As one of the sharpest and most experienced young chess coaches in the state, Rafi has been coaching some of the brightest rising chess stars in the city at numerous clubs and after-school programs through Mid-South Chess. In fact, Rafi has given hundreds of lectures at local schools and clubs including Lausanne, Grace Saint Luke’s, Hamilton Elementary, The University of Memphis, Bolton High School, and many others. He lectures on a variety of chess-related topics including strategy, motivation, calculation, opening theory, and endgame principles. Whether he’s lecturing to a group of parents or a crowd of kindergartners or college students, he is known for his eloquence and easy-to-understand teaching strategies. Rafi’s lectures are sprinkled with humor, yet convey a direct and clear message to his students. His lectures are capable of captivating the attention of an entire classroom full of students, yet individualized enough to cater to the specific needs of each student in his class. With over 10 years of playing and 7 years of coaching experience under his belt, today Rafi still continues to share his love for the game with up-and-coming young chess enthusiasts from all across the city through Chowdhury’s Chess Leadership Program. Most recently, he has developed a 10-week chess leadership program which teaches students about leadership, entrepreneurship, and psychology using the game of chess as the primary platform. The aim of this program is to not only provide students with a comprehensive chess education, but also educate them on how to translate these skills learned through chess into other domains.

Lecture Topics

• Rules of the Game
• Opening Theory
• Middlegame Concepts
• Philosophy / Economics in Chess
• Understanding Imbalances
• Endgame Principles
• Chess Psychology

Requesting Lectures

Please email rafi1220@gmail.com for more information.