Chess.com University's Prodigy Program - Master Chess At Any Age, Within 5 Years! REGISTRATION NOW O

This is an updated version of the initial Chess.com University's Prodigy Program announcement which was posted on October 15th, 2014. We have now finalized the starting date and added a third section (~1500 ELO). ALL live lectures will be recorded so students don't have to attend all the lessons live. Registration is now open!

Want your child to be a chess prodigy? Yes? So do we! Or are you an adult and want to master chess? Great, we will get you there! Read on to learn more.

*Presenting Chess.com University's Prodigy Program*

Master Chess at Any Age, Within 5 Years

This super-coaching program by Chess.com University is designed to create chess prodigies out of youth players. Our method is simple and straight-forward. We will give highly instructive chess lessons, homework that lets students practice and review concepts, and guide students in every way. We will fully use Chess.com resources as well as a few chess books to give students a thorough chess education. Most importantly, we will create study schedules that plan out all each student's chess studies to make the learning process as efficient as possible. The Chess.com University Prodigy Program is not only a prodigy program for youth players but also a general beginner-to-master program for all players. We can use university terminology and say that the Prodigy Program has been cross-listed as the "Master Chess at Any Age, Within 5 Years" program. :)

Important Details:

- Taught by Kairav Joshi, Chess.com's best-selling coach and President of Chess.com University, along with FM Dalton Perrine, NM Dane Mattson, and other popular Chess.com University instructors including even grandmasters.

- 12 hours of live online classes per month spread out over 8-10 sessions.

- Detailed weekly study plan (an awesome 7-page PDF each week!)

- An online tournament each month.

- A simul each month.

- Students' games analyzed.

- Full email support for parents. Unlimited guidance and tips!

- Class size: at least 40 students.

- Tuition: $150/month per student.

- Live lessons on weekends at 10 AM or 11 AM PST (Pacific Standard Time U.S./Canada) so that the times are convenient for European students too. Students even in Africa and the western half of Asia would find this time acceptable. Few lessons may be held at an earlier time, like 9 AM PST.

- Chess.com University's Prodigy Program is starting on November 29th, 2014 at 10 AM PST with a live orientation session.

Note that this seriously is a prodigy program. Parents who sign up their kids can (and should) expect their children to improve at chess very quickly. We expect all students to become state champions for their age group and strong contenders for national and international titles. I myself have sent an 8-year-old student to the world youth championships and have numerous student competing and winning at the state and national levels. Let me tell you that we can certainly make your child a chess prodigy too!

Our prodigy program will continue for a long time. Students can join in or opt out at any time. We expect that those who study in our program for a few years would end up being among the best players in their age group. But students who only study with us for a few months would still improve by leaps and bounds. Our rate of $150/month offers unbeatable value. With our guided study plan in addition to the live lessons, the amount students learn each month may be equivalent to about 25-30 one-on-one hourly lessons with coaches. If the average skilled coach charges $30/hr, that would cost $900/month!

With Chess.com University, it is $150/month and that is paying for the highest-quality of chess instruction available any where. As this program is incredibly time-consuming for us, we can only start this if we get at least 40 students.

There are two separate sections that start on November 29th, 2014:

Group A: 1200 ELO or above.

Group B: 900 ELO or under but not below 500 ELO.

Note: ELO refers to the standard over-the-board rating system. Rating systems that are used by FIDE, USCF, CFC, etc., are ELO or similiar to ELO. Online ratings tend to be inflated, sometimes heavily.

We are also offering a third section for 1500+ players that begins on January 10th, 2015 at 10 AM PST.

What if you don't have an official over-the-board rating?

What about those who don't have ELO rating and are not sure which group is best for them? Is a 1200 Chess.com correspondence rating high enough for our 1200 group? A 1200 Chess.com correspondence rating would be closer to 900 ELO but we have a better solution than simply guessing how ratings translate across different systems.

We will create an entrance exam for the 1200 section. Those who pass this exam are eligible to enroll in this section. The only other way to join the 1200 section is by having an official 1200+ rating such as USCF or FIDE. Everybody else would be advised to join the 900 section. There is no minimum rating required to join the 900 section. It is simply "900 or under" however, students must know the rules and basics of the game. We will create a concise entrance exam for the 900 section as well.

What should a 1100 USCF rated player who didn't pass the 1200 section's entrance exam do? In this case the player would have two options: sign up for the 900 section or join the 900 section after the class has moved on to material suitable for 1000-1100 players.

Similiarly, for a 1650 USCF rated player, all of our sections would be a bit basic. In this case, the player can join the 1500 section immediately or wait several months until the class reaches 1600-level material.

This program can take someone who is playing chess for the first time to expert or master level within five years. How is that possible? Like this:

Year 1: 0 --> 1100

Year 2: 1100 --> 1550

Year 3: 1550 --> 1850

Year 4: 1850 --> 2050

Year 5: 2050 --> 2200

Is that really possible? Actually, probable. 12 hours of chess lessons per month with the best chess coaches amounts to 720 hours of fun, amazing, live chess learning in 5 years! Let's add 10 hours of chess homework per week. That's 2,600 hours of studying chess during those 5 years in addition to taking 720 hours of lessons. And don't forget that all of that studying is based on our recommendations meaning it is all highly beneficial studying.

Perhaps, even three or four years would be enough to reach master-level! This indeed is a super-intense program and designed to quickly take beginners all the way up till master level.

Did you know that some universities award scholarships (even full-ride scholarships) for excellence in chess? Completing our program may lead to excellent savings in college.

As we already mentioned, adults may join the program and try to become masters themselves if they can devote the time and attention that chess mastery requires. Please let us know if you want to help us spread the word and get more students. We've made flyers which you can take to clubs and tournaments! We're even offering commission on referrals. Contact us for more info.

Registration:

Registration for Chess.com University's Prodigy Program is now open. We are accepting payment for the first month (December, 2014) for the 900 and 1200 sections. We are not going to accept payments for the new 1500+ section until next month.

Payment methods include:

- Money Order or Check

- Credit or Debit Card.

- PayPal.

- Bitcoin.

Sending Payment:

Message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or send an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com if you would like to pay using a check, money order, or Bitcoin. Checks and money orders should be paid to the order of Kairav Joshi. Message GeniusKJ to get the mailing address for sending the check or money order.

If you want to use your credit/debit card or PayPal balance to pay for the first month of the prodigy program (Dec 2014), use this link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=4BNJR7TRGFKL6

 
If you pay online, please message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or email kairavjoshi@chess.com immediately after you send payment to confirm your PayPal email address. Also include your real name and the email address you would like us to use to contact you.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Contact Chess.com University by sending a message on Chess.com to GeniusKJ or sending an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com.