Peter Giannatos grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before moving to Charlotte in 2001. He learned to play chess at the age of seven, but did not compete in his first tournament until he was 13. Starting with a US Chess rating of 589 in 2004, Peter's hard work and dedication allowed him to rapidly climb the ranks, achieving Expert status (2000+) by 2008. Today, he draws on this firsthand experience to teach students the exact techniques he used to steadily improve.
Peter earned his FIDE Master (FM) title in February 2017 and holds a peak US Chess rating of 2390 alongside his FIDE rating of 2300. In addition to being a US Chess National Master (NM), he holds the highest administrative and organizational titles in the game: US Chess National Tournament Director (NTD), FIDE International Arbiter (IA), and FIDE International Organizer (IO).
In the Spring of 2021, Peter published his first chess book, "Everyone's First Chess Workbook" (New In Chess / Chessable), which quickly became a highly regarded bestseller in the chess category. His insights into chess improvement, club building, and coaching have made him a sought-after guest on prominent chess media outlets:
Perpetual Chess Podcast: Ep. 201 (Building a Successful Chess Club) & Ep. 241 (Improving as an Adult)
How To Chess: Ep. 18 (Adapting to Play)
The Chess Experience: Ep. 15 (Common Mistakes by Improvers)
Chess Journeys: Ep. 80 (Balancing Goals)
UNC-Charlotte Magazine: Cover Story detailing Peter and the CCC (Fall 2022)
Chessable / Chess.com: Featured in Coach's Corner: Peter Giannatos
Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Belk College of Business at UNC-Charlotte. He spends most of his time organizing events and running the day-to-day operations of the Charlotte Chess Center. For more than 15 years, his overarching philosophy has been to elevate chess to the organizational and operational level of other professional sports.
While executive duties demand much of his schedule, Peter’s true passion remains teaching the game and working directly with students. Having successfully coached several players to the National Master level, he personally leads the Ascend Mentorship Program, an exclusive, highly individualized training cohort designed to guide Charlotte's most dedicated, top-rated juniors (1800–2150) across the 2200 master barrier.