Joshua Anderson

Current President of the CJA and Coordinating Judge. He has written for Chess Life, American Chess Magazine, The Penns Woodpusher, The Chess Journalist and Chess Life Online – http://www.uschess.org/content/view/11984/688/ “Dancing Around Chess at the Philadelphia Art Museum.”

Joshua has taught classes/camps for Silver Knights/Shining Knights for over a decade and in that capacity taught thousands of students, several of whom have made top 100 lists. He has also taught numerous private students, including numerous who have made top 100 lists and two who won state scholastic titles and numerous sections in the Pennsylvania State Scholastic Championships.

He is a Senior Tournament Director who has directed over 250 tournaments, including the Holly Heisman Memorial charity event for over a decade. Though most of the tournaments are for the club he runs, Tri – Bridges Chess Club, a free community club.

He is currently involved with two projects for McFarland: researching the Byrne brothers and contributing to a work on the 1964 Buffalo Bills.

Joshua lives in Exton, PA with his lovely and patient wife, a cat, and a turtle.

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

Pete Tamburro

Pete Tamburro has been writing about chess since 1973 when he and Glenn Petersen founded Atlantic Chess News. Among his chess journalism accomplishments are:

• Nationally syndicated columnist in some 200 newspapers for the United States Chess Federation (1994-1995) winner of Best Regular Chess Column

• Winner of over 24 CJA Awards including two Cramer Awards and Journalist of the Year

• Past President of the Chess Journalists of America (1997-2003); also former Vice-President and Chief Judge

• Feature writer, book reviewer, etc., for Chess Life 1975-2015

• Writer for Chess Life for Kids 2006-2017 (64 articles)

• Co-founder of American Chess Magazine, 2016; Managing Editor 2016; Senior Editor 2021

• Founder and editor of Atlantic Chess News Annual 2014

• Monthly Columnist, British Chess Magazine 2014-Present

• Internet host for show entitled Openings for Amateurs on chess.fm and later Internet Chess Club

• Author: Learn Chess from the Greats (2000); Openings for Amateurs (2014); Teoria e Pratica delle Aperture Schacchistiche (2016); Openings for Amateurs—Next Steps (2020)

• Editor of several chess books including Teaching Chess Step by Step (Kasparov Chess Foundation 2006)

• Chess Puzzle columnist for Arcamax.com three times a week (2006-Present)

• NJ’s Star-Ledger weekly chess columnist (1997 -2015) with Steve Doyle

• Chairman, USCF Historical Committee 1994-1999

• Published Interviews with world champions Mikhail Tal, Anatoly Karpov, and Garry Kasparov

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

FM Matthew Bengtson

FM Matthew Bengtson, a retired FIDE Master, wrote numerous articles for Chess Horizons, including a sprawling analysis over many pages of a minor-piece endgame that won a CJA award for Best Analysis. As a teacher and coach he has taught in the Masters of the 21st Century program, and in summer camps in the Philadelphia area. As a private coach, has worked with some talented junior players. Recently highlighted in the My Best Move column, Mr. Bengtson is a renowned concert pianist who has performed internationally, including two appearances at the US Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. He is Assistant Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan.

CJA JUDGE 2013-PRESENT

Dr. Alexey Root

Since the fall of 1999, Dr. Alexey W. Root, Woman International Master, has been a lecturer at The University of Texas at Dallas, teaching online courses about chess in education.

Her books Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators (2006); Science, Math, Checkmate: 32 Chess Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving (2008); Read, Write, Checkmate: Enrich Literacy With Chess Activities (2009); People, Places, Checkmates: Teaching Social Studies With Chess (2010); and The Living Chess Game: Fine Arts Activities for Kids 9-14 (2011) were published by ABC-CLIO.

Her books Thinking With Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 (2012) and Prepare With Chess Strategy (2016) were published by Mongoose Press.

Her book United States Women’s Chess Champions, 1937–2020 was published in 2022 by McFarland. Her books can be found on Amazon and her faculty website can be found here.

Root’s freelance writing has been published by US Chess, ChessBase, SparkChess, Texas Chess Association, Big Think, and The Conversation.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

FM Mike Klein

Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1986, he lost to Josh Waitzkin at the National Championship as featured in the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer.”

A year later, Mike became the youngest member of the very first All-America Chess Team, and was on the team a total of eight times. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina’s youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open.

Mike has taught chess full-time for a dozen years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships. He now works at Chess.com as a Senior Journalist and ChessKid.com as the Chief Chess Officer, where he is well known as the voice of most of the instructional videos.

In 2012, 2015, and 2018, he was awarded Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America. He has also previously won other awards from the CJA such as Best Tournament Report, and also several writing awards for mainstream newspapers. His chess writing and personal travels have now brought him to more than 85 countries.

CJA JUDGE 2016-PRESENT

Mark N. Taylor

Mark N. Taylor served as senior editor of the Georgia Chess Magazine from 2008-2014 and senior editor of The Chess Journalist from 2010-2014. He is presently retired from chess journalism.

CJA JUDGE 2012-2018, 2021-2022

Anthony Gold

Anthony Gold is a trial lawyer and chess player. He lives in Reno, Nevada.

CJA JUDGE 2020-PRESENT

Ray Linville

Ray Linville has been fascinated with chess since the 1960s and has been a life member of USCF for more than 50 years. He played in his first USCF tournament in 1971 and still plays in online and over-the-board tournaments in all time controls.

He is a long-term writer, editor, interviewer, blogger, and social media planner who is still active as part-time editor for Chess.com. Ray has edited writers at all levels of chess skills, including international and grandmaster.

Ray’s chess blog has 1,900 followers, and his most-read online chess article has had 427,000 views. He has been the winner of CJA awards in the ategories of best chess blog, online feature article, online historical article, online educational lesson, best humorous contribution, and best personal narrative.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

Howard Goldowsky

Howard Goldowsky has been writing long-form profiles of chess players and chess personalities for 20 years. His first major piece was a profile of Mig Greengard for the once-great and now-defunct Chess Cafe website. His latest major piece, in 2014, was How to Catch a Chess Cheater, a profile of IM and Computer Science Professor Ken Regan, for Chess Life.

Goldowsky’s work from the first decade of his writing career has been collected in Engaging Pieces (Daowood & Brighton, 2007), and in 2010 Goldowsky edited the chess short story anthology Masters of Technique (Mongoose Press). The title of his next chess book will be something like Man Over Board: Enjoying Chess with the Fish.

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

Daniel Lucas

Dan has worked for US Chess since late 2005. Since June 2018 he has been the Senior Director of Strategic Communication; prior to that he served as the Director of Publications. He was the second-longest serving editor of Chess Life in that magazine’s 70+ year history.

In his current position he is responsible for all US Chess external and internal communications, which includes all print publications, the editorial sections of uschess.org, and social media.

He is a past president of CJA, a former editor of Georgia Chess, and the host of the podcast “One Move at a Time” as well as the originator of the podcast “Cover Stories with Chess Life,” both of which are available at uschess.org.

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

Myron & Rachel Lieberman

Rachel was on the USCF Executive Board as Secretary from 1993 to 1999 and is the founder and project leader for the US Chess Outreach Committee’s CAPA (Chess as a Positive Alternative) project.

Both she and husband Myron were officers of the Tempe Chess Club for over 40 years. Both are also US Chess Delegates at Large and currently do what they can to involve today’s youth with chess and firmly believe that chess is a good solution to many of the ills of today’s society.

CJA JUDGES 2012-2020

David Sands

David Sands has been a reporter and editor at the Washington Times since 1987, covering business, economics, Capitol Hill, and foreign affairs. He is currently assistant managing editor of the Times and Foreign News editor.

He has published a weekly column on local, national, and international chess news and events since 1993, succeeding the late Ed Albaugh, the chess columnist for the Washington Star and the Washington Times.

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

Eric C. Johnson

Eric C. Johnson has played or been involved in chess for over 35 years. He first began playing in US Chess Federation-rated tournaments in 1980. His peak rating of 2227 makes him a USCF National Master. Johnson worked for the US Chess Federation as an Assistant Director of National Events from 1994 to 1999. He is the organizer and one of the founding members of the Allentown Center City Chess Club. He holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Lehigh University.

CJA JUDGE 2012-PRESENT

Brian Flowers

Brian Flowers is the marketing manager at the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) in Saint Louis, Missouri, and also the general manager of WCHOF’s gift shop, Q Boutique, having worked for the organization since its 2011 relocation from Miami, Florida.

Brian has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Figure Drawing and works in his studio at home. Brian also enjoys playing chess casually, traveling, and concerts.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

FM Grayson Rorrer

Grayson Rorrer is a 17-year-old FIDE Master from Lockhart, Texas. He served as CJA Webmaster.

In the midst of the pandemic he started a website – Grandmaster2B – with the aim of sharing his love of chess with readers around the world.

In addition to publishing frequently on his website, Grayson writes regularly for American Chess Magazine where he currently serves as Features Editor. In his spare time he enjoys reading … mostly about chess.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

Jim Hollingsworth

Jim Hollingsworth won two awards since joining CJA in 2016; Best General Chess Website (2016) and Best Chess Photo (2021). He has been a CJA judge since 2017. He directed his first tournament while in the Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1978. He achieved an expert rating (2004) while serving in Korea in 1988 (“Once an expert, always an expert!” L. Evans).

He played in the All-Army Chess Championship five times and made the Army Chess Team once. After retiring he studied web design at the Fort Worth Art Institute. Since it was an art school, he was required to take art courses and quickly discovered he enjoys art! Two of his art works are copyrighted. His living room has much of his art displayed, including some 30″ by 40″ oil on canvas works. For every art class, students displayed their work and both students and instructors critiqued all in a round robin forum. He calls it both a humbling and highly educational experience. He also excelled in photography and courses on evaluating art.

Jim organized two Texas Armed Forces Open Chess Championships (2017, 2018) and two Texas Women’s Chess Championships (2018, 2019). He also organized the 62nd US Armed Forces Open Chess Championship (USAFOCC) in Grapevine, Texas (2021). With 71 players it was the third largest USAFOCC in history.

He served two terms as the Chair of the US Chess Military Chess Committee (2020-2022) and one term as the Vice President of the Texas Chess Association (TCA) (2020-2022). Jim is a life member of US Chess and TCA. He creates websites in his home and still organizes and directs chess tournaments.

The Art Institute of Dallas conferred upon him the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic & Web Design on September 23, 2023.

CJA JUDGE 2017-PRESENT

Todd Winkler

Todd Winkler is a non-titled chess player who simply loves the game, learning it as a child and then being reintroduced to it as an adult. He has published extensively in the field of vision care, and brings that same passion to chess literature.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

Laurel Aronian

Laurel Aronian is a chess influencer who writes, sings, teaches, and competes in chess. She’s the US Chess Girls Club Teen Ambassador and President of the St. Luke’s Chess Club (CT).

Laurel has penned pieces for chess publications (Chess Life, Chess Life Kids, Faces of US Chess, USChess.org, American Chess magazine, Young Mensan Magazine, etc.) and blogs on Chess.com.

Additionally, she has been featured in the Ladies Knight Chess podcast, Faces of US Chess, The Wall Street Journal, Scholastic SCOPE, and most recently in the Chess Journalist’s Queen’s Corner by Rachel Schechter.

Laurel is the Co-founder (with her brother, Jack) and director of Chessin1day.com, a teen volunteer NY & CT instruction initiative. Laurel is proud to be a member, judge, and past recipient of the Chess Journalist of America Awards! @LaurelAronian

Laurel is a 2024 US Chess Scholar Player Ambassador

CJA JUDGE 2023-PRESENT

Robert Irons

Robert is 64 years old, and married with two grown children. He has taught Finance on a full-time basis since 2006, and is currently the chair of the Finance Department at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. Robert has over 20 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals and two textbooks, one in Finance and one about the Preamble to the Constitution. Prior to teaching full-time he worked as a financial analyst for AT&T and United Airlines.

Robert played in about a dozen OTB tournaments in the early 1980s, and hopes to return to OTB play very soon. He has been a correspondence player since the 1990s, and recently earned the title of Correspondence Candidate Master. Last year Robert started a chess club at the library in his home town of Heyworth, Illinois, and gave beginner chess lessons to a dozen local children and a few parents. Robert has been the Correspondence Chess Editor for the US Chess Federation since last fall, and published his first column for them in October.

CJA JUDGE 2023-PRESENT

Scott Varagona

Scott Varagona has served as Editor of the Alabama Chess Federation’s magazine, Alabama Chess Antics, from 2008 to 2012 and from 2015 to the present. He is a National Master, an Original Life Master, and an eleven-time Alabama State Chess Champion.

CJA JUDGE 2021-PRESENT

Bette Marshall

Co-Author with William Lombardy and Photographer for Chess for Children, Step By Step, Little Brown and Company, 1977, which was designated a ‘Notable Children’s Book’ by the American Library Association, published in Germany by Bertelsmann where it was nominated for the Children’s Book Prize of the Federal Republic and featured in the children’s shop of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Professional photographer and writer: 1975 – present.

Her photography has appeared in many international publications including Time, Newsweek, Vogue, Elle, French Elle, The Economist, Hola, Forbes, Picture Week, US Weekly, New York Times, Life, People, Avenue, Quest, Rizzoli’s Journal of Art.

Bette’s photography has been exhibited in galleries in New York and Tokyo and is represented in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum.

Actor: Theater: 1963 – 1972. Never Too Late, Playhouse Theater, NY Featured role with Arthur Godfrey and Maureen O’Sullivan. All the Girls Came Out to Play; Cort Theater, NY. Leading role. Life is a Dream by Calderon del la Barca, Astor Place Playhouse, NY. Replaced female lead.

CJA JUDGE 2019-PRESENT

Rebecka Ratcliffe

Rebecka Ratcliffe has authored four children’s books, including the Moodrangles emotions series for preschoolers and The Tiny Giant, a fantasy novel for middle-graders. Her current projects include the follow-up to The Tiny Giant and the online story project, Story McStoryface, a blend of horror and dark humor for adults. She co-leads the Dundee Dolphins Chess Club at her children’s school with her husband, and particularly enjoys working with elementary children new to the game. She loves to see the delight on a little girl’s face when told the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board.

CJA JUDGE 2019-PRESENT