Our Team

Director of Operations

Senior Trainer

IA Alberto Muniz Pardino (2016 - present)

Coach Alberto has an academic degree in Business Administration and Management.

Alberto is a professional chess coach with years of extensive coaching experience, in Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and in Hong Kong. He has been a tournament player since his early youth and is a top ranked player in HK and became HK Champion in 2014, qualifying for the HK National Team in the 2014 Chess Olympiad.

Alberto is both a FIDE licensed International Arbiter and FIDE Trainer. His main hobbies are Sports and Technology.

Branch Manager Discovery Bay Centre

Head of Training

IM Matthew Tan (2018 - present)

Coach Matthew has an academic degree in mathematics. He learned to play chess at the age of 7. As a youth player he won a couple of National Championships and participated at several European Championships. In 2012 Matthew earned the title of International Master.

Matthew has been a (semi-)professional trainer for over a decade. As a Dutch trainer he has a wealth of experience with the Step-by-Step Method.

From 2015-2018 Matthew worked as a mathematics teacher at a middle school. In 2018 he also became an official FIDE trainer. Now, Matthew is eager to combine these educational skills with his chess skills. In his spare time Matthew enjoys reading, indoor soccer and going to the gym.

Branch Manager Sheung Wan Centre

Senior Trainer

Eduard Garcia Carles (2018 - present)

Coach Eduard has an academic and four postgraduate (including Master’s) degrees in Piano performance. He was introduced to chess at a very young age and in his teens he started to play more competitive chess quickly climbing the ranks in his local chess club to second place.

Eduard's favourite opening is the Spanish. He loves tactics and is an aggressive but calculative chess players who always looks for a good sacrifice in the mid game. There is a famous phrase from Aron Nimzowitsch that he likes to keep in mind in his games: "The threat is stronger than the execution".

Although Eduard with a 1900+ FIDE rating belongs to the top 10 in Hong Kong, he doesn’t play competitive chess that often anymore. His passion is teaching.

Eduard has a vast teaching experience with both individuals and in group lessons. Having taught to students with a very wide age range (from 4 years olds to elderly) across very different nationalities and countries, like in Spain, UK, UAE and Hong Kong, Eduard knows how to get a message across. Be it music or chess.

Eduard is a FIDE licensed FI (FIDE Instructor).

Senior Trainer

CM Emile Bouquet (2024 - present)

Coach Emile has been playing competitive chess since the age of 11. During his time as a youth player he won many tournaments, most notably he became a four time Flemish Youth Champion.

With a peak FIDE rating of 2270 Emile is a Candidate Master, aspiring to get the FIDE Master title next.

Emile is a very creative chess player. He uses his knowledge to take his opponent into unknown territories based on sound ideas.

Coming from Belgium Emile learned to play chess with the Step Method. The last few years Emile worked in an educational organization. Now it is time to give back to the chess community by sharing his knowledge as a full-time coach. His main hobbies are sports, hiking, listening to music…

Senior Trainer

WFM Astrid Barbier (2024 - present)

Coach Astrid has an academic degree in adult education and in gender & diversity. She learned to play chess at the age of 4 by her parents. She comes from a chess family, all three of her siblings play chess and her father himself is a strong chess player. Astrid became Belgian women champion multiple times and has been part of the Belgian national women team since 2015. In 2022 she earned the title of Women Fide Master at the Olympiad in India by scoring 6/9.

Astrid learned to play chess with the Step-by-Step Method together with her mother. She has more than 10 years of experience as a chess trainer by giving chess lessons at schools, community centers, and even organising her own chess camp in Belgium. In 2016, she became a national Fide Trainer at the chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan. In 2023, she went as head of the delegation to the European Youth Chess Championship for Belgium.

Aside of chess Astrid likes the nature, sports and being creative in various way.

Founder and Managing Director

David Garceran Nieuwenburg (2012 - present)

David has a M.Sc. degree in Business Administration and a M.A. degree in Japanology.

He has extensive tournament experience as a youth player in The Netherlands with a National Club Team Title. When U16 he was selected by the Rotterdam Chess Federation to receive intense training from IM Cor van Wijgerden, the writer of the Step Method currently used at Caissa.

David has continued to play competitive chess on and off in various different countries he used to live in.

David is a FIDE National Instructor and HKCFL National Arbiter. His occasional teaching and regular organizing of chess events in Hong Kong, as well as abroad with overseas opponents, is done passionately, always keeping in mind the promotion of chess for its own merits.

Freelance / Partners
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As our Students-per-Teacher ratio is kept low, both at our centers and at schools, we occasionally and selectively work together with good local chess instructors to cater for a peak hour here and there. We also offer our more mature and higher-level students opportunities to help with training as assistant coach and as such provide them an opportunity to gain valuable working experience in an internship setting.

Trainer

Ho Nok Hang, Jonathan (2023 - present)

Coach Jonathan has a bachelor's degree in English for International Corporate Communication in Public Relations and Marketing.

He likes Philidor's quote, "Pawns are the soul of chess," as having good pawn structures can help in attacking and defending positions.

He enjoys teaching children and is often regarded as friendly and approachable. He is also a FIDE National Arbiter with an ambition to achieve greater heights in the chess career.

Trainer

AIM Francois Wolfaardt Ph.D (2023 - present)

As a 6 year old boy, I wanted to follow in my grandad's footsteps by taking up chess. Whenever we visited my grandfather, who was the town champion in the towns he lived, I'd play chess against him. While in grade 5, my grandad could still easily beat me, but a year later the tables turned and I started beating my grandfather!

As primary school student I also got selected to represent Western Province at the SA Schools Chess Championship.

Chess became a deeply engrained part of my identity. For an English letter writing school assignment, for example, I decided to write a fictional letter to Spassky about my new elephant! English was my worst subject, but the teacher liked that letter so much that he read it out in class and to all the other teachers in the personnel room!

Perhaps that sowed the seeds for completing my PhD in Second Language English Acquisition decades later, here in Hong Kong.

In 2015 I obtained the title of Arena International Master from FIDE and since then I've had good results against numerous strong players.

I've been coaching chess for a decade and it's great so share my knowledge and experience with students, while working with them to reach their goals on the chess board!

Founding Student and Multiple National Youth Champion

Miguel Garceran Nieuwenburg (2024 - present)

Miguel Garceran Nieuwenburg was a Caissa student of the first hour. He got trained in the Step Method and throughout his youth Miguel was one of the leading youth players in Hong Kong with several Hong Kong Champion titles in his age categories and in different chess formats, including blitz and rapid, school and individual.

Miguel represented Hong Kong in several FIDE Youth World Championships and he even became Dutch Open Champion in U10. Miguel is easy going and having gone through the Caissa pipeline he is very much aware of what's on the mind of the youth players taking classes.

Miguel currently studies Business Administration at the University of Bath in the UK but on long breaks he happily wears his Caissa Trainer shirt to teach the new generation of Caissa students.

Caissa Assistant Arbiter

Leonie Ah Chong (2024 - present)

I’m Leonie, a keen chess player for most of my life and I have been a student at Caissa since middle school.

Over the past few years, I have spent numerous weekends playing at different tournaments in and outside of Caissa.

I also have been competing with Team Caissa during the summer holidays at several international competitions. My highlight was getting runner up for best girl at the CTCA tournament in Tainan in 2023.

Besides playing chess, I also love to stay involved by being an arbiter at Caissa tournaments. It’s always a joy to see the shared passion between me and other younger players have for the game.

In the near future, I hope to attain my National Arbiter certification and further my career in chess.

Caissa Assistant Trainer

Aidan, Kiu Chun Wu (2023 - present)

Coach Aidan was introduced to chess by his father at the age of 6 and has been passionate about the game ever since. A former student in Caissa’s EGTP program, he has developed his skills over many years of training.

Currently a high school senior at Hong Kong International School, Aidan leads the school’s chess club and tutors students in STEM subjects. His chess achievements include a 6th place finish at the U16 Hong Kong National Championships, an individual board champion title at the 2024 HK Inter-school Chess Championships, and 2nd place at the 2023 Malvern Hong Kong Open.

Aidan’s favorite opening is the Sicilian Defense Kalashnikov variation, and he prefers an aggressive, attacking playing style.

Outside of chess, he enjoys learning languages such as Russian and running long distances.

Previous Coaches

Once a Caissa coach, always a Caissa family member! Below a list of our previous coaches whom we thank a lot for their excellent and passionate contribution to our chess center and our students.

Part Time Trainer

Alexander Wagner (2021 - 2024)

Coach Alex has an academic degree in Sociology and Business Communication.

He started playing chess at age 8 at school, and went on to the local chess club. He was the U12 district/state champion in East Germany and placed 3rd with the U12 team of his club on the National level.

After a long hiatus due to studies and a career in business and software consulting, he returned to organized chess with the Luxembourg team of Wasserbillig in Division 1 and Promotion d’Honneur (3rd and 2nd national leagues, respectively), before joining Caissa Hong Kong as a part-time coach.

Alex prefers a quiet, strategic playing style, looking for weaknesses that can be exploited in the endgame.

Outside chess, he enjoys hiking and roots for the New York Knicks.

Alex is a FIDE licensed DI (Developmental Instructor).

Part Time Trainer

Kutsebeshchenko Dmitry (2022 - 2023)

Coach Dmitry has and engineering degree from the Bauman Moscow State Technical.

Currently FIDE rated at 2169 Dmitry has been playing chess for 20 years with coaching episodes in English and Russian for chess players of FM level and lower, both with children from 5 years old and adults.

Dmitry was a playing captain at many University Championships in Russia. A former professional player with extensive experience and knowledge, Dmitry won numerous youth Russian and International Championships, like Moscow Region Champion U18 (2005), second runner-up at All-Russian Chess Olympiad U18 (2004), and champion at the Central Federal District Chess Championship U16 (2003).

Dmitry was qualified by the Moscow sports committee to receive intensive training by world-leading coaches: Mark Dvoretsky, Sergey Dolmatov, Igor Zaitsev, and others. He went through Anatoly Karpov intensive chess schools.

He has a strong passion and willingness to share his knowledge.

Senior Trainer

CM David Rivas Villa (2017 - 2018)

Coach David has a master degree in Industrial Engineering. With a FIDE rating of 2154 (max FIDE rating 2260 in 2008), David is currently one of the highest rated players in Hong Kong and he has extensive tournament play experience since his youth in Spain and upon joining Caissa also in Hong Kong now.

In 1999, he played the World Chess Championship U-16. He has trained, when they were young, important Spanish players like GM Anton Guijarro and GM Salgado Lopez. His hobbies are Sports, computers, fantastic novel and films. He is a Real Madrid’s fan.

David was instrumental in the early stages of Caissa, for example, setting up with Alberto the Elite Group Training Program - a first in Hong Kong.

David is back in Spain now.

Senior Trainer

Fong Li Apr-Jun 2023

Coach Fong Li is about to finish her Master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychology. She taught chess in the Netherlands for eight years, and as head coach of the youth chess club in her hometown she is very familiar with training youth players of various levels, also using the Step Method.

She is most passionate about teaching children chess, and hopes to also inspire more girls to start playing chess. She joined the Caissa team in April. In the future, she aims to work as a psychologist helping children cope with their daily struggles.

Apart from chess, Fong Li enjoys boxing and exploring new places.

Senior Trainer (Master)

IM Marcos Llaneza Vega (2018 - 2022)

Coach Marcos studied Geography and History in Spain. He started to play chess when he was 4. His father taught his elder brothers and sister (who is a WIM and got a Gold medal for the best fourth board in one Olympiad) and they taught him.

Marcos was Spanish Champion U10, U12, U16, U18 and university champion. He played several European and World Youth Championships and won many International Tournaments in Europe and Asia. As a chess teacher, he started as assistant in schools when he was 15 and since then he had been working with students of different levels and ages. Some of them became Spanish Champions, International Masters or even one, is currently a Grand Master.

In recent years he has been coaching young students but he also worked as analyst for some International and Grand Masters. At the same time, he enjoys playing strong tournaments all around the world because he can combine two of his great passions: travel and chess. Marcos also likes a lot to read books and watch documentaries.

Marcos was a key pillar in the further development of our Caissa's training program. Several of his students are now among the best players in Hong Kong.

Marcos is back in Spain.

World Youth Champion 2013

GM Alexander Ipatov

GM Ipatov, former Youth World Champion, is providing some Caissa students with online classes - although he is busy with his studies at the moment, if you are interested in his training, you can contact him directly at ipatovo@slu.edu.

GM Ipatov's 5-Year Anniversary Testimonial:

"Being exposed to the chess world since a young age, I had a chance to travel to different countries for tournaments, simul exhibitions and lectures. I can say with certainty - it is an arduous task to find someone within the chess world who would be as trustworthy and professional as David. It is always a pleasure to do projects with David and Caissa HK!"

GM Alexander Ipatov - 22 Aug 2017