Putting our new training system into a virtual classroom took longer than we thought and we sincerely apologize!  We were on fire before the pandemic hit!  Success in our 171 “New Schools Campaign”,  the launch of the “Scholarship Chess Business Center Management Group” on Facebook, our next  issue of Scholarship Chess Magazine was scheduled to be printed March 30th,  our coaches finished 2/61, 12/48, and 8/64 in the under 1800, under 2000, and open sections at the George Washington Open!!  I was scheduled to retake the MLO test at the end of March, and we’d just signed up with The Money Max  Account!! We knew the chess market could increase or decrease, but never expected a national shutdown that involved social distancing!! We wound up in the same position as everyone else… wishing we’d invested every dime we had into Zoom stocks. Converting in person, custom group lessons to custom group video lessons is hard work!!  We had to transition a lot of original concepts and reevaluate the nature of the delivery again to; instructor, teacher, and coach.  Then we had to find out what a good 90-120 minute presentation looked like, and finally we had to determine some minimum levels of performance and some lofty goals. There’s no waiting in chess for anything!  Comforting students about losses is a contradiction of what you paid for and will actually slow them down!!  The biggest challenge participants and parents will ever face is, ” doing exactly as they are told”.  Our win and draw training system has a 7 yr old as one of the coaches!!   The only experience our students need to win and draw chess games is being good at, “doing exactly what they are told”!   Making our own mistakes is no longer required.

After completion of our courses, the only question you need to answer after a game is, “Did I do exactly what I was told to do all the time, most of the time, some of the time, or not at all.  Students up to 1600 will win all of their games with an, “all” answer, they will win most of their games with a, “most” answer, some of their games with a, “some” answer!!  A, “not at all” answer means they don’t need any more classes right now!!

 

With events cancelling all over the country we put serious thought into what would be the new measuring stick for success!!  With no real world events, the toy parts, entertaining parts, and intriguing parts of chess must be used to produce the same results as serious study!  Chess.com is the perfect venue for improving players to have toys and tools!  Look for suggested Chess.com accomplishments for class placement.

Next we conquered the challenge of groupings!  We offer a range of instruction for 2 groups.  The novice/intermediate, and the intermediate/tournament.

1.) Novice/Intermediates:  The goal is to decrease the number of tactical errors in the 1st 6-9 moves of the game.  We’ll teach, instill, practice, and test on our elements of tactics, strategy, and move selection.  Chess between classes is encouraged, explained, and reviewed, but the work is not a requirement.  Participants that do the work will have more confidence,  understanding, and stamina!  Their Chess.com training will focus on tactical exercises, puzzles, and reviewing their own games.

2.) Intermediates/Tournament:  The goal for these players is detecting tactical and strategic errors in the 1st 7-12 moves of the game.  This group will be shown what to study and how to study for extremely fast and tangible progress!  Work between classes is encouraged, explained, and reviewed.  Participants that do the work will have more self reliance, play more accurately, and be able to explain how they navigated all parts of the game.  Their Chess.com training will focus on openings analysis, understanding the rating system, the next level of our win/draw system, and how to evaluate their own performances.

Their 100 puzzle test should have an accuracy of 65% or better.  Puzzle Rating, 1400!  Their 3 minute, 5 minute, and Survival Puzzle Rush should approach 10, 14, and 18 respectively.  By comparison, my high for puzzles is 2463 and my Puzzle Rush are 21, 32, and 42!

   

Our delivery methods and systems are not the only thing that have evolved.  Many of our customers preferred cash to checks.  Many prefer using credit cards to writing checks.  With invoicing by, “Square”, it will be a neater and better communication for everyone!  It’s also a way for us to provide you updates and information about future classes and tournaments.

Classes:

Group 1.) lasts 1 hr 45 minutes, Group 2.) lasts 2 hrs. Class materials and delivery are continually customized to reflect the interest and skill of the participants!  Maximum class size is 10!  1st come, 1st served, no exceptions!  

Session 1

18 May – 10 June  Monday and Wednesday, Group 1.) 7 pm – 845 pm.

19 May – 11 June Tuesday and Thursday, Group 1.) 3 pm – 445 pm.

19 May – 11 June Tuesday and Thursday, Group 2.) 7 pm – 9 pm.

Session 2

15 June –  8 July Monday and Wednesday, Group 2.) 3 pm – 5 pm.

15 June – 8 July Monday and Wednesday, Group 1.) 7 pm – 845 pm.

16 June – 9 July Tuesday and Thursday, Group 1.) 3 pm –  445 pm.

16 June – 9 July Tuesday and Thursday, Group 2.) 7 pm – 9 pm.

Session 3

13 July – 5 August Monday and Wednesday, Group 2.) 3 pm – 5 pm.

13 July – 5 August Monday and Wednesday, Group 1.) 7 pm – 845 pm.

14 July – 6 August Tuesday and Thursday, Group 1.) 3 pm –  445 pm.

14 July – 6 August Tuesday and Thursday, Group 2.) 7 pm – 9 pm.

Session 4

10 August – 2 September Monday and Wednesday, Group 2.) 3 pm – 5 pm.

10 August – 2 September Monday and Wednesday, Group 1.) 7 pm – 845 pm.

11 August – 3 September Tuesday and Thursday, Group 1.) 3 pm –  445 pm.

11 August – 3 September Tuesday and Thursday, Group 2.) 7 pm – 9 pm.

Cost

Sign up for 1 session for just $89.00, 2 sessions just $159.00, 3 sessions just $229.00 and all 4 sessions is just $289.00.  To Register, please call or email us the students, name, number, email, class strength and day of the week.  Mike Callaham, 804-426-6058 and waterman2010kir@aol.com.  You will receive an invoice from Square with further instructions.

Thank You For Your Business,

Coach Mike Callaham