Students making real moves.
We're high school and college students from across South Carolina. We believe that young people, chess, and community can change the story of Alzheimer's.
The people behind the initiative.
Caton Tsao
Caton has been playing chess since childhood, competing in tournaments across South Carolina and achieving expert-level status. When his grandparents developed Alzheimer's and could no longer recognize him during visits, he felt helpless, and decided to turn that heartbreak into action.
Caton founded Checkmating Alzheimer's alongside Allen in 2024, and later started developing a research collaboration with Clemson University alongside Aman Sreshta. He organizes tournaments, raises funds for the Alzheimer's Association, and leads the initiative's overall direction.
Allen Hong
Allen has been playing chess since childhood alongside Caton, competing at an expert level across the state. When Caton shared his vision for using chess to fight Alzheimer's, Allen was all in from day one.
Allen co-founded the initiative and played a key role in directing and organizing community tournaments across Upstate and Midlands South Carolina, forging partnerships with local chess clubs, and growing the initiative's reach city by city. He now supports the project as an alumni founder.
Aman Sreshta
Aman competed on the championship-winning D.W. Daniel High School chess team before beginning his studies at Clemson University. He's since stepped into a leadership role as Co-President, helping guide the initiative's direction alongside Caton.
Aman also worked with Caton to bring their research idea to Dr. Kaileigh Byrne, and the two have been designing the study together and working on bringing in participants. He remains the main point of contact between Checkmating Alzheimer's and Clemson University.
Regional Officers
Student leaders helping bring Checkmating Alzheimer's to their own communities across South Carolina.
Will Howard
Nikolai Webb
Tyler Murrah
Shikhar Haldia
Jonathan Gao
Want to join our team?
We're always looking for students who care about Alzheimer's awareness and want to help organize events, teach chess, or grow this initiative in their own community.