Engineering Leaders Play Chess. August Edition
Chess Networking Event for Engineering Leaders ♟️
We're bringing together SF Bay Area tech leaders for an evening of chess, networking, and great conversations.
This time, we're excited to welcome Grandmaster Vinay Bhat, Director of AI & ML Engineering at Chess.com, as our special guest. His journey spans elite chess, machine learning, engineering leadership, and helping shape the future of chess through AI.
No sales agenda.
Just engineering leaders, chess, good conversations, and a little healthy competition.
What's happening:
♟️ Fireside chat with Grandmaster Vinay Bhat, Director of AI & ML Engineering at Chess.com, moderated by Yousuf Khan, Venture Partner at Ridge Ventures.
♟️ Games with Chess Masters — Richard Mladek, Aryan Achuthan, and Rishabh Gokhale. Challenge them in a simul, play a casual game, or simply stop by to chat.
♟️ Beginner-friendly chess masterclass if you've always wanted to learn but never knew where to start.
♟️ New this time: Experience blindfold chess, as our masters take on brave volunteers without seeing the board.
♟️ Conversations about chess, engineering, AI, and life beyond work.
Whether you haven't played since school, enjoy the occasional game online, or compete regularly, you'll fit right in.
The event is open to all chess levels.
Come to play. Come to connect. Come to have fun.
Bring a colleague or a friend in engineering leadership, but please don’t forget to register.
Special guests:
♟️ Vinay Bhat, Grandmaster & Director of Machine Learning and AI, Chess.com. GM Vinay Bhat has spent a lifetime at the intersection of chess and technology. At just 10 years and 176 days old, he became the youngest National Master in U.S. history, breaking the record previously held by Jordy Mont-Reynaud, Stuart Rachels, and Bobby Fischer. Today, he leads AI & ML Engineering at Chess.com, where he's shaping how millions of players learn, train, and experience chess through AI. He's also the author of How I Became a Chess Grandmaster and serves on the Board of Trustees of Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco's historic cultural institution and home to the oldest continuously operating chess club in the United States.
♟️ Yousuf Khan, Venture Partner at Ridge Ventures and a seasoned technology executive with more than 20 years of experience as a CIO, operator, advisor, and investor. Before joining Ridge, Yousuf served as the first CIO of Automation Anywhere, CIO and VP of Customer Success at Moveworks, and CIO at Pure Storage and Qualys. He has also advised leading technology companies, including Zoom, Productiv, and Material Security. At Ridge Ventures, Yousuf focuses on early-stage B2B software investments and works closely with founders to help scale products, teams, and go-to-market organizations.
♟️ Richard Mladek, International Master from the Czech Republic. After earning the title at age 22, he realized he didn't want to pursue professional chess full-time. Outside of the game, he has built a career as a machine learning developer and recently founded a startup in the high-performance computing space. His most notable chess achievements include becoming the National Junior Champion, earning a Grandmaster norm, and securing second place at the World Student Blitz Chess Championship. Although Richard no longer competes in classical tournaments, he remains active in the chess community through online play and commentary.
♟️ Aryan Achuthan, National Master and a freshman at UC Berkeley studying Computer Science and Data Science. Aryan has played chess for over a decade now, and the game has been a major pillar of his growth as a person. A major milestone of his career was playing against Magnus Carlsen & Fabiano in a simul as a part of the US Chess Academy held by IMC Trading. He's a 3-time National Champion and 9-time California State Champion, now competing in the Collegiate Chess League (CCL) as Board 1 for the UC Berkeley Chess Team. With aspirations of earning the International Master title and addressing the lack of accessibility in chess through startup ventures, Aryan is passionate about sharing his love for chess with others.
♟️ Rishabh Gokhale, National Master. Rishabh is a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in Data Theory and a National Master in chess. His journey with chess began in childhood and led him to compete internationally after qualifying for the World Under-7 Championship. Since then, he’s been fortunate to win several international tournaments and state titles across India. Outside of chess, he enjoys mathematics, data science, and learning how analytical thinking can be applied to real-world problems. He’s worked on research projects, gained industry experience through internships, and enjoys networking. In his free time, he enjoys photography, running, and pool. He is always excited to keep learning, connect with new people, and explore opportunities in AI and mathematics.
Organizers:
Orion Innovation is a leading digital transformation and product development services firm. We help companies and startups across various sectors solve SW technology challenges by scaling the engineering capacity and co-innovating to design high-quality solutions across many industries including industrial IoT, telecom and media, professional services, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, sports and entertainment, and education.
Ridge Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2007. Ridge Ventures specializes in Seed and Series A funding, focusing on experienced founders transforming software interaction in technology, enterprise, and consumer markets.
The Silicon Valley AI (SVAI) Hub is a dedicated community for the AI ecosystem to learn, collaborate, and push the boundaries of what’s possible. From hands-on workshops to expert fireside chats, we bring together startups, developers, and executives for high-signal programming in the heart of Silicon Valley. Our mission is simple: no pitches, no pretense, just AI builders focused on technical depth and a thriving community.