Central NY Chess

This class is for young learners with little or no exposure to chess. We'll start by teaching the foundational basics of the game, and then build upon that foundation to introduce key strategies for winning games. Each meeting starts with explanation and discussion, followed by, for the remaining duration of each class, virtual chess games between the classmates, with live coaching and feedback by the instructor. We host our virtual games on ChessKid.com, the leading scholastic virtual chess platform; we provide all students with a premium "Gold Membership" to ChessKid while they are enrolled in our camps. By the end of this camp, students will have a thorough foundational understanding of the game of chess, how to plan ahead, and how to win against their peers. They will also leave with a basic understanding of how competitive chess tournaments are structured, and will feel prepared to compete against peers of their age and skill levels. No homework will be assigned, but students are encouraged to practice what they've learned against family and friends, at home or online, between classes. Camp Schedule: Day 1 - The Basics: Board Setup Piece Movement Introduction to Check & Checkmate ChessKid Tutorial & Practice Games Day 2 - Opening & Closing Games: The "D" and "E" Pawns The Staircase Checkmate More Practice Games Day 3 - Special Moves: Castling Pawn Promotion More Practice Games Day 4 - Advanced Strategy: Fork Attacks Introduction to Chess Puzzles More Practice Games Day 5 - Conclusion: In-Class Tournament Final Review of Lessons & Tournament Games

This camp is for young learners with strong previous experience with chess (such as completing our Beginner camp). We'll briefly review the basics of the game, and then spend most of the semester building upon that foundation with proven strategies used by advanced players, including early-game checkmate techniques. Each meeting starts with explanation and discussion, followed by, for the remaining duration of each class, virtual chess games between the classmates, with live coaching and feedback by the instructor. We host our virtual games on ChessKid.com, the leading scholastic virtual chess platform; we provide all students with a premium "Gold Membership" to ChessKid while they are enrolled in our camps. By the end of this camp, students will have a competitive edge in the game of chess, with a greater understanding of the game and greater confidence in themselves than they began with. They will also leave with a better understanding of how competitive chess tournaments are structured, and will feel prepared to compete and win against peers of their age and skill levels. No homework will be assigned, but students are encouraged to practice what they've learned against family and friends, at home or online, between classes. Camp Schedule: Day 1 - Brushing Up on the Basics: Brief Review of Beginner-Level Topics Protecting Pieces on the Board En Passant Capturing ChessKid Tutorial & Practice Games Day 2 - Swift & Shrewd Strategies: The Four Move Checkmate Pins & Skewers More Practice Games Day 3 - A Delicate Balance: The King and Queen Sandwich Checkmate Something to Avoid: Stalemate More Practice Games Day 4 - Puzzle Day: Introduction to Checkmate Puzzles More Practice Games Day 5 - Conclusion: In-Class Tournament Final Review of Lessons & Tournament Games

This camp is for young learners who already have a significant formal chess background, likely including having attended multiple previous camps. All learners are expected to already be comfortable with all of the foundational rules of chess, up to and including en passant capturing and stalemate, and also have a prerequisite knowledge of multiple checkmate strategies including the Scholar’s Mate (The “Four Move Checkmate”). Throughout the semester we will review historic games of famous chess Masters and Grandmasters, analyze the strategies employed, and learn how and when to replicate them, including some variations. Each meeting starts with explanation and discussion, followed by, for the remaining duration of each class, virtual chess games between the classmates, with live coaching and feedback by the instructor. We host our virtual games on ChessKid.com, the leading scholastic virtual chess platform; we provide all students with a premium "Gold Membership" to ChessKid while they are enrolled in our camps. By the end of this camp, students should have a deep understanding of the advanced chess strategies discussed and how to implement them against their peers. No homework will be assigned, but students are encouraged to practice what they've learned against family and friends, at home or online, between classes. Camp Schedule: Day 1 - The Opera Game: Analysis of Grand-Master Paul Morphy's Famous Historic Game in 1858 ChessKid Tutorial & Practice Games Day 2 - Advanced Tactics: The King and Rook Checkmate The Sicilian Defense (and Variations) More Practice Games Day 3 - Commonly Played Openings: The Italian Game The French Defense The Spanish Opening The Petrov Defense More Practice Games Day 4 - Magnus vs. Karjaken: Analysis of the Final Game of the 2016 World Championship More Practice Games Day 5 - Conclusion: In-Class Tournament Final Review of Lessons & Tournament Games

This camp is for young learners who have completed our Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level camps (or otherwise have significant formal training and outstanding chess ability) and are looking for continued experiential learning following a similar format to our previous camps, with a dynamic revolving curriculum to facilitate a camp experience that can be repeated multiple times and still be productive and enjoyable. Each day of the camp focuses on a different aspect of chess learning and allows the students to experience something new about chess in addition to virtual chess games between the classmates each day with live coaching and feedback by the instructor. We host our virtual games on ChessKid.com, the leading scholastic virtual chess platform; we provide all students with a premium "Gold Membership" to ChessKid while they are enrolled in our camps. Camp Schedule: Day 1 - Reinforcement: Instructor & Students Collaborate to Examine & Address any Weak Points in their Understanding of Chess Theory & Strategy ChessKid Tutorial & Practice Games Day 2 - New Topic Discussion: Different for each Section of the "Continuation Club" camp, a New Topic (or Topics) will be introduced for Explanation & Discussion, either at the Request of the Students or the Suggestion of the Instructor; this may include intricate openings, gambits, checkmate strategies, or any other high-concept topic. More Practice Games Day 3 - Puzzle Day: Checkmate Puzzles (Different for each Section of the "Continuation Club" camp) More Practice Games Day 4 - Game Analysis: Rather than examining games of famous chess masters, the Instructor will lead the class in one or more in-depth analysis discussions revolving around games that the students played against each other earlier in the week, to highlight the missed opportunities, potential alternate outcomes of games, and to get students into the habit of using personal retrospective game analysis as a tool to learn from their mistakes and improve for the future. More Practice Games Day 5 - Conclusion: In-Class Tournament Final Review of Lessons & Tournament Games