By combining his natural ability to communicate and his love for chess, Gertmenian has transformed his passion into his current profession. After accomplishing much in several other capacities—as a concert pianist, tennis player, softball coach and gourmet cook, to name a few—Gertmenian feels this is the right time for him to teach chess. And Gertmenian recently opened Chess Prep, a school in downtown Sunnyvale, where he hopes to indulge in his longtime dream of teaching chess.

A self-professed "natural teacher" and a "natural communicator," Gertmenian, 29, admits that although he loves to play the game, he loves teaching it more.

"I excel as a chess teacher," he says. "I could very easily make a living by teaching the piano, but to me chess is more enjoyable to teach. When people see me teach chess they want to take my classes. On the other hand, if I had to make a living by playing either the piano or chess, it would change the whole dynamic for me."

Gertmenian says he would have liked to have met Beethoven—to learn how his mind worked and why his compositions and symphonies are far superior to those of other composers.

However, Gertmenian prefers teaching chess to music. And, having playing almost every available board and card game on the market, Gertmenian concludes, "There's no better game—chess is by far the best game for fine-tuning the different parts of the brain."

Anyone can teach strategies and concepts, the important aspects of chess, he says. But it's more important to ensure that students are able to register what they're being taught and retain everything in their minds, he adds.

He says the basic strategies in chess—controlling the center of the board, getting all the pieces into the game as quickly as possible and protecting the king—will give anyone a fighting chance at the game, whether the player goes against a grand master or any other player. Besides the basics, Gertmenian stresses that players should first concentrate on keeping the game moving, without making extraneous moves.

Gertmenian says that although no grand master or chess school has really emphasized the importance of recording moves while learning to play the game, he will do so at his school.

"If a student can take notes while in any other class, why shouldn't he or she work for a chess class?" he asks. "If they take notes while they're learning, it is so easy to refer to the notes and find out where they made mistakes."

Each of Gertmenian's classes will be for two hours, with one hour of instruction followed by one hour of playing. He plans to ask his students lots of questions about their moves.

"I want to know how my student's mind is working and thinking rather than whether or not he's giving me the right answer," he says.

In most positions, there is almost definitely a right answer, he says. By constantly keeping in mind the king, the center of the board and the end of the game, students recognize when to apply the concepts and move their game forward, he says. That's what separates the beginner from an experienced player, he says.

"The beginner knows the concepts, but an experienced chess player knows when and how to apply them," he adds. "There's a misconception out there that chess is a difficult game to learn. It's not difficult—it doesn't take long to learn to play chess efficiently and effectively."

All it takes to learn chess is an understanding of the basic concepts and consistent practice, he says, and that's what he hopes to communicate to his students in his new school.

His communication skills—not his technical skills—got him his very first full-time job in the Bay Area in 1999. Impressed with the way Gertmenian taught GMAT preparation to some of their employees aspiring to go into business school, Cisco Systems hired him to work in their human resources department.

But his love for chess was too overwhelming to ignore and he succumbed to his calling by opening Chess Prep. He chose to open his school in downtown Sunnyvale because, he says, "I feel a lot better about this community than many of the others."

He adds that intelligent people have historically played chess and Sunnyvale, being the heart of Silicon Valley, is home to intelligent people.

The Sunnyvale community got a taste of Gertmenian's skills as a communicator and chess player during the simultaneous chess exhibition at the Sunnyvale Public Library on Sept. 15—his fourth "simul" thus far.

A simultaneous chess exhibition is when one stronger player takes on 20, 30 or sometimes even 100 players at the same time. Although the less experienced players have an advantage over the stronger player because they have more time to think about their moves, Gertmenian says it is a lot of fun for him.

"Being a concert pianist, performing in front of an audience has never been a problem for me," Gertmenian says.

More than 40 people of all ages and skill levels—seated along one side of two long tables—challenged "Mr. G" at the library. Enthusiastic children, teenagers and adults listened attentively to his short and lively presentation and answered his questions based on their knowledge of the game. Due to the unexpectedly large turnout, Gertmenian had his friend Carey Fan take on 21 people while he played the other 21.

While studying toward their undergraduate degrees at UCLA, both Fan and Gertmenian were active members of the school's chess club. Fan was president of the club from 1994 to 1996, while Gertmenian was vice president.

Among the spectators at the library were proud parents of the young chess enthusiasts, interested adults and friends of Gertmenian and Bruce Kustard. Kustard holds the distinct honor of having played two times in simuls against the world-renowned Robert James "Bobby" Fischer—the American grand master.

Gertmenian holds Fischer in high esteem for his consistent triumphs—19 consecutive wins in international competitions.

Gertmenian and Fan played board after board for almost four hours with not much time to think or plan their moves. Although there were several ranked players in the group, only one beat Gertmenian, who classifies himself as an "A" player—just a few levels below that of grand master.

"Dan has a real passion for chess," Fan says.

Even now, they both play chess quite often, sometimes for six or seven hours continuously.

"We play blitz chess, which gives each player just five minutes for the whole game," Fan explains. "This keeps the game moving and keeps us on our toes."

Although his father taught him to play chess at age five, Gertmenian didn't start to play seriously until he was a junior in high school in southern California. He never attended a chess school but had after-school lessons in high school with a coach. While organizing tournaments at UCLA, he also played in several tournaments and now competes regularly in the Amateur Team West chess competition once a year. He has never played against a grand master but has listened to quite a few lectures given by experts.

Photograph by Sean Penello Dan Gertmenian is stumped for a second as he tries to decide what move to make against Dmitrij Petters, 10, during a simultaneous chess exhibition at the Sunnyvale Public Library on Sept. 15. Gertmenian would eventually win that game.

"I want to guarantee my students get the best out of my classes," he says.

This he can do by keeping class sizes to a maximum of eight students and ensuring an environment conducive to learning, he says.

Chess Prep is certainly Gertmenian's own operation but several of his friends are volunteering their time and effort to get the school off and running.

Gertmenian will teach students at four levels—novice, early beginner, advanced beginner and early intermediate.

With two degrees under his belt—in American history and music—Gertmenian says there's a strong possibility he'll pursue a graduate degree in the future. But right now, "the Bay Area has such a pull" that he feels he is here to stay and teach chess.

"My goal is to teach chess," he says. "That's what I've always wanted to do."

And by opening Chess Prep in Sunnyvale, Gertmenian thinks he made the right move.

Chess Prep is located at 121 W. Washington Ave. in Suite 210. For more information, call 408.245.9922 or visit www.chessprep.com.