Our Instructors
Every member of our team is committed to helping our students flourish, as chess players and in life.
John Hanni
Specialty: Beginner/Intermediate
John has spent most of his life teaching. He began running classes at his martial arts studio while still in high school. During college he began teaching chess at schools across Western New York, and eventually went on to found Buffalo Chess Association with his co-owner, Mark Johnson. He has roughly fifteen years of teaching experience, and is the lead designer for the program’s lessons.
Kutay Karatas
Specialty: Advanced
Kutay has been playing chess since he was six, and has been competing for nearly as long. His peak USCF rating was 2250, and his peak bullet rating online was 2750. He has experience helping players of all levels, from teaching new students to helping Grandmasters prep for tournament games. Kutay is sharing his extensive knowledge with students, and helping them learn just how much can be done with chess.
Rebekah White
Specialty: Intro/Beginner
Rebekah has been teaching for 15 years, getting her start as an instructor at her martial arts school in 2010. Rebekah has six years of experience teaching group chess classes and private chess lessons at Buffalo Chess Association, and is the head of the Intro and Beginner curriculum at BCA. She also has experience working with students on the neurodivergent spectrum, providing an inclusive, accessible, and compassionate approach to teaching and learning chess. She looks to combine her passion for chess with her experience working with students of all ages and walks of life.
Jane Baxter
Specialty: Intro/Beginner
Jane has been playing chess for four years and has taught the game professionally for two! They had their start as an assistant instructor at KidChess in Atlanta, Georgia and quickly rose to the rank of Head Coach as their chess reached an advanced level. Jane is currently 1940 rapid on chess.com and had a peak USCF rating of 1585. Jane also assisted with USCF tournaments at Chess Zone (formerly GM Ben Finegold’s Chess Club & Scholastic Center) and is taking an Interdisciplinary Music Degree program with Berklee Online. As an adult chess improver, Jane deeply understands the needs and psychology of beginner and intermediate level students and is more than well-prepared to take their chess to the next level.
Mark Johnson
Specialty: Advanced
Mark has been practicing chess since he was a child. His peak online rating was 2500, and he has competed in and placed in multiple major tournaments. He began teaching chess volunteering at a local high school, and found a passion for instructing there. He and John Hanni co-founded Buffalo Chess Association to provide high quality lessons to students in the area. He has over ten years of teaching experience and provides the curriculum’s structure.
GM Ankit Rajpara
Specialty: Advanced+
GM Ankit is India's 36th chess Grandmaster and a chess prodigy from Gujarat. He started playing chess at the age of 8 and achieved great successes at National Junior chess tournaments. He has been teaching chess for several years now and currently has approximately 50 students. He is working with us to help enhance our curriculum and to teach our GM Classes.