LHoC Winter Afterschool 2022

We are offering online after-school classes for K to 12th-grade students starting Monday January 3rd.

Times will be from 4 to 5:30 pm on Mondays and Thursdays, from 4 to 6 pm on Fridays and from 10 to 11 am on Saturdays.

Monday from Jan 3rd through March 7th (4 to 5:30 pm)
No class January 17th or February 21st!
Under 700 (and unrated)

Thursday from Jan 6th through March 10th (4 to 5:30 pm)
Under 900 (and unrated)

Friday from Jan 7th through March 11th (4 to 6 pm)
Rated over 900

Saturday from Jan 8th through March 5th (10 to 11:30 am)
No classes February 19th or 26th!
Open for all ratings!

The session fee is $39 for each Monday, Thursday or Saturday. $45 for each Friday.

We prorate the fees for late starters. A minimum of 3 students per class, or we might merge rating groups or ask you to move to another day. If you need considerations or changes, please contact littlehouseofchess@gmail.com

We are using Zoom and the LiChess.com platform (web browser-not app) for guided and tournament games, to help students gain experience in how to navigate the many resources that are available, including building confidence for online tournament play.

Classes Monday or Thursday

Rated under 400

Students will begin their chess journey by learning piece movement and rules of the King; check, checkmate, stalemate, and castling as well as pawn promotion and piece values. Techniques on basic checkmate patterns. Emphasis on understanding of strategies and tactics like forks, pins, skewers. Develop a sense of danger. Using master games to engage the students in chess culture and history, introducing them to the worldwide chess community, and underlining the importance of sportsmanship.

Rated between 400 and 700

A more tournament focused program that will be divided into groups according to level of experience. We will explore the middle game and endgame strategies. More tactics like double/discovered attacks, double checks and remove the defender are introduced through master games. We encourage students to ask questions and keep their thinking flexible while exploring their ideas to help them build the confidence, self-esteem, and resilience needed for tournament play.

Classes Thursday or Friday

Rated 700 to 900 on Thursday or over 900 on Friday

Our advanced tournament program will also be divided into groups according to the level of experience. We go deeper into the middle game and endgame strategies and expand into more complex tactical ideas through master games. Students discuss positional evaluations and strategies and we encourage them to share their own ideas, ask questions, and keep their thinking flexible to improve their planning and mental toughness.

Classes Saturday

Open for all ratings

The fun in chess will be the main focus in our Saturday program. We will participate in LiChess tournaments and go through the games afterwards in a group discussion setting.

Our philosophy

Chess has the unique ability to promote thinking about thinking! We aim for the students to gain confidence in their abilities by focusing on developing deep chess knowledge while not forgetting the secret power of chess: Having great fun while training your brain.