Our team

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.

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In April 2015 David was voted for, and chosen as President of the Hong Kong Chess Federation. He fulfilled this function only for a few months and stepped down voluntarily to avoid conflict of interest in the growing period of Caissa.

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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.

Regional 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. 

Osaka Branch Manager

Leonard Brinkmann

Leonard is from Germany and has a B.A. degree in Japanology. He started playing chess at the age of 8 and lives in Japan since 2016. He has ample experience in teaching chess in German, English and Japanese doing this online as well as over the board for many years. 

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As a chess player he played in various tournaments in Europe as well as Japan also winning a few smaller ones but is currently focused on chess education and organizing chess-related events in Japan (mainly Osaka). He is also the founder and active leader of Kashiwara Chess Club. 

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Chess has always been a huge part of his life and Leo thinks that chess contributed a lot to his well-being and enabled him to make good decisions in life. Being a chess lover himself he is passionate about promoting and conveying the joy of chess in Japan.  

In his spare time he enjoys playing piano, reading and sometimes hiking. 

Trainer 

CM Kan Nakahara

Nakahara is a Candidate Master and was the Japan Youth Champion from 2019 to 2021. Born and raised in Japan, he began playing chess at the age of eight and has represented Japan in numerous international junior chess tournaments. He specializes in speed chess and has defeated grandmasters over 100 times in online chess! He is currently studying medicine at university while also being an active player.

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He continues to devote his time to chess, participating in overseas tournaments during longer holidays and steadily improving his skills as a promising young player. Since 2023, he has led his team to the Japanese championship wins for three consecutive years, playing on a different team each year. He also has teaching experience, and his goal is to help students improve their skills while enjoying chess.

He wants as many people as possible to experience the joy of chess, and hopes to contribute to the spread of chess in Japan.