About Us
We are a group of high school chess players who want to share our passion for the game of chess with our community. In Wisconsin, California, and Massachusetts, we plan to promote chess by coaching people of all ages (from elementary school to elders) to learn, enjoy, and improve their chess skills.
Krish Sharma
I am Krish Sharma (CEO/Founder of Power of Pawns Inc), a rising senior at Brookfield Academy in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Since I started playing chess, it has been a crucial part of my life. Chess has given me the ability to challenge myself and excel both inside and outside the classroom. Chess has equipped me with the tools to tackle life’s challenges and make an impact on the world. Therefore, in 2020, during the COVID pandemic, when my coach approached me with the opportunity to teach kids who could not afford to pay for private coaching, I decided to spread the opportunities that come with chess without the burden of a price tag. Over the course of three years, I have had the privilege of working with committed volunteers to expand our teaching efforts across three states, reaching more than 400 students. However, my goal is to bring the game of chess and its numerous benefits to a broader audience of over 5,000 students worldwide.
Manvi Ketireddy
I am Vedmanvitha (Manvi) Ketireddy, a senior at Mira Loma High School in Sacramento, California.
My chess journey started out in an interesting way in the second grade. As I took a 2-hour trip to go meet my best friend, I arrived in the midst of an ongoing chess game. I sat there trying to understand what was going on in the 64-square board, and it bothered me to be left out in the dark. That is what started my burning desire to learn the meticulous game of chess.
The next week, I informed my parents that I signed up for the chess club at school, leaving them astonished. But in a few months, I started getting bored of the club and was in need of a more rigorous class that would teach me far beyond the basics. That was when I found my lifelong chess coach, who changed the way I approached chess.
With my coach’s guidance and my will to take my game of chess to the next level, I was able to learn many strategies and was introduced to the tournament aspect of chess. From then to now, I slowly but surely improved my chess skills, playing from local to international chess tournaments and earning money by winning some. Along the way, I even got to help host tournaments with my coach to promote chess in elementary and middle schools.
But in 2020, the tournaments I intensely prepared for got cancelled, which was when I turned my head to teaching chess to a local school. As I explored, I found out a lot about the schools in underprivileged areas and their limited access to things such as chess. This inspired me to want to start an organization that focuses on encouraging kids in underprivileged areas to play chess.