A healthy lifestyle includes physical and mental fitness. Since 2018, Orangutan Chess Academy has helped students improve mental fitness with chess and STEAM education. Chess improves memory, concentration, foresight, math, reading, creativity, and problem-solving skills. STEAM includes science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
Orangutan Academy!!
Welcome to
We specialize in beginner and intermediate-level chess players. We teach dozens of ways to play chess from around the world (Chess Variants), including Antichess, Atomic, Bughouse, California, Chaturanga, Chaturaji, Chess960, Duck, Four-Player, Horde, Racing Kings, Shogi, Spell, Three-Check, Xiangqi, and more. We also help students to create their own Chess Variants! If a student is interested in participating in chess tournaments, then we help them to prepare. In 2024, we taught the #15 ranked Elementary Chess Tournament Team in Washington State. We had twenty-six (26) students qualify for the Washington State Elementary and Middle School Championships, with thirteen (13) winning trophies ("state champs")!
About OCA
In Spring 2024, we moved to a new permanent location within the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle, where we offer After-School Clubs, Break Camps, Summer Camps in Science • Technology • Engineering • Art • Mathematics (STEAM), Friday Game Nights, Parent's Night Out, Friday Night STEAM talks, Community Gaming Open Houses, building rentals (for homeschools, educational events, and birthday parties), PTSA/Educational Meeting Space (for reservation), and guided tours of Green Lake Park with our resident expert in Green Lake plants, animals, and ecology.
Meet Coach Ray!
Cary “Coach Ray” Easterday is the owner and lead educator at Orangutan Chess Academy. Ray has 40+ years of chess experience, a Master’s Degree in Geology, and 30+ years of professional experience as a lead science teacher at colleges, universities, museums, meetings, and public events. He has taught chess professionally since 2018 with students from dozens of Seattle-area schools.
Since 2020, Coach Ray has mapped and identified 10,000+ trees, shrubs, ferns, and other plants at Seattle’s popular Green Lake Park. He manages the day-to-day operations of OCA, gives science lectures and tours, and is writing a book on the History & Ecology of Green Lake.
We hope you can join us!
Orangutan Academy
After-School Clubs
Summer Camps
Parents' Night Out
FREE Public Events
Birthday Parties
Break Camps
What Clients Say
"Thursdays chess tutoring with my child is one of the weekly highlights. He is such a positive child... and a good chess player! Thank you for this opportunity. 🙂" -Parent