Steven Winer

Head Chess Coach

Learning chess at age 5, Steven began playing tournaments at age 9 and quickly achieved a high rating and won fifth grade nationals in 1991. Steven also became overall (non-scholastic) state champion of Vermont for several years starting at the age of 12. In the national arena he was 1999 Denker Champion and also finished 2nd in the National High School championship. Steven became an expert at age 12, a master at age 16, and a 2400 at age 18. He became a FIDE Master during that time as well. More recently he was New England Open champion in 2015 and has achieved a rating above 2450. As an instructor, Steven has taught 4 young players who went on to become masters as well as another 8 who have become experts. Eight of his students have become Spiegel Cup champions. Steven has worked with a wide range of ages and ability levels.

Kishore Mosaliganti

Chess Coach

Kishore Mosaliganti was introduced to chess when he was 10 years old. Inspired by Vishy Anands games, he became a district champion and participated in the AP state championship in India when he was 12 yo. He then took a break from chess to finish his Master’s and PhD education and start a family.  Kishore is an expert level player.  When not playing chess, Kishore works as a Research Scientist in Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.

Janell Warner

Chess Coach

Janell Warner started chess at the age of 10. Janell struggled initially with the game.  However despite the struggles and discouragement she persisted and continued to study and play consistently at Tournaments.  Janell saw the rewards of her hard work when she ended up in third place at the Super Nationals in the under 1000 section.  After this her motivation was higher to learn more about the depths of the game and see how far she could go.  At a certain point she realized that she could become the first African American Female Chess Master.  In college her resources plummeted and she thought she would have to give up her dream. FMCA saw her potential and have provided the resources for her to continue.  Janell was so grateful of the help from FMCA that she felt the need to give back to the students of FMCA.  She is also presently President of the Brandeis  University Chess Club

William Mennell

Chess Coach
William Mennell loves to help students at FMCA every bit as much as he loves learning from Coach Times.  Having internalized the benefits of daily practice early on through years and years of intense study of the violin and organ, William unexpectedly switched paths mid-way through music school when he joined the Army.  He learned discipline there and served as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division infantry through tours in Afghanistan and Iraq (2003-2004).  Following that, he got a PhD in combinatorial optimization, something that prepared him well for the complexity of chess, and now works for a defense contractor.  In his spare time, he reads to his kids regularly at school, trains in powerlifting and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, helps his two boys and all the students at FMCA, and wishes he had studied at FMCA as a child!

Michael Jameson

Chess Coach

Michael started playing chess later than most. Discovering the game at 27 around the beginning of the pandemic, he played online frequently with a newfound love for the 64 squares. By late 2021, he had started playing in tournaments and began teaching kids. By 2023, he had reached intermediate level and is still working to take his students’ chess to the next level. He specializes in beginner students with a great understanding of how someone comes to know and understand chess at that fundamental level. When not playing chess, he enjoys playing other strategy games.