Chess Pedagogy

By Alan Stevens, International Profiling and Communications Specialist In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, the need for guidance and direction is more crucial than ever. Whether you’re just starting your entrepreneurial journey or are a seasoned professional, the value of having a coach by your side cannot be overstated. However, a concerning trend is …

Why Every Coach Needs a Coach: The Untold Truth of the Coaching Industry Read More »

By Joy Cheriel Brown With the Summer 2024 Olympics having taken place this year, many people do not realize that athletes at the highest levels of performance use hypnosis to improve their game. Hypnosis helps athletes focus, visualize, and make high performance come as second nature. Just as hypnosis can be beneficial for athletes, it …

Hypnosis and Chess Read More »

By Walter Koehler, Operating Partner at Break Coffee Chess is a game of strategy, concentration, and mental agility. While countless hours of practice and study are essential to becoming a better player, there’s another secret weapon many chess enthusiasts swear by: coffee. Yes, that steaming cup of joe might just be the boost you need …

How Drinking Coffee Can Improve Your Chess Play Read More »

By National Master Evan Rabin  The advice given in this post is controversial among chess coaches…While it is important to play against strong opponents to improve, at tournaments, players should play their ‘own section’ and not ‘play up’. Tournaments usually have class sections that have maximum ratings. For instance, the World Open has an open …

Play Your Own Section Read More »

By Deborah Notis, Co-Owner of GAMECHANGER Tutoring Connection Your kids spend approximately 30 hours every week in a large classroom, listening to teachers. Some classes are more interactive, others are more lecture-style. But none of these classrooms provide them with personalized learning experiences. Learning experiences that play to their strengths and weaknesses. Learning experiences that help …

Ways for Kids to Develop a Growth Mindset Read More »

by Izolda Trakhtenberg People hail chess as the ultimate test of strategic thinking. Yet, it is a game that goes beyond calculation. While knowing the ins and outs of openings, strategies, and tactics is crucial, another element infuses my game. That element is intuition. To me, the strategies and tactics of chess are the black-and-white …

The Artistry of Chess: How Intuition Shapes the Game Read More »

By CEO National Master Evan Rabin Dan Lucas, US Chess Senior Director Of Strategic Communications, frequently posts on social media about how chess boards in films are set up incorrectly. Often, the board is sideways, as the lower right hand corner is not a light square. Before starting a game, it is important to double …

Back to Basics: Setting up the Board and Clock Read More »

By National Master Evan Rabin  What does it mean to learn chess? A third grader once told me on the first day of a semester “Just so you know, I already know chess.” I asked him “How do you win a chess game?” and he replied “capture your opponent’s king”, which was incorrect. Many beginners …

How Long Does it Take to Learn Chess? Read More »

By National Master Evan Rabin There are four common types of draw offers: The draw offerer is losing. The position is legitimately equal. The position its unclear and the draw offerer has no idea what is going on. A draw secures a prize. At the 2021 US Open in Cherry Hill, NJ, I played against …

Four Types of Draw Offers Read More »

By National Master Evan Rabin  Chess notation is a system to document chess games, based on coordinates. I teach beginners board geography before piece movement. This allows a student to say “e4”, rather than “move the fifth pawn from the left side two squares.” A chess board has 64 squares. There are three different types …

Back to Basics: Notation Read More »