Students making real moves.
We're high school and college students from Upstate 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, and later proposed the formal Clemson University research study with 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 plays 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.
Aman Sreshta
Aman competed on the championship-winning D.W. Daniel High School chess team before beginning his studies at Clemson University. As a freshman at CU, he was uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between the community initiative and academic research.
Aman co-proposed the Clemson research study alongside Caton, working directly with Dr. Kaileigh Byrne to design the study and begin recruiting participants. He serves as the key liaison between Checkmating Alzheimer's and the university.
Our academic partner.
Dr. Kaileigh Byrne
Dr. Byrne leads the Clemson Decision Lab and is the lead researcher on our chess and cognitive decline study. She noted that "there is almost no work specifically on chess," making our research partnership a genuinely novel contribution to the field. She oversees the study's design, participant recruitment, and scientific analysis.
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.