, had a lot of fun and is now interested in competing in chess tournaments! Thank you!
It helps make chess fun.
This is an excellent and fun camp. Highly recommend to all chess players. My son loves chess and this was a great way for him to play and grow in his chess experiences It was educational.
Chesspire is interactive, and you get a lot of help.
“I don’t know how it could really improve, it’s already great. It taught me how to better notate and analyze better. It is really fun, useful, and an awesome learning experience.” - Alex Ferlet
I liked how I was able to learn more I can at school. I also learned how to take notes.
Chesspire STEM Camp is awesome for students aspiring to hone/level up their skills in academic competitions in a non-stressful and fun manner. Ethan learned a lot about Biology which is not yet covered in his grade year.
It's really cool to be able to learn from high schoolers who are so knowledgeable AND willing to devote an entire weekend to spend time with middle schoolers for their benefits.
The Chesspire STEM camp provides targeted STEM instruction to increase analytical reasoning related to Physics, Chemistry, & Biology! This exposure has not been available in Gifted Education or engineering camps.
I would recommend the Chesspire STEM camp to other parents because STEM knowledge and education goes a long way for middle and highschool kids.
It teaches many new and challenging things. I learned a lot of chemistsry, physics, and biology.
It is helpful and fun.
Very interactive/enjoyable - helpful for life. Teached neurotransmitters / life skills - very useful.
Very engaging, fun, helpful when thinking about my future.
He has learnt a lot aobut Cognitive Science and changed his vision towards Science and is now very much interested in science.
Highly recommend this camp. Well organized and executed. Thank you for doing this for the community.
Cynthia Felix, MD, MPH is a geriatrician interested in lifespan brain health. She believes that the foundations of healthy brain aging are laid young. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, she researches the brain mechanisms that lead to dementia, thereby developing effective prevention strategies.... She also has expertise in brain imaging and various methods of brain repair including cognitive training. She has given coaching to school children to develop their IQ and EQ. Her work on the benefits of social cognition using the advanced DTI MRI technique, has been lauded by Reader's Digest, Forbes, US News and World Report etc. She has published academic articles and book chapters in Neurology and Neuroscience, in addition to giving invited lectures and teaching sessions.
I am a theorist with research interests that lie within cosmology, defined rather broadly. I strive to maintain a close connection with observation in large part because the amount and discriminating power of observational data is expanding rapidly and will continue to expand into the next decade. ... My aim is to make predictions that are unique and testable in the near term and to facilitate comparisons with data that are robust and maximize the discriminating power of the data. In many cases, this leads to studies of the particular capabilities of forthcoming instruments to study any variety of phenomena, from dark energy evolution to galaxy formation processes. My interests range throughout a broad cross section of cosmology to encompass galaxy formation, the phenomenology and identification of the dark matter and dark energy, and astrophysical limits on fundamental physics.
Rep. Arvind Venkat, an emergency physician, was elected to serve his first term in the state House of Representatives in November 2022. He is the first Indian American to be elected to the state House and the first physician to serve in the General Assembly in nearly 60 years.... He serves as State Representative for the 30th Legislative District, which includes part of Hampton Township, and all of McCandless, Franklin Park, Ohio Township, Emsworth, Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, and Kilbuck. Rep. Venkat is a fighter for accessible and affordable healthcare, investing in our first responders, protecting reproductive rights, curbing gun violence, expanding access to the ballot box for all voters, and getting more people back into the workforce. His parents immigrated to the United States, and it was their hard work and commitment to service that inspired him to become a physician. Rep. Venkat completed his undergraduate and graduate education at Harvard University, his medical education at Yale University, and his emergency medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati/University Hospital. He served as a member of the Board of the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority and is a former president of the state emergency physicians organization. Rep. Venkat currently lives in McCandless with his wife and three children.
USCF Membership Sponsorship: We cover the cost of a USCF membership (encouraged but not required for this first session) for a year on a need-basis. Please contact memberships@chesspire.org for more information.
As Haresh and Kaartic were attending many chess tournaments far from home, they realized that there wasn’t a big chess community in the suburbs like there were in central Pittsburgh and other big cities where chess tournaments were held. In the suburbs and local communities, chess clubs and communities have been few and far between. Furthermore, chess education is an effective way to develop crucial life skills for underprivileged and underserved communities for free. They set out on a mission to foster the development of essential real-life skills like problem-solving and decision-making at a young age by spreading the love of chess with the creation of a supportive community.
Haresh Muralidharan is a high-school senior with a passion for Chess, STEM, and business. He has a variety of hobbies ranging from reading books to learning various languages to Taekwondo, in which he is currently a second-degree black belt. His accomplishments include winning 15th place nationally in Science Bowl and working on creating an AI-focused documentary in partnership with SLB Radio. He is an avid tournament chess player, having won many interstate tournaments and having played internationally as well. As the president of his school chess club, he has run many tournaments, including officially rated ones as a USCF-certified club tournament director. As a lifelong learner with a passion for teaching, he wanted to spread crucial life skills such as problem-solving and decision making through the rich game of chess. He is currently doing an AI research internship at Carnegie Mellon University.
Kaartic Muralidharan is a sophomore with a wide range of interests. He has been interested in science since a young age. He authored a book called Power of Energy on the different types of renewable energy. He enjoys spending time outside and loves to bike. His biking adventures allowed him to get familiar with the geography, another one of his interests, of his neighborhood. He also enjoys making things on his own, ranging from various real world contraptions to websites. In addition to all this, he works part-time at Mathnasium from his love of math. This also led him to secure 1st place state in Math Kangaroo. As an avid chess player, he has participated in many chess tournaments and won various prizes in them. He hopes to spread his knowledge and passion for teaching chess through Chesspire.
Help inspire the next generation of problem-solvers with your contribution
Sponsorship PacketChess is the perfect way to develop essential life skills at no cost through the microcosm of a game
Decision Making
Problem-Solving
Critical Thinking
Planning
Risk Analysis
Time Management
Performance under Pressure
Develops higher-order thinking skills
Fosters ability to consider multiple viewpoints & see things from the opponent’s perspective
Improves Memeory
Enhances Cognitive Ability
Correlates to scholastic achievement in STEM fields
Making chess education free by interactive education with skilled and trained teachers: all our classes are provided at no cost to students
Teaching everything from the rules of the game to basic openings, strategy, and endgames
More intermediate players who want a challenge can learn more advanced concepts, techniques, and dynamic patterns
Giving students a taste of real tournament experience to perform under pressure and continue their chess beyond our classes. USCF membership of 1 year will be sponsored to students on a need-basis
There exist a plethora of competitions and STEM opportunities in high school, but in middle school, these opportunities are far and few between. This is a shame becuase middle school is the perfect time to start exploring and developing a passion for STEM. Often times, when students finally find out about all the opportunities that exist at the high school level, it is already too late as students are swamped with a variety of other obligations. Here at Chesspire, we deliver the resources necessary to kickstart your students on their academic journey with expert teaching and competitive middle school olympiads.
We teach Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at the olympiad level to get students a taste of the core subjects of science.
Middle school is the perfect time to develop the passion for STEM and excel in Science Bowl, Science Bee, and the National Olympiads.
Students will gain a deeper understanding of science, leading them to do better academically and get better grades.
Content is easily forgotten without application. We conduct olympiad-style competitions with prizes to keep the students engaged and have them solidify what they learned.
John Morey has been an educator for 22 years with the last eight as a school administrator in the North Allegheny School District. He believes that all students should be provided opportunities to learn and grow and is excited to support this wonderful program which does just that!
Steele is a gifted education teacher from North Allegheny Intermediate High School. She loves helping students engage in higher level thinking activities like chess.