Teaching chess since 1996
Classes
Intermediate Skills Focus
We have a new class for Level 11, appropriate for players from 800-1700 rating. We haven’t taught this for almost three years. This is a practical, hands-on class that enables you to practice and reinforce some of the most important skills we've learned:
- Can you determine who’s winning in a position or even if there is a win in the position?
- Can you identify a critical position that you should spend extra time on?
- Can you determine if a move is safe?
- How well can you determine if a move has a threat and how to prevent it?
- And 9 endgames to master before you reach a 1200 rating.
Get details and register here
Intermediate Tactics (part 2) - Level 8
This is the second half of the exploration of more advanced tactics. In part 1, we explored how to force our opponents into positions where we can apply basic tactics. Part 2 emphasizes attacks on the castled king: how to do it and when to expect it to work. This is recommended for players rated 800-1400.
Get details and register here
Opening Strategies & Closed Game Principles - Level 4
We learned open game principles in level 2 and this level presents the differences that we face in closed games. It also teaches an opening and a defense. I feel there’s a good advantage to settle on openings and defenses that you use the majority of the time. You start seeing patterns and learn the principles that drive good play in those openings, and it gives you a way to compete against the higher rated players. The recommended rating for level 4 is 100-700.
Get details and register here
Chess Basics for Beginners
This is a new Level 1 class. Please share our class with your friends who have children and encourage them to learn chess.
Get details and register here for Level 1
Tournaments
On Friday was our International Pho Day Open. Unlike the previous tournament, we did not have many upsets, but we did have a lot of exciting games that could have been upsets with players who had less than a minute on the clock. In the Saigon section, Calvin Chacko and Olufemi Oyekan both tied for first with 3 points, and Sohan Sethi, Bo-You Lee, and Andrew Wu all tied for third with 2 points. In the Beef section, Nila Krishnan and Mathieu van Dijke (who played his first tournament) tied for first with 2 points. And Carter Hedges, Jaren Li (who also played his first tournament), Tashvi Patil, and Isabelle Hardison all tied for third.
Unfortunately the tournament on the 19th has been cancelled due to there being no available directors. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
We also have a tournament on December 26 unlike any tournament we’ve ever had before. The time control will be G/60;d5, and since we’ll have three rounds, we’ll start the tournament at 3:00. This is for all the players who like to spend more time looking for good moves. (Do not register for this tournament if you play fast; you’ll spend a lot of time waiting for the next round to start.)
Coaching
If you are looking for one-on-one instruction or small group instruction, contact us and reserve your time with one of our coaches before someone else grabs your best spot with the coach that you want.