My review of the chess dojo training program
Hello, in this blog I will be reviewing the Chess Dojo training program and rating each of its fey keatures. The Chess Dojo is a YouTube channel and training program run by GM Jesse Krai, IM Kostya Kavutskiy and IM David Pruess (known in the program as the
Videos + Podcast
Although not strictly part of the training program, the Dojo release free instructional videos on their YouTube channel as well as the Dojo Talks podcast. The channel covers instructional videos, book reviews, ranking videos and more. Overall, solid content for free though there are of course other creators. My only problem is the amount of content but that is made up for with the training program.
Score 7/10
Training plan
The way the dojo is set up by is you are in a rating cohort based on whatever rating you prefer. For each cohort there is a list of tasks to complete including books, courses, tests, sparring and more. The idea is so you know exactly what you need to do to take your ability to the next rating level. This is the main part of the dojo but there is so much more to the program. Additionally, there is an AI which can tell you what to do on each day.
Score 9/10
Game Storage
The dojo also allows you to store your games on the program which also gives you a time management rating, several opening databases and its latest feature solitaire chess where you can test your memory of the game played. Although the time management rating and solitaire feature are nice, Lichess is just as good if not better, but it does a job.
Score 5/10
Clubs and community
Community is a big part of the dojo (although I don’t use it as much as I should). As part of this you get access to a discord to communicate with other members of the dojo, participate in classes and join clubs of people with similar interests or locations. You can also spar different positions for your cohort with other members and review each other’s games. It is a great feature although you can do the program without it.
Score 9/10
Tournaments
As part of the dojo you also get access to two types of tournaments: Round robin’s with other members of your cohort and the open classical which is split into two regions (America’s and rest of the world) and each region has an Open and a U1900. The open classical is a rolling 7-week Swiss tournament. They have recently introduced a ‘dojo circuit’ where the winner of any tournament wins a free year’s membership and as well as access to an end of year tournament. You get free access to these as part of the dojo or pay £2 to compete in a tournament if you are not part of it. Overall, a fantastic feature although the circuit could be improved slightly.
Score 9/10
Tests
Another small part of the program which includes checkmate, tactics and endgame test to test your ability in the feature. A nice extra feature but doesn’t add much.
Score 6/10
Opening courses
You also get access to a bunch of opening courses created by the Sensei’s including the French Defence, Caro-Kann, King’s Indian, Najdorf Sicilian, an e4 repertoire and more. Each one includes an overview video of the opening, a PGN containing a bunch of opening lines, a set of sparring positions and exercises to test your knowledge. The courses our sold though perhaps slightly limited although a great part of the Dojo
Score 8/10
Sensei Review
A fantastic part of the training program where whenever your graduate GM Jesse Krai analyses one of your games as part of the grad show where he goes over graduate games on the twitch channel. This is a great way to get access to a bit of personalised coaching but could maybe be analysed slightly longer but overall, a fantastic feature.
Score 9.5/10
Cost
The cost of the training program is $15 (~£11, €13) per month or $120 (~£89, €102) per year (which works out at $10 (~£7.50, €8.50). While it is relatively costly the access to improve your chess, courses and limited private coaching so it is decent value
Score 6/10
Conclusion
Overall, the training program is great and has made a real difference to my chess. It may have less content only accessible that other options but the ability to learn from different sources is unparalleled. Additionally, the program is constantly improving and adding new features.
Final score
8.5/10
Hope you enjoyed the post, any feedback is much appreciated. My next post will be covering some of my favourite chess books.
