Chess Resume (From 2005 to date) Arena International Master Sean J. Manross, W-EMT Fédération Internationale des Échecs (World Chess Federation/FIDE) International Instructor and International Organizer-Elect and FIDE Arbiter-Candidate Undefeated Champion, 45th American Open Scholastic Chess Tournament

1st place in scholastic chess in the following USCF tournaments (United States Chess Federation):  1st ever Morrison Invitational, undisputed champion, February 2010  45th American Open Scholastic Chess Tournament, undefeated champion for entire tournament (not just grade level), November 2010  Pacific Southwest Open, 2009  Memorial Day Classic (three times, undefeated champion each year), 2006, 2008, 2009  Southern California Open (three times), 2006, 2007, 2008  American Open (twice at his grade level), 2005 and 2006

2nd place in scholastic chess tournaments:  Susan Polgar World Open Championship for Boys and Girls, June 2009, earned $36,000 scholarship to Texas Tech University  2009 SPICE Cup (Susan Polgar Institute of Chess Excellence), September 2009, at Texas Tech University

1st place in the following non-USCF scholastic chess tournaments:  Morrison Scholastic Chess championship (undisputed champion 8 consecutive years), 2004-2010  Stasser Scholastic Chess championship (undisputed champion 8 consecutive years, 2004-2010  Susan Polgar/HCA Chess Festival, 2007  Orange County School Chess Championship, 2005  Fullerton City Chess Tournament, sponsored annually by the Fullerton Chapter of the International Lion's Club, undisputed champion 5 consecutive years, 2006-2010.

1st place in ALL of school chess tournaments, including but not limited to:  Sunny Hills High School  Servite High School  Orange Lutheran High School  Ladera Vista Junior High School (2 consecutive years)  Rolling Hills Elementary (ChessMasters Tournament)

International chess event of note:  Competed in "Chess for Peace" Tournament, 1st-ever U.S.-Russia Scholastic Chess Match, Moscow, Russia, 2006; co-sponsored by the Karpov Chess School and Grand Master Susan Polgar, 5-time Women's World Chess Champion and winner of 10 Olympic Medals (5 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze). Professional Resume (From 2010 to date) Chess Coaching Excel Education Programs: Mission Viejo, CA  Lead Chess Instructor and Supervisor of Employment and Recruitment of Teachers  April 2011 – June 2012  It was my responsibility to create standing curriculum for the various skill levels of students and instruct newly recruited teachers in the administration of the lessons. Furthermore, it was incumbent upon me to maintain open and cordial communication channels with the Departments of Recreation and Community Services, in all districts which Excel Education operated in, from Mission Viejo, CA to San Juan Capistrano, CA, as the vast majority of our clientele were public schools.

Rhapsody Education: Rancho Cucamonga, CA  Chess Professor and Team Coach  June 2012 – Present  Finding a utopic home at the Ivy-League Prep Academy, Rhapsody Education, under our president, Ashley Li, I have been an integral part of the cultivation of the rapidly-growing Rhapsody Chess Academy, proudly earning: o 1st Place Team in the 2013 American Scholastic Chess Open - 3rd Grade Reserve; o 3rd Place Team in both the highly competitive 2014 International Youth Festival Championship sections, K-3 and K-9 Reserve; o 2nd Place Elementary and High School Teams of the 2014 American Open Scholastic Reserve Championship; o Most notably, our World Championship year, 1st Place 14 year-old and Under Team at the 2015 International Youth Festival Reserve Championship, o 3rd Place 9 year old and Under Team at the 2016 International Youth Festival Reserve Championship o 3rd Place Junior High JV Team at the 2016 American Open Scholastic Championship. o 5th Place K-9 Reserve Team, International Youth Championship, 2017 o 3rd Place K-3 U200 JV Team, American Open Scholastic Championship 2018 Yet, despite our considerable successes under our namesake Rhapsody Chess Team, Rhapsody Chess Academy views the Royal Game not as an individual endeavor; rather, our intellectual pastime is best leveraged as the ideal complement to academic success and precise medium for building young strategists and future leaders, who relentlessly grow with analytical foresight, unyielding, personal ambition and unwavering social responsibility. During tournaments, players are obliged to focus on individual scores; however, the team has the privilege of focusing on the growth of the whole. Should any player lose, all his or her teammates analyze the game, as one. Together, we learn from our mistakes…together, we always succeed as a team. Constantly reminding ourselves of the slogan my own father taught me when I was a young boy, “quitters never win, winners never quit”, Rhapsody Chess Academy continues to demonstrate our stick-to-itiveness and our unlimited potential. It is our distinct goal for the team to dominate the American Open Scholastic Chess Festival and, ultimately, foster academic scholarships to college, for every member of our team: we shall not relent until we achieve all our goals! This philosophy of individual ambition and motivation has allowed me to personally nurture a great many champions:  William Liu: 1st Place K-12 at the 2nd Inland Empire Scholastic Open, 2014  Isabell Liu: 4th Place K-12 at the Pacific Southwest Reserve Chess Championship, 2014  Donald Yan: 1st Place K-12 at the 3rd Inland Empire Scholastic Open, 2014  William Liu: 1st Place K-12 at the So-Cal “National Chess Day” Open, 2014  William Liu: 5th Place K-12 at the American Open Scholastic Chess Championship, 2014  Kevin Tang: 1st Place K-12 at the 1st Southern California Scholastic Open, 2015  Donald Yan: 2nd Place K-12 at the 1st Southern California Scholastic Open, 2015  Kaiway Tang: 2nd Place Under 1000 at the Memorial Day Classic Scholastic Open, 2015  Marcus Pham: 3rd Place Under 1000 at the Memorial Day Classic Scholastic Open, 2015  Kevin Tang: 1st Place Under 14 Year Old and Under Reserve, International Youth Chess Championship, 2015  Donald Yan: Tied 2nd Under 14 Year Old and Under Reserve, International Youth Chess Championship, 2015  Donald Yan: 1st Place K-8 at the Greater California Scholastic Chess Championship, 2015  Donald Yan: 1st Place K-12 at the 2nd Southern California Scholastic Open, 2015  Kevin Tang: 2nd Place K-12 at the 2nd Southern California Scholastic Open, 2015  Austin Chen: 1st Place K-3 at the California Super States Championship, 2016  Daniel Yang: 6th Place K-6 at the American Open Scholastic Championship, 2016  Wilson Huang: 1st Place K-12 at the American Open Scholastic Reserve Championship, 2016  Jason Tang: 2nd Place K-9 Reserve at the International Youth Championship, 2017  Artem Kiryukhin: 3rd Place K-12 Open Championship Section at the American Open Scholastic Championship 2018 Our proven model of fostering group success through personal ambition and collective critical thinking continues to blossom. Currently hosting five separate skill-level classes (True Beginner – Elite), private lessons with our most ambitious students, a weekly Chess Club, and a plethora of regional and state tournaments, it is my distinct honor to be an vital facet of providing access to premier learning, motivation, and scholastic opportunity, utilizing our magnificent art of Chess, for our Rhapsody families and community-at-large.

Chess for Success – a FREE and Truly “Access-Enabled” Scholastic Chess Program In order to give back to my local, rural, mountain community and simultaneously serve the disabled constituency of US Chess, at the national level, I have created Chess for Success - the prototype of a truly “Access-Enabled” chess program. In my rather isolated hometown, the primary barrier that comes between children and attaining their dreams is a severe lack of financial resources… thus, I’m volunteering my professional services and personally equipping this program with all of the necessary supplies so that it can be totally, absolutely, 100% free. No catch…no kidding. And, it doesn’t stop there. As a member of the United States Chess Federation’s Accessibility and Special Circumstances Committee, I am devoted to serving my region’s differently-abled community by providing a respectful, friendly and welcoming environment, in which learning and friendships are fostered and people with any disability – from autism to confinement in a wheelchair and beyond – are encouraged to partake in chess and enabled to have fun, while developing lifelong skills, such as critical and analytical thinking, self-reliance and leadership. The local Rim of the World Recreation and Park District has been an essential ally in this endeavor, by providing the facilities, every week, for Chess for Success. Chess for Success is open to all people, from all walks of life, of all ages and all abilities. When it comes to providing access to chess, there is no barrier too large to be surmounted.

Chairman of the Rim of the World Communities Special Olympics Committee With the cooperation and leadership of the Rim of the World Recreation and Park District, I have been appointed as the steward of the local effort to establish our mountain resort as a primary provider for the Special Olympics. Furthermore, as a US Chess delegate, it is my personal goal to facilitate the dream of officially making chess an Olympic sport. While this process will be complex and lengthy, there is no more logical springboard than utilizing chess to benefit the disabled athletes of the Special Olympics and to contribute one more sport to the great swath of options for disabled individuals to join this great organization. Chess Governance - Global (FIDE/World Chess Federation) FIDE Commission for the Disabled (World Chess Federation) 2018-2022 It is my honor to serve as the world’s 7th highest ranking official of Chess Governance for the Disabled as a leading member of the world’s elite governance body for Chess for the Disabled. The FIDE DIS Commission is composed of fourteen (14) leaders, representing the highest level of chess governance for over a dozen nations, across the globe, including: Germany, Australia, Greece, France, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Turkey, the Solomon Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Mali, and, of course, the United States of America. As a global advocate for Chess Players with Disabilities, the FIDE Commission for the Disabled specifically utilizes me as our specialist on political affairs, with an emphasis on the United States, and developing nations…primarily Oceania (including its most isolated parts, such as Pitcairn Island, where the FIDE Smart Girl Project has an interest in aiding the local Girls; they earn official chess master titles through our FIDE Online Arena) as well as Latin/Central America, South America, the Balkans, Africa, Greenland, and Antarctica.

Chess Governance – National (US Chess Federation) Delegate of the United States Chess Federation from the State of Southern California As a US Chess Delegate, it is my responsibility to attend the annual Delegate’s Meeting, held at the US Open Chess Championship. At this meeting, the governance of chess is overseen by the body of US Chess Delegates; specific duties include voting on any and all proposed amendments to the Constitution and/or Bylaws of Chess, receiving a full annual report from each member of the Executive Board, and ratification of the newly elected members and/or officers of the Executive Board, to name a few. In my first year serving as a Delegate, I rose to the rank of Delegate #10, out of over 170. Ultimately, I earned the coveted position of #1 Delegate of US Chess, in August 2018.

My highest profile success as a Delegate of the Southern California Chess Federation was accomplished in Middleton, Wisconsin, at the Annual Delegates Meeting of 2018 through the ratification by unanimous acclamation of the Delegates of the National Delegate Motion 18-07, which I authored and did all of the national lobbying for. This historic motion - with 19 co-sponsoring Delegates from over a dozen State Affiliates – recognized my mentor, Dewain Barber, with the historic, never-before-awarded title of “Dean of Scholastic Chess.” You may watch the motion as it happened on the Delegate’s floor at precisely 1:40:45 of the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=KVECBbQq61E

Member of the US Chess Outreach Committee (August 1, 2017 - Present) As a member of the US Chess Outreach Committee, my responsibilities revolve around the acquisition of new monies through the generation of philanthropic donors to our 501(c)(3) cause of “empowerment through Chess, one move at a time.” Beyond securing philanthropists and sponsorship, I work closely with our US Chess Director of Development and Department of Strategic Communications to spread the message of the Royal Game. Vice Chairman of the US Chess Accessibility and Special Circumstances Committee US Chess Committee of the Year: 2017-2018 As the Vice Chairman of the US Chess Committee of the Year, I served the US Chess Federation as a leading member of the voice of our nation’s Chess Players with Disabilities. We perpetuated the establishment of a truly “Access-Enabled” environment for all chess players, regardless of their disability or special circumstance. During my three years spent in a wheelchair, I witnessed, first-hand, the hardships faced by the differently-abled chess community; so, it was an honor to leverage this unique understanding to perpetuate lasting and meaningful change in the chess community. Having led our Committee to the coveted US Chess Committee of the Year honors, I was promoted to the international version of this Committee and, furthermore - at the national chess governance level - transferred by the US Chess Executive Board to the US Chess Clubs Committee, in order to revitalize that essential Committee’s 501(c)(3) mission driven performance. You may see photos of me accepting the award for Committee of the Year alongside Bear the Chess Husky and my mentor and Chairwoman, Janelle Losoff, at the following link: https://new.uschess.org/news/videosusopen/ and you may view our mutual acceptance speech before the political elite of US Chess at precisely 11:50 of the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=AXb3xboptwQ

Chairman of the Sub-Committee for the Creation of National US Chess Guidelines on the Treatment of Differently-abled Chess Players (Aug 2017- Aug 2018) As the Chairman of this essential sub-committee of the US Chess Federation, it is my responsibility to: I. Lead the investigation and research into discerning the best-practices for treatment of differently-abled chess players, at major chess events of all purposes and sizes; II. Recruit and interview a diverse group of expert consultants about differently-abled chess needs, including, for example, leaders of the Autism Awareness movement, physically disabled chess players and refugee and immigrant chess players who face a daunting language barrier. III. Author the Guidelines on the Treatment of Differently-abled Chess Players and oversee the political stewardship of presenting the official draft of these laws to the Accessibility and Special Circumstances Committee and ultimately, to our committee’s Liaison to the US Chess Federation Executive Board.

Member of the US Chess Clubs Committee (August 2, 2018 - Present) As a member of the US Chess Clubs Committee, it is my responsibility to perpetuate the 501(c)(3) mission of the US Chess Federation to “empower people through Chess (Clubs!), one move at a time.” Specifically, I am overseeing the committee’s collective revitalization of the defunct “Guide to a Successful Chess Club.” However, unlike the version from the turn of the millennium, we are authoring the current document to specifically discuss the methodologies of fostering a successful “informal” – or non-US Chess affiliated – club. Chess Governance – State (Southern California Chess Federation) President of the Southern California Chess Federation (September 2018 – Present) The Southern California Chess Federation is the official governing State Affiliate of the Southern California region for the US Chess Federation. Beyond representing the people of Southern California Chess by organizing the official Delegation to the US Chess Annual Delegate’s Meeting, the SCCF is responsible for the administration of Chess in Southern California. This includes, but is in no way limited to, the organization of our State Championship, Women’s State Championship, Senior State Championship, State Championship for the Disabled and State Scholastic Championship; the publication of our official State Chess publication, Rank and File; the facilitation of the US Chess 501(c)(3) mission and vision (although, it is pertinent to mention the SCCF is its own corporation and is NOT a 501(c)(3) non-profit); serve as emissary to FIDE for Southern California; develop the Scholastic, Collegiate, and Professional Chess circuits in our jurisdiction; and promote chess by recruiting more chess players from Southern California, particularly in the most underserved regions and isolated populations subsets. As the youngest President in the history of the Southern California Chess Federation – and, according to the US Chess Federation’s records, the youngest State Affiliate President in the history of the nation – I preside as the Chief Executive Officer between meetings of the Board of Directors, of which I serve as Chairman. Furthermore, while the President serves as an ex-officio member of all SCCF Committees, my committee efforts primarily focus on my duties as State Scholastic Coordinator, Chairman of the Scholastic Committee, Chairman of the Chess for the Disabled Committee, Co-Chair of the Women’s Committee, and member of the Publications and US Chess Representation Committee. While the cornerstone of my administration is maximizing empowerment through chess for the disabled children of Southern California and creating robust market viability for the youth among chess players to grow up and become organizers, the realities of leading a business needed to take precedent in our first months. Hence, within the first quarter of the administration (September – December 2018), we accomplished such historic goals as:  Publishing & modernizing our publication, Rank and File; this goal accomplished through making our black-and-white magazine full color with luxury pages (while simultaneously lowering the cost of production by 30%!); the restoration of fan- favorite columns which had evaporated; and updating the advertisement scheme.  Updating the entire membership paradigm to increase profit for SCCF while providing unprecedented new value to the members-at-large (e.g. Rank and File).  Created a windfall of over a year’s typical income through outsourcing the State Scholastic Championship under favorable terms for the SCCF.  Redistributed the gains by providing the first pay raise in a decade to our professional staff, columnists and retainers; SCCF retained over 50% of the monies.  Developed a recurring tournament: one more independent, small source of income.  Secured two, year-long major advertisers under the new advertisement scheme (immediately increasing magazine profits more than 10-fold). Chess Titles Arena International Master of Chess – earned in the FIDE Online Arena, 2015. FIDE Instructor – FIDE Trainer’s Seminar held in conjunction with the World Championship, at the world-famous, Marshall Chess Club, November 14-16, 2016. Earned under FIDE Senior Trainer Efstratios Grivas and FIDE Trainer Beatriz Marinello. FIDE International Organizer-Elect – Internet-based FIDE Seminar for International Organizers, held November 21-24, 2016. Title earned under the tutelage of International Organizer Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou and International Organizer Mikhail Prevenios. FIDE Arbiter-Candidate - 51st Internet-based FIDE Arbiters' Seminar, held June 26 - July 1, 2017. Title earned under the tutelage of International Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos, the Chairman of the FIDE Arbiter’s Commission, and International Arbiter Mikhail Prevenios.

Chess Biographer In November 2015, it was my honor to be invited to serve a life tenure as a biographer for Chessgames.com, in which capacity I continue to leverage my extensive knowledge of chess history to write and update biographies and game collections, pertaining to chess masters who span the ages. My specialty is writing biographies of the great classical masters, primarily from the 15th – 19th centuries; however, as Chessgames.com top-ranked historical biographer, I was asked to author the archive entry of the most recent chess world championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin (November 2016), which I had, indeed, attended as a freelance journalist, in New York City. Chess Author My proven, scholastic chess curriculum revolves around the fundamentals of critical thinking, analytical thinking and chess history. The “Chess for Success” curriculum centers on my six (6) books, including my most significant, “Mastering Chess: Through the Ages,” which focuses on the entire history of chess and every world champion, from 1497 CE to 1860 CE. Other titles I have authored include a beginner’s curriculum, intermediate curriculum, advanced curriculum and “Mastering Chess: The Great Pioneers, a Biography of Grandmaster Susan Polgar,” which is an in-depth biography of the career of my pioneering mentor, who broke the gender barrier in chess, in the 1980’s. For my other mentor, I also authored, “The Biography of Dewain Barber: The Dean of Scholastic Chess.” Chess Journalist (Freelance, 2016-2017; and, Rank and File, 2017 - Present) Not including work as a freelance chess journalist, my entire career in chess journalism has been with Rank and File, for which I have written a myriad of stories covering every facet of the chess industry. A partial list of my stories are: Report on the Accomplishments of the SCCF Leadership at the US Chess Governance Meetings 2017; History’s Top 10 Chess Geniuses (freelance); The Dean of Scholastic Chess; The National Open (press release); The Definition of Chess Success; Southern California Represents World Class Scholastic Chess; Southern California Kids Dominate at the FIDE World Scholastic Championships; Meet the Leaders of Southern California Chess; ‘Green Political Philosophy’ column on Chess for Indigenous Human Rights and, above all, the monthly President’s Address. Chess Journalism of America: Official Judge for CJA Awards (2018 – Present) It is my honor to serve as one of the official Judges for Chess Journalism of America’s prestigious, annual CJA Awards. This authoritative panel of judges is recognized as the most accomplished group of chess journalists in America, today. The full membership of this body can be viewed online at: https://www.chessjournalism.org/judges

Guest Speaker Rotary Club of Crestline, California (2016) During March 2016, it was my distinct honor and privilege to present history’s most famous chess game, “The Opera House Game,” to the Crestline Rotary Club, at the San Moritz Lodge. The focus of my presentation was the methodology of utilizing chess to benefit youth of all walks of life and, furthermore, to leverage the Royal Game in building strong, healthy communities by creating an environment in which children are enabled and encouraged to pursue academic and extra-curricular “Success through Chess.” Indeed, it has been my lifelong goal to serve America’s youth through this magnificent, intellectual medium and to instill in my students the essential qualities of critical and analytical thinking skills, academic ambition, self-confidence and self-reliance. Las Vegas International Chess Festival (2017) I was the keynote speaker at the Las Vegas International Chess Festival (2017), where on June 20, 2017, I delivered a three (3) hour presentation on the history of chess, covering every major event from its creation in the 6th Century CE to the histories of every world champion from the 15th century to the present World Champion, Magnus Carlsen. Indeed, the speech went so well that I secured two new Private Online Chess Lesson clients, including my highest-rated student to date, a master-level player.

Academic Credentials University of London - Royal Holloway: BA History (2017- May 2020, In Progress) University of London – King’s College: Research Assistant on Full Scholarship Scholarship earned for Mastering Chess: Through the Ages; copy available by request.