The Secret:

The secret to chess success, is that there is no secret at all. Highly motivated students are needed to create hard working students, willing to engage in the daunting process of pursuing chess excellence. 

Consistent chess improvement and the pursuit of chess excellence is a windy and often complicated road with no simple or straight path. We often refer to the process of chess development like a stew, which includes many, many different ingredients, and when combined, you begin to see significant measurable improvement.

These ingredients include, but are not limited to, chess puzzles, chess lessons, chess videos, chess books, playing in the chess parks of NYC, playing in the clubs, playing in tournaments, watching chess movies, thinking about chess, dreaming about chess, watching Grandmaster tournaments, following local events, private instruction, group instruction, local events, National events, team shirts, camps, etc, etc. When these are put together in our giant chess stew we begin to see significant measurable improvement.

At the core of the pursuit for chess excellence lies the need for a highly motivated student. Not every student will have the same access to the litany of resources and opportunities that go into the giant chess stew. But, what we have seen time and time again is that the students with drive, motivation and a chess imagination can make the most of even limited resources and opportunities and will find a way to reach excellence.

With that said, below I have outlined our best approach for rapid chess development. This is a combination that we call: Train - Compete - Repeat

If you only train, but don't have any practical playing experience, you will find it difficult to build your competitive instincts and enjoy measurable chess improvement...

If you only compete, you will find it difficult to enjoy any measurable chess improvement as the process of acquiring new knowledge won't be incorporated into your practical play...

That is why we combine both in a circular experience called: Train - Compete - Repeat.

You acquire knowledge, you apply it practically in games, you self-reflect on your mistakes from those games through game review, which results in acquiring new knowledge, and then you apply that new knowledge to your next competition. This circular process, repeated over and over again is the key to success.  

VERY IMPORTANT: CASUAL PLAY BREEDS MEDIOCRITY. THE VALUE FOR COMPETITION NEEDS TO BE SET VERY HIGH. WITHOUT AN EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO WINNING AND LOSING THE VALUE OF COMPETITIONS WILL BE LOST. WINNING IS THE GOAL AND EXPECTATION (WINNING IS NOT A BAD WORD). LOSING IS 100 PERCENT PART OF THE GAME BUT NOT OUR 1ST CHOICE.

Putting this method into practice means:

1. 25-50 puzzles per day (Train)

2. Play in our serious USCF rated events on a regular basis (Compete) MUST TAKE IT VERY SERIOUS

3. Review your serious games played. Either individually, with a chess computer, or with the help of a coach (looking for practical playing improvements)

4. Repeat

And REPEAT..And REPEAT..And REPEAT..And REPEAT..And REPEAT..And REPEAT

As previous said, the pursuit of chess excellent is like a stew, many, many things can go into it, any number of these things will fall into either the training portion or the competition portion but you need BOTH..

Please take a moment to watch a short video from one of our highest performing chess players in program history. We first met him as an unrated middle school student from the Bronx and within three short years he became a United States Chess Master. This was done without any significant resources. How was this possible? He was highly motivated and had access to YouTube videos and strong competition. After graduating from MIT and being named the president of their chess club, Tyrone is now perusing a career on Wall Street.

All the above is very true, but without inspired and motivated students all this is not possible. Being a part of a team and being part of a greater community has always been our answer. Team First = Success

In closing, students who take chess seriously ultimately end up enjoying it the most and having the most fun. Even though some of the above ideas may seem intense, from our experience, when done in a loving and supportive environment...Magic Happens!

Be well,

Coach Russ