About Us

Now, more about who we are

Instead of elaborating about our goals and missions, let's get to know about the team running PKQ

Bios

Meet the founders

You'll see the both of us at every visit, in person.

Sujay as a young chess player, holding a tournament trophy
My first tournament win at the age of 6

Sujay Sureshkumar

Co-Founder

My name is Sujay Sureshkumar and I am a Junior in Marquette High School. The reason why I want to give back to the elderly through chess is because when I was 5 years old, my grandma and I played chess everyday during the summer, which led to my love for the game of chess. A few days ago when I looked back at this moment, I realized that there were so many chess programs in my area for kids, girls and even professional chess players, but I couldn't find a single program which targeted retirement homes. This is why my goal is to bring the boards to the elderly and truly promote the Kings and the Queens.

1756Peak USCF Rating
10+Years Playing
Jr.Marquette HS
Missouri Class Championships 2021 — Class B Champion 2018 National Elementary Championships — 23rd Place FeTNA Chess Tournament Winner 2022 Missouri State Championship 2022 (K-6) — 2nd Place
Sudeep as a young chess player, holding a tournament trophy
My first tournament win at the age of 5

Sudeep Vadderaju

Co-Founder

My name is Sudeep Vadderaju and I'm a Senior at Marquette High School. I have loved chess since I was 5 years old when my brother taught me the game. My brother and I always had a friendly rivalry when it came to chess. We would always challenge each other to keep growing as players. As I grew older, I realized that chess goes way beyond the 64 squares we see. It taught me so many life lessons. My incentive to create PKQ was because my grandfather struggled from memory issues. My goal is to help seniors keep their brains active and lower the risk of dementia through active engagement and creativity.

2185Peak USCF Rating
Sr.Marquette HS
10+Years Playing
Missouri Class Champion 2024 — Master/Expert Indiana Class Champion 2025 — Master/Expert 2024 Missouri HS Champion — Denker National Rep 2022 K-12 Nationals — Tied 2nd, U1600 2022 K-8 Nationals — Co-Champion, U1700 2025 Missouri Scholastic Blitz Champion
The retirement community where Promoting Kings and Queens got its start
The Towne House, a retirement community in Fort Wayne

How We Started

Why Retirement Houses?

After taking a look at the St. Louis community, we realized there were so many chess programs and communities tailored towards the general public, kids, and women. But we couldn’t find a single one towards the elderly living in retirement houses in our area. That’s when we both decided to take action by launching PKQ.