Chess.com University's College-Like Chess Courses
Chess.com University's courses offer a college-like learning experience. Unlike in Chess.com University seminars, only 10% to 15% of instruction in courses is delivered live. Previously taught courses are available in the independent-study format in which the live video lectures are replaced with video recordings of live lectures. When taking courses independently, students may work at their own pace and complete assignments at their leisure. Chess courses allow students to relax and stop thinking about how to improve at chess. We do all of the organizational work for you!
Chess.com University courses employ a unique approach to both teach and train. All the necessary content is covered as gaining knowledge is important. However, even more important is training and actively applying learned concepts. Hence, our courses greatly emphasize "learning-by-doing."
Design of Typical Chess.com University Courses:
- Syllabus
- Pretest
- Orientation
- Class Textbook
- Live Video Lectures
- Written Lectures
- Class Assignments with Feedback
- Study Schedule for Each Day of the Course(!)
- Final Exam with Feedback
Courses may also come with notes in PGN file format or involve class projects depending on the course. Ultimately, these courses offer the best chess learning experience available online. However, because these courses take very long to design and create, we've only offered four such courses till date. They are all available in independent-study format.
Chess 012: Strategy and Tactics for 1200-1500 ELO Players
This thorough course covers everything players in the 1200-1500 ELO range need to know about strategy and tactics. The course also helps students improve their calculation, evaluation, and planning skills. Emphasis is placed on analyzing forcing moves. This course is designed and taught by Kairav Joshi.
*Chess 012 is the most popular and #1-selling product offered by Chess.com University.*
Chess 012 Independent Study Package:
- Syllabus: kairavacademydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/chess-012-syllabus.pdf
- Pretest: http://kairavacademydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/chess-012-pretest.pdf
- Orientation.
- 4 written lectures.
- Over 5 hours and 30 minutes of video recorded class lectures.
- Study schedule for 30 days (a 30 page PDF file)!
- 4 class assignments, may be submitted for feedback.
- Final exam, may be submitted for feedback.
The class textbook is Amateur's Mind 2nd Edition by Jeremy Silman and needs to be purchased separately. This book is available on my Amazon book store: http://astore.amazon.com/kairacad-20
Though, do check prices on eBay and other discount sites as they sometimes have better prices.
Having Chess.com diamond membership is required to fully access the course material. Those who aren't diamond members should purchase one month of diamond membership and go through Chess 012 during that one month. The reason we require students to have one month of diamond membership is because there are excellent videos and Chess Mentor courses on Chess.com that go well with this course. We make full use of Chess.com's premium features so purchasing a one month diamond membership is a great idea.
Chess.com University's Chess 012 course is available for purchase in independent-study format for $87.00. Please use the PayPal link below to purchase using PayPal balance or credit/debit card:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NEHQ4XLXLTWZ8
Message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or send an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com after purchasing Chess 012. In the message/email, indicate your real name, primary email address (the place for us to send the Chess 012 material), and your Chess.com username.
Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check or money order, please message GeniusKJ on Chess.com to get our mailing address.
Not sure if this course is suitable for you? Message GeniusKJ to find out!
Chess 013: Opening Proficiency for 1200-1500 ELO Players
This course covers everything players between 1200 and 1500 ELO must know about the opening phase of the game. Key topics include: opening principles, development, initiative, open positions, semi-open positions, closed positions, isolated queen pawns, opening tactics, and opening strategy.
Students should become proficient at applying opening principles in order to reach acceptable middlegame positions, even when forced to play against an unfamiliar opening. Additionally, the course will introduce various openings to learn more about the key plans.
This is not an opening repertoire course. Memorizing deep variations is not our goal. The purpose of this class is to master the basics of the openings and be able to apply them in various situations.
Some openings are overviewed in this course. Coverage of White is mostly limited to 1.e4. The course covers a simple system for Black against 1.e4 and 1.d4.
Like Chess 012, this class is designed to train students, not just teach content. We want students to improve their thinking abilities as well! This course will be beneficial for those even outside the 1200 - 1500 ELO rating range. A more appropriate range would be 1200 - 1600 ELO. Also note that Chess.com correspondence chess ratings tend to be inflate. Potential students who are unsure whether or not this course is suitable for them should message GeniusKJ on Chess.com and ask. This course is designed and taught by Kairav Joshi.
Chess 013 Independent Study Package:
- Syllabus: http://kairavacademydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/chess-013-syllabus.pdf
- Pretest: http://kairavacademydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/chess-013-pretest1.pdf
- Orientation.
- 3 written lectures.
- 6 hours of video recorded class lectures.
- Study schedule for 42 days (a 42 page PDF file)!
- 3 class assignments, may be submitted for feedback.
- Final exam, may be submitted for feedback.
The class textbook is Discovering Chess Openings by John Emms. The book is not included with the purchase of the course. This book is NOT required for the class; it is optional. This book is strongly recommended for those below 1500 ELO level.
You may purchase the book from my Amazon bookstore if you do not find it cheaper elsewhere. This book is sometimes available on eBay for a great price.
As Chess 013 makes full use of Chess.com's premium features, having diamond membership is required when going through this course. Those who aren't currently Chess.com diamond members should purchase a one month subscription along with this course.
Chess.com University's Chess 013 course is available for purchase in independent-study format for $89.00. Please use the PayPal link below to purchase using PayPal balance or credit/debit card:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=MR9NQDL83XB9Q
Message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or send an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com after purchasing Chess 013. In the message/email, indicate your real name, primary email address (the place for us to send the Chess 013 material), and your Chess.com username.
Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check or money order, please message GeniusKJ on Chess.com to get our mailing address.
Chess 014: Endgame Technique for 1200-1500 ELO Players
This comprehensive course covers everything players between 1200 and 1500 ELO need to know regarding the endgame phase of the game. Key topics include: endgame principles, endgame evaluations, common endgame tactics, principle of two weaknesses, planning in the endgame and later phases of the middlegame, king and pawn endgames, minor piece endgames, and techniques for saving inferior endgame positions.
Students will gain endgame knowledge and become proficient at applying endgame principles to a variety of positions. Once the necessary content is covered, the course moves on to help students develop their endgame technique. Students will learn how to convert endgame advantages into wins and how to save inferior endgame positions.
Like Chess 012 and Chess 013, this course is designed to train students, not just teach content. We want students to improve their thinking abilities and develop endgame technique. The purpose of this class format is to help students "learn-by-doing."
This class will be beneficial even for those outside the 1200 - 1500 ELO rating range; we keep using this range for naming consistency. A more appropriate range is 1100 - 1600 ELO. If you are not sure how suitable this course is for you, contact GeniusKJ on Chess.com. This course is designed and taught by Kairav Joshi.
Chess 014 Independent Study Package:
- Syllabus: http://kairavacademy.com/2013/11/24/chess-014-endgame-technique-for-1200-1500-elo-players-syllabus/
- Pretest: http://kairavacademy.com/2013/12/05/chess-014-endgame-technique-for-1200-1500-players-pretest/
- Orientation.
- 3 written lectures.
- More than 6 hours of video recorded class lectures.
- Study schedule for 30 days (a 30 page PDF file)!
- 2 class assignments, may be submitted for feedback.
- Final exam, may be submitted for feedback.
The class textbook is Silman's Complete Endgame Course by Jeremy Silman. The book is not included with the Chess 014 tuition. This book is required for the class.
The book is available at my online Amazon bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/kairacad-20?node=1&page=2
There may be better priced copies available elsewhere such as www.ebay.com.
Chess.com diamond membership is not required to take this course but purchasing one month of membership is highly recommended.
Chess.com University's Chess 014 course is available for purchase in independent-study format for $92.00. Please use the PayPal link below to purchase using PayPal balance or credit/debit card:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T7RDYDLMEWQSJ
Message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or send an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com after purchasing Chess 014. In the message/email, indicate your real name, primary email address (the place for us to send the Chess 014 material), and your Chess.com username.
Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check or money order, please message GeniusKJ on Chess.com to get our mailing address.
Chess 024: Opening Repertoire for 1500-1800 ELO Players Part 1, Black vs. 1.e4
This is Chess.com University's first course aimed at the 1500-1800 ELO level. In reality, this course is rather advanced and more suitable for 1600-1900 ELO players. Though anybody who is at least at the 1500 level and has taken Chess 013 will be prepared to take this course. Note that Chess.com ratings tend to be inflated compared to ELO. This course designed and taught by Kairav Joshi.
The Chess 024 course gives students an opening repertoire vs. 1.e4. Because the focus is limited to the Black side of 1.e4, the course is rather thorough. Opening coverage is well-organized and easy for students to understand. Our opening study is not limited to just the mainlines; relevant variations and sidelines are covered as needed.
Students will even receive PGN files containing all the important lines covered. This way students can easily review and even explore different continuations using a chess engine. While this class will teach an opening repertoire vs. 1.e4, not all the class content will be aimed at the repertoire itelf.
Other topics include:
(1) Applying Opening Principles
(2) Planning and Analyzing During the Opening
(3) Properly Using Chess Engines to Analyze Openings
(4) Using Databases and Other Resources
With that said, the primary objective of Chess 024 is providing students a powerful opening repertoire against 1.e4 that increases their understanding of chess in general. Since we want students to "learn-by-doing," there will be a class project for which students can choose a variation to study and further develop our repertoire. This way students can practice learning openings by themselves and get feedback on how well they're doing it!
Openings Covered:
Our weapon against 1.e4 is the Sicilian Defense (1...c5). The Accelerated Dragon is one of the key openings we study. Other important topics include playing against the Smith-Morra Gambit, Sicilian Grand Prix Attack, Closed Sicilian, Sicilian Alapin, Maroczy Bind, Wing Gambit and much more. Some of the systems covered in class closely follow the content provided in the class textbook (more about this below).
Additionally, this course trains students and helps them enhance their ability to calculate, evaluate, analyze and plan. If you are not sure whether this class would be useful for you, simply message GeniusKJ on Chess.com and ask!
Chess 024 Independent Study Package:
- Syllabus: http://kairavacademydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/chess-024-syllabus1.pdf
- Orientation.
- 1 written lecture.
- More than 7 hours of video recorded class lectures.
- Study schedule for 31 days (a 31 page PDF file)!
- 10 PGN files containing the most important mainlines and variations of our opening repertoire.
- 2 class assignments, may be submitted for feedback.
- Class project, may be submitted for feedback.
- Final exam, may be submitted for feedback.
The class textbook is Chess Openings for Black, Explained: A Complete Repertoire 2nd Edition (Revised and Updated) by Lev Albert, Roman Dzindzichashvili, and Eugene Perelshteyn. The book is not included in the Chess 024 tuition. Purchasing the class textbook is strongly recommended.
The book is available at my online Amazon bookstore:
http://astore.amazon.com/kairacad-20?node=1&page=3
There may be better priced copies available elsewhere such as www.ebay.com.
As Chess 024 makes full use of Chess.com's premium features, having diamond membership is required when going through this course. Those who aren't currently Chess.com diamond members should purchase a one month subscription along with this course.
Chess.com University's Chess 024 course is available for purchase in independent-study format for $95.00. Please use the PayPal link below to purchase using PayPal balance or credit/debit card:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8L6VBQ6RKC6UW
Message GeniusKJ on Chess.com or send an email to kairavjoshi@chess.com after purchasing Chess 024. In the message/email, indicate your real name, primary email address (the place for us to send the Chess 024 material), and your Chess.com username.
Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check or money order, please message GeniusKJ on Chess.com to get our mailing address.
Not a member of Chess.com University? Click HERE to join today!
If you have further questions, please message Kairav Joshi on Chess.com, or email kairavjoshi@chess.com.
