Chess

YEL Chess Classes for Kids

Since 2004, YEL has offered chess classes for tens of thousands of kids.  These budding grandmasters start the program learning the basics of piece movement, capture, check, piece value, and of course, sportsmanship.  Students shake hands at the beginning of each game (pre/post COVID) and at the end of each game.

YEL Chess classes for kids feature:

• Our trademarked Teach It! Practice It! Play It!® methodology
  • Teach It! – Each class the our coaches teach a new chess lesson or concept, during the Teach It! portion of class.  The Teach It! portion of class almost feels like a game show with students eager to raise their hands and answer questions.  
  • Practice It! – During the Practice It! portion of class, students are given chess puzzles to solve on their own or in small groups.  Or they may be given a chess position to practice with fewer chess pieces.
  • Play It! – Kids love to play chess, so during the Play It! portion of class, we reserve 20-30 minutes of time to play against other students.  We pair students based on age and ability and try to switch opponents as often as possible.
    

    Play It! 20-30 minutes of each class for playing chess.

• Dynamic coaches – Some of the best chess coaches in the region work with YEL students.  Many students have gone on to win local, regional, state, and a few have become national champions.
• Comprehensive curriculum – YEL chess classes teach different lessons each week.  From basic piece movement through complex endgames and tactics and strategies.  YEL curriculum features dozens of lesson topics for multiple levels of students.
• Merit points (Chess Dollars) – Students have the opportunity to earn their very own chess dollars.  Students can earn these dollars a number of ways: 1) By answering questions during the Teach It! portion of class; 2) By solving puzzles or positions during the Practice It! portion of class; 3) By playing a good chess game or coming up with an awesome move during the Play It! portion of class.
  • Students save their chess dollars like it’s their own money (what a great way to get youngsters used to managing money) and bring them back to class on the last day of each session and use the chess dollars for purchasing prizes.

Chess Tournaments

•  YEL offers over-the-board (pre/post COVID) chess tournaments in multiple locations throughout the school year.  To learn more about these, please visit our Chess Tournament FAQ page.

Chess Tournaments for Kids.

Find Classes

• Visit our Registration   page and put in your zip code to find chess classes in your area.
• YEL offers after school classes at your school at the end of the school day.
• YEL also offers summer camps in your community or near you.
• Can’t find a YEL chess class near you?  Email us at info@yelkids.com to discuss how to start classes in your area.

Summer Camps

What a great way to keep your child’s brain engaged!  Summer Chess Camps are day camps (usually 9am-noon, or 1-4pm) in your area.  We come right to locations within your community and teach our chess programs in a day camp setting.  Students of all levels can sign up.

Find Summer Camps

Other:

• Want to know if your child is ready to try chess.  CLICK HERE to read our blog titled, “Yes!  Your child can play (and enjoy) chess!“
• Want to know what chess level your child is.  CLICK HERE to read our blog “What chess level is my child?“