Meet
Coach JB.

Growing up in Monterey County, JB had a tough start in school. He struggled. He fell behind. And somewhere in that uncertain stretch of childhood — before he'd cracked the code of reading — he learned to play chess.

He's convinced it saved him.

Not in a dramatic way. In the quiet, compounding way that real things work. Chess gave him the ability to focus. To sit still with a hard problem. To think before he moved. And when he finally did learn to read, he caught up fast. The mental muscle was already there. Chess had built it.

That experience left a mark that never faded.

By middle school, JB loved the game deeply — but was already running out of people to play with. When you get good, it stops being fun to play against people who aren't there yet. It's no fun for either side. What JB wanted was a chess culture. A real community of players who could push each other, challenge each other, and grow together.

It didn't exist around him then. So he decided to build it now.

Today, JB is a trusted local realtor with roots running deep in Monterey County — this place has always been home. In 2022, he and his wife Halleh put down new roots in Carmel Valley, drawn in by the warmth of the community, the neighborly spirit, and the genuine kindness of the people here. It moved him. And it inspired him to give something back.

He and Halleh are raising two boys, Cyrus and Leo, right here in the valley — and like every parent, JB thinks carefully about what kind of environment shapes a child. What builds focus. What teaches resilience. What helps a kid learn to lose gracefully and win humbly. He already knew the answer.

Coach JB founded Carmel Valley Chess Club with one conviction: chess does something for people that very few things can. It holds up a mirror. Every move on the board is yours — the brilliant ones and the blunders. You learn to take full credit for your wins and full ownership of your losses. You develop the rare habit of asking yourself hard, honest questions.

That kind of self-knowledge doesn't come easy. And it doesn't come from many places.

Chess offers it every time you sit down at the board.

The club JB built is for everyone — beginners finding their footing, seasoned players seeking worthy competition, kids building the mental habits that will serve them for life, and adults rediscovering a game they forgot they loved. A place where something he has loved since before he could read continues to do what it has always done best.

Bring people together. And show them something true about themselves.