We’ve all heard of the chess prodigies that learn to castle before eating solid food. To be honest, even our very talented coaches didn’t start with chess training that early. Coaches around the world have been discussing for years the best age to start chess training. For us it comes down to two important factors, […]
16
Jan
Jan
Group chess lessons and school clubs are sometimes seen as secondary to private lessons. Private lessons must be better, because the chess coach can give the student their undivided attention, right? Well not exactly. Private lessons are great, but group chess lessons provide a completely different set of tools especially useful to beginners. Let’s talk […]
03
Jan
Jan
For children, chess training needs to come in a bright and colourful package. The tools that speak best to young minds heavily rely on gamifying and socializing learning. We have a whole list of apps, books, and games that have proven in our classrooms to be very effective in teaching chess to our young students. […]
17
Dec
Dec
A common thread for beginners learning chess is to ‘forget’ about their rook. The rook is a difficult piece to develop at the beginning of a game, and its position makes it easy to forget until the later stages of the game. Keeping your rook in mind, and understanding its role will help you utilize […]
02
Dec
Dec
Chess is one of those games that particularly benefits the school-aged mind. However chess is often the last thing on a school aged mind! That’s one of a host of challenges that we face when teaching chess in schools. From the other end of the spectrum, convincing faculty of the benefits of chess can be […]
17
Nov
Nov
Chess is more than just a fantastic hobby. If you’re passionate about the game, it doesn’t just end there. It might seem like a career in chess is far-fetched, but with the popularity of chess only growing, developing your career around chess is quite viable. There are a few great opportunities to ingrain yourself in […]
01
Nov
Nov
When our students take their first steps into chess, the pawns are often the last things on their minds. The real power and bravado comes from higher value pieces. The drama of developing your queen or rook is so much more exciting than a strong pawn structure. The pawns are often moved just to make […]
18
Oct
Oct
Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down for a game of chess and realizing a few turns in that you’ve started on the wrong foot. One way to avoid this is memorizing chess openings. Once you have a full arsenal of openings, you can easily rely on these to make sure you start strong. But […]
03
Oct
Oct
Being such a central tenet of the game, strategies for protecting one’s King are too often skipped over by novice players. In our belief, chess basics start with King protection. Let us introduce you to a few key strategies that will keep your King in a safe position for as long as possible. Protect […]
19
Sep
Sep
Polishing up your openings in chess is simple, as you find yourself in (nearly) the exact same position every game. However when it comes to the endgame, you often find yourself in wildly different situations – especially if the game went off book, which they so often tend to do! When it comes to mastering […]