In this 8-week class, future leaders will delve into chess openings. They will learn a new opening each week and practice playing as white’s and then the following class as black’s, or vice versa. In total they will learn 8 new openings. We will also take a look at a game played with the opening or defense with an advantage for each side. So the Italian Game with an advantage for white and the following class the Italian Game with an advantage for black. This will help chess players strengthen their game and get better and analyzing the board. This class is for those with some prior chess experience. After the lesson, students will put into practice everything they learned in a game of chess. We will be using chesskid for this part, so learners will need to have a chesskid account prior to signing up for the class. This class is structured in a way that is designed for learners who have some background knowledge of openings, though these openings and lessons are intended for beginner-level players who want to learn more about openings. We do not delve into too much depth as this class is more like an introduction to learning new openings/defenses to add into the repertoire. 

Class 1: Introduction to openings
Class 2: Introduction to openings/defenses to add into the repertoire
Class 3: Italian Game: Strategies for white
Class 4: Italian Game: Strategies for black
Class 5: Ruy Lopez/ Spanish Game strategies for white
Class 6: Ruy Lopez/ Spanish Game strategies for black
Class 7: Queen’s Gambit Accepted strategies for white
Class 8: Queen's Gambit Accepted strategies for black
Class 9: Queen’s Gambit Declined strategies for white
Class 10: Queen's Gambit Declined strategies for black
Class 11: Caro-Kann Defense strategies for white
Class 12: Caro-Kann Defense strategies for black
Class 13: French Defense strategies for white
Class 14: French defense strategies for black
Class 15:  Sicilian Defense strategies for white
Class 16: Sicilan Defense strategies for black 



Class Structure:
(5 min) Student introductions
(20-25 min) Lesson- Introduction to new chess opening, analyze a professional game of chess with the opening learned
(20-25 min) Students will open a chess match with the new opening they learned 
(5 min) Questions/comments/takeaways students discuss their game and thoughts about the opening; pros/cons

The first five minutes of class will be a chance for learners to introduce themselves and share anything exciting with the class. After that we dive right into the lesson. Each class after learning a new opening we will analyze a game one day with an advantage for white and the following class with an advantage for black. They will learn how to strengthen their own chess games by seeing real life games played with an advantage for each side. For example: Queen's Gambit accepted with an advantage for white, and the following class will be the Queen's Gambit accepted with an advantage for black's. I will introduce the name of the opening and show them the first few moves included in the opening and then we will take a look at a game played with that opening/defense. I will check to make sure they all know these first 2-3 moves and from there, they will practice as white’s one day and black’s the next. They will play chess against each other on my chess demo board just as in other classes. These will be timed games, which means that I set a timer for ten minutes, just as in a real chess tournament, and after the timer goes off their time is up. We count points to see who has gained a material advantage (who has the most points). We count points only if students do not win by checkmate within ten minutes. The ultimate goal is that they are learning new openings but also checkmating their opponent within ten minutes. If not, we discuss their chess match and talk about whether they are in the opening stage, the middle game, or the end game and what strategies they used as well as questions, comments, and takeaways regarding the opening. My goal is that students walk away from this class with new favorite chess openings, and a stronger chess game in general. One way learners truly get better at chess is by watching others play, which means when it is not their turn, they should be actively paying attention to the chess match at hand. A great example of this is when we discuss the match afterward and a student who was not in the match contributes to the discussion about the match, noticing some key positional plays or missed opportunities throughout. 

Please, no eating during class. This class is focused and the goal is to simulate a real-life chess tournament. The less distractions, the better. Thank you in advance for your understanding of this matter.

*Note: This class meets 16 times. If I have not scheduled a class at a time that works for you, please feel free to click on alternative times to request a time/day that fits your schedule, or email me directly and I would be more than happy to set up a class for you. I look forward to having your learner in my class. Thank you.