The First Step to Thinking AheadBuild the foundation
- Introduction to chess: pieces and coordinates
- Movement of rook, bishop and queen
- Movement of king, pawn and knight
- Test review 1
- Defense
- Check
- Defending a check
- Test review 2
Their next level
starts here.
Explore what your child will learn, from their first check to complex tournament positions. Each level follows a six month syllabus with 48 training sessions.
BEGINNER · SIX MONTH SYLLABUS
A confident first move.
For children learning the rules and building their first chess habits.
48 Training sessions12 Online tournaments12 Community sessions
Develop your skills · 2
- Pawn promotion
- Checkmate
- Stalemate
- Test review 3
- Mate in one: easy
- Mate in one: medium
- Mate in one: difficult
- Test review 4
Develop your skills · 3
- Castling
- En passant; fair and unfair exchanges
- Chess notation
- Test review 5
- Types of draws
- Types of wins; touch-move rule and illegal moves
- King and two rooks vs king
- Test review 6
Develop your skills · 4
- King and queen vs king
- Basic opening principles
- Fool’s Mate and Scholar’s Mate: drawbacks
- Test review 7
- Mate in two: easy
- Mate in two: difficult
- Additional opening principles
- Test review 8
Develop your skills · 5
- Pins: simple
- Pins: advanced
- Skewers
- Test review 9
- Forks (double attacks): easy
- Forks (double attacks): difficult
- Double check
- Test review 10
Bring it all together
- Three phases of the game
- Discovered attack
- Discovered check
- Test review 11
- Underpromotion
- Simple back-rank mates
- Grandmaster miniature game analysis
- Test review 12
INTERMEDIATE · SIX MONTH SYLLABUS
See the possibilities.
For players ready to connect tactical patterns, planning and essential endgames.
48 Training sessions12 Online tournaments12 Community sessions
Build the foundation
- Positional and material advantage
- Sacrifices
- King and rook vs king
- Test review 13
- Deflection: easy
- Deflection: difficult
- Importance of castling
- Test review 14
Develop your skills · 2
- Activating pieces
- Middlegame ideas
- Smothered mate
- Test review 15
- Anastasia’s Mate and Arabian Mate
- Boden’s Mate and Hook Mate
- Queen endgames
- Test review 16
Develop your skills · 3
- Opposition and distant opposition
- King and two pawns vs king
- Playing and practice session
- Test review 17
- Removing the defender: simple
- Removing the defender: medium
- Mate in three
- Test review 18
Develop your skills · 4
- Zugzwang
- Visualizing the chessboard
- Two-bishop mate
- Test review 19
- Queen vs pawn on the seventh rank
- Rook endgames: easy
- Rook endgames: medium
- Test review 20
Develop your skills · 5
- Clearance
- Obstruction and interference: easy
- Obstruction and interference: medium
- Test review 21
- Bishop vs knight
- Adopting an opening for White
- Adopting an opening for Black
- Test review 22
Bring it all together
- Minor pieces vs rook
- Opposite-coloured bishops
- Types of batteries
- Test review 23
- Lucena and Philidor techniques
- Saavedra and Horowitz techniques
- Mate in four
- Test review 24
ADVANCED · SIX MONTH SYLLABUS
Turn ideas into a plan.
For players strengthening positional judgment, calculation and tournament preparation.
48 Training sessions12 Online tournaments12 Community sessions
Build the foundation
- Decoying
- Playing session
- Bishop endgames
- Test review 25
- Pawn wedge
- Fortress
- Windmill
- Test review 26
Develop your skills · 2
- Vancura defense
- Trapping pieces: easy
- Trapping pieces: difficult
- Test review 27
- Playing session
- Importance of the seventh rank
- Knight endgames: easy and medium
- Test review 28
Develop your skills · 3
- Attacking the king
- Grandmaster game analysis: attacking games
- Playing session
- Test review 29
- Stalemate combinations
- Depth in middlegames
- Grandmaster game analysis: positional games
- Test review 30
Develop your skills · 4
- Queen vs rook
- Types of weakness
- Exploiting weaknesses
- Test review 31
- Perpetual check
- Mobilization
- Grandmaster game analysis: tempo
- Test review 32
Develop your skills · 5
- Combinations on diagonals
- Playing on squares: bishops
- Queen vs two minor pieces
- Test review
- Positional evaluation
- Pawn endgames
- Grandmaster game analysis: importance of the endgame
- Test review 34
Bring it all together
- Opposite-side castling play
- Same-side castling play
- Grandmaster game analysis: opposite-side castling
- Test review 33
- Identifying and attacking pieces on weak squares
- Combined-piece endgames
- Playing session
- Test review 34
MASTER · SIX MONTH SYLLABUS
Prepare with purpose.
For experienced players exploring complex positions and practical competitive decisions.
48 Training sessions12 Online tournaments12 Community sessions
Build the foundation
- Knight tactics
- Bishop tactics
- Pawn wedge
- Perpetual check
- Mate in four
- Countercheck
- Rooks on the seventh rank
- Desperado
Develop your skills · 2
- Attacking the hook pawn
- Greek Gift
- Pawn storm: attacking the king
- Exchange sacrifice
- Mate in five or more
- Windmill
- Stalemate combinations
- Swindle tactics in lost positions
Develop your skills · 3
- Counterthreats
- Improving pieces with visualization
- Principle of two weaknesses
- Static vs dynamic play
- Combination of tactics 3
- Combination of tactics 4
- Art of exchanging pieces: Anna Ushenina vs Dietmar Kolbus (2019)
- Grandmaster game study: Kasparov vs Topalov (1999)
Develop your skills · 4
- English Opening: White
- English Opening: Black
- Zukertort / Réti Opening and transpositions
- Opening traps: Noah’s Ark, supported fork, Albin Countergambit, Rubinstein and Fantasy traps
- Poisoned pawn
- Opposite-coloured bishops
- Two-bishop checkmate
- Knight-and-bishop checkmate
Develop your skills · 5
- Bishop vs knight comparison
- Active rooks, open files and batteries
- Playing on open and semi-open files
- Positional evaluation
- Minority attack
- Game of tension
- Limiting the damage
- Positional sacrifice
Bring it all together
- Queen endgames
- Bishop endgames
- Knight endgames
- Practical rook endgames
- Triangulation
- Pawn breakthrough
- Fortresses
- Endgame training positions
A syllabus shaped around your child.
Placement and pace are discussed during the introductory session. The curriculum guides progression; the academy confirms class timings, tournament availability and the learning plan before enrollment.
Download Chess Mentor Academy curriculum (PDF)