Interactive Q & A Daily Course by email

What I appreciate most about Chien's daily email lessons is that each day, you learn something about chess that is not only interesting but also useful in games. I have only been taking email lessons for six weeks, but I already feel like his teaching has helped me to improve my game. It is also easy on the pocketbook, so you don't need to have a lot of money to get this valuable instruction.

I have taken lessons before, but in America and other places, chess lessons are very expensive, and you only see your teacher once every week or two. With Chien, you can ask him a question and have instruction any day. He also seems to have a feel for your playing level, and he gives lessons suited to your needs.

Daily email chess lessons are one of the first things I consider when I study chess. They are like reading a good chess book that adjusts to your needs. And, I have already learned about chess subjects that I have never heard of before in books or from other instructors. I highly recommend, and am thankful for, Chien's valuable teaching.

Thanks a lot Andrew. It's my pleasure to work with you

You are absolute right about few highlights you mentioned:

* It is like reading a chess book that adjusts to your needs / playing level.

* Participants can ask me any question and have instruction any day.

The pace is fully their controls, there will be no pressure from me.

Some are doing interaction with me on daily base,

some are busier and doing it only 2 or 3 times a week let say,

but there are some who has privilege to do more than 1 email conversation with me daily.

I usually reply immediately when I am not in mid of playing tournament's game or teaching in live session, but even when I am busy I will usually respond not more than 8-12 hours

Chien truly know how to teach. I learned for a while, but then got busy with school. However, the amount of content that he can deliver simply through email is exquisite. Thanks!

Hello and Greetings to all chess family of this forum

Here I am again after 10 months that I have started email daily (almost) lessons with Chien !

The one and most important thing that I must say is that I am more than satisfied . The quality of tests/lessons and discussing is high . Even if solutions are not satisfactory Chien is never giving it to me from the first moments. He insists and tries to lead my thought and focus on the right point !! This has increased my visualization and the way that I approach on the game to the best !!! I have become more trustful and sure about my game and plans .

Chien is also following my fulfilled games and corrects my mistakes because all of us are learning from that (as it is in real life )

From here I want to send him a big thank for the help and for the friendship 

Sakis

(May Kaissa be with us )

https://www.chess.com/play/tournament/5729795

Two or three weeks ago, I decided to enroll in the daily email course offered by Mr. Chien Ming. I must admit, he truly impressed me with his kindness, his Socratic approach, and his deep expertise in chess. After all, I had nothing to lose, since Chien offers a free one-month trial.

From the very beginning, he captivated me with the quality of his exercises, insightful commentary, and constant encouragement. Not only do I learn from the positions he provides and his thoughtful questions, but once the questions are in, I gain a deeper understanding of the examples themselves. I cannot stress enough how valuable this course has been already for improving my grasp of the game and identifying areas I need to work on.

Mr. Ming is remarkably patient. He never pressures anyone to work for hours, yet his enthusiasm makes you want to invest more time. This way of learning is truly inspiring. As someone who tends to be naturally lazy, I find it both enjoyable and engaging to study with him. I can easily spend hours analyzing a suggested position, identifying candidate moves, and exploring possible variations — all without undue pressure or rigid constraints. I work entirely at my own pace.

Another benefit of working with Mr. Ming is his prompt email responses. He often goes above and beyond by sending me examples of games related to the openings I use. Just recently, without any request from me, he shared a highly instructive game he played years ago that perfectly matched my favorite opening. It was completely unexpected and fascinating. Chien Ming seems to intuitively understand my needs and never runs out of material to offer.

The cost of this course ($25/month) is minimal, yet it’s the most effective chess instruction I’ve received since childhood. In my opinion, if your rating falls between 1000 and 2000 on Chess.com or at your local chess club, you owe it to yourself to try this course. Give it a shot for a month or two — you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Around a month ago, I began sending email back and forth between Chien Ming and me. At first, we started with the basic chess knowledge. I told him I already started doing chess lessons and puzzle from chess.com, and from chess books like Bruce Pandolfini and Bobby Fischer.

My knowledge was extremely bare. Some people, when they said they start learning chess again in their adult years, actually meant they used to play chess a lot as young kid. And then they show you how easy to play again as adult. Like suddenly skyrocketing their elo at chess.com to above 1000 levels within days or weeks. Nope, not me. Seriously, as a schoolkid I was terrible at chess for real, and I had no freaking idea how to play chess back then and even after 30 years later.

Anyway, I like Pandolfini's approach using Socratic method to learn chess, and that's essentially what I've been doing with Chien in our every meeting. We discussed some of my old games, and then he showed me several ways to improve. Also, Chien showed me how he would handle that particular situation by giving examples from his own game.

After several meetups, Chien started the Daily Lesson email interactive. For now, the focus is on tactical side, and with several follow-up puzzles to solve to illustrate the case study for that particular tactics. Let me just say, the puzzles are tough but fair. Sometimes I could solve it straight away, but not always. Often I miss something that Chien points out in the next email. You do this, now what if your opponent counters with this. What will you do? Expect that kind of Socratic interaction regularly.

Is it worth it? Without any doubt. Essentially Chien will challenge your logic and your imagination. More often than not, both at the same time. With his guidance, I don't know how far I'll improve by the end of my imaginary Senior years, but I'm pretty certain I'll be lightyear ahead of what I currently am right now.

Chien is so patient polite and infuses the knowledge step by step .