MANAGEMENT TEAM
Officers
President
WCM Kally Wen
Hi, I’m Kally! I am currently a junior at Lynbrook High School. I have been playing chess for 10 years now. My current USCF rating is 2038, and my FIDE rating is 1915. I represented the United States of America at the World Youth Chess Championship in 2016, 2018, and 2022. Playing chess allowed me to meet some of my closest friends, and I hope to spread my love for the game to younger girls!
Treasurer
Kavya Meiyappan
Hi, I'm Kavya! I'm a student at Washington High School, and I've been playing chess for 10 years. My current USCF rating is 1730, and my FIDE rating is 1604. I hope to help more girls learn and enjoy chess like I do through FEMChess.
Web Development/Social Media
Sahir Gupta
As a web developer with experience in building interactive and user-centric applications, I have a strong foundation in front-end and back-end development. At FEMchess, I hope to use my skills to help build a website that supports the organization's mission and makes it easier for people to access resources and get involved in closing the gender gap in chess.
Head Coach
Aksithi Eswaran
Hi! My name is Aksithi Eswaran and I'm a sophomore at Saint Louis University in Missouri. I have been playing chess for over 14 years. My current USCF is 2087 and my FIDE is 1911. I have participated in many World Youths, Pan-ams, Nationals and North American championships. In every tournament, I've noticed a huge gender gap and as a coach, it's my goal to inspire young girls to learn more about the game that has brought so many benefits to me, both on and off the board. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm and experiences from chess and helping to bridge the gender gap!
Board of Directors
co-founder
WCM Allyson Wong
Growing up, I was always surrounded by male players in the chess tournament hall. In 2020, Annapoorni, Kavya, and I co-founded FEMchess to encourage more girls to learn and compete in chess in an empowring environment. In 2022, FEMchess started partnering with Fremont Unified School District to provide chess lessons to title-1/McKinney-Vento students, using chess as a tool to uplift them and help them gain confidence. I’m proud that our FEMchess team is contributing to closing the gender gap in chess. During my spare time, I enjoy serving as a guest journalist for US Chess and directing rated tournaments. On 10/14/24, I was granted a FIDE National Arbiter license, becoming the current youngest FIDE International Chess Federation National Arbiter in the US (only 16 out of the current 136 National Arbiters in the US are women). I decided to pursue the NA title not only to be a role model for young girls in this male-dominated sport, but also to be able to hold FIDE tournaments, making high-level tournaments accessible to those that otherwise don't have the financial means to compete.
co-founder
WFM Annapoorni Meiyappan
Hi! My name is Annapoorni and I’m currently a UC Berkeley undergrad studying microbial biology. I’ve been playing chess for over a dozen years now and have noticed the wide gender gap in the sport. When I first started playing chess I would notice the lack of girls in the tournament hall as well as my chess classes. As a woman in chess, always struggled to find a community that understood my struggles as a minority. I hope that through FEMchess I can help young girls grow to love the sport whilst also giving them a supportive community to rely on during their chess careers.
co-founder
Kavya Sasikumar
Hey, my name is Kavya Sasikumar! I’m going to be a third year computer science major at UC Davis this year. I have been playing chess for last 15 years. I soon noticed that there was a huge gender gap that was very discouraging, similar to many fields in STEM. To combat this, I co-founded FEMchess to drive women’s empowerment and help close that gap. I’m proud to be building an empowering community for the younger generation, especially for girls I can relate to. I’m excited to see how FEMchess grows and to watch our impact expand.