Good luck with your challenge! The videos below are designed to provide 3 to 6 months worth of weekly lessons.
Each week your chess group should work on just one lesson below. Fully comprehend that strategy before moving on to the next. If you find that your players have grasped all these then go on to the Advanced Lessons - each of those lessons is much longer and more detailed.
If you'd like to access more video lessons on an ongoing basis please ask about a 12-month subscription. For just $15 per student (inc GST) you can have 12-months access to lessons, puzzles and play online games from home or school.
If you'd like to access more video lessons on an ongoing basis please ask about a 12-month subscription. For just $15 per student (inc GST) you can have 12-months access to lessons, puzzles and play online games from home or school.

Try a printed curriculum as well (zip file with 20+ lessons). Thanks to www.ChessKid.com |
Reading and writing chess notation (eg. 1. e4 Nf6)
Chess games are recorded using a simple code and use the algebraic co-ordinates on a chess board. Using chess notation is also a good maths activity for kids to practice co-ordinates. Download this PDF to learn how to read the notation!

Recording Your Games (pdf) |
Click here if the video above doesn't play
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Lesson 1 - The 3 Golden Rules
Paul Morphy was the greatest player of all time. A child prodigy he had a great attitude towards chess - he always wanted to be improving. Although after a few short years there was no challenge that he could take on that he couldn't win...
In this lesson you learn the 3 strategies that Paul Morphy invented over 150 years ago which are still the MOST important and MOST used strategies for every Grandmaster today. (Duration: 27 minutes) ![]()
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Lesson 2 - The Deadly Diagonal
For quick checkmates you need to know everything you can about the Deadly Diagonal. You'll use it in your games to defeat your opponents quickly, but you also need to make sure you don't weaken yourself along this diagonal.
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Lesson 3 - Checkmates
Checkmate comes from the ancient Persian words "shah" meaning king and "mat" meaning dead. So literally, "the king is dead". This is the only way to win a game...in this lesson you'll see quite a few famous checkmate patterns.
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Lesson 4 - Electric Fence
Have you ever been in a situation where you have played brilliantly all game and you've got WAY more pieces left than your opponent .. but you just can't finish it off?
In Interschool events the Electric Fence checkmate strategy is used to finish over 80% of all games! This is one you MUST practice again and again and again... ![]()
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Lesson 5 - The King Hunt
One of the most exciting parts of a game is when you finally focus in all your attacking pieces on the enemy king.
Sometimes a King Hunt can begin early in the game and the enemy King gets chased to all sorts of uncomfortable spots! |
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Lesson 6 - The Turk
In 1770 a "machine" was unveiled in Vienna...a machine that could play chess! How was it that this first "chess computer" was, for the next 84 years, virtually unbeatable? The first computers weren't invented until 1936 - 166 years after this amazing automaton!
Find out more - how did this amazing contraption work? ![]()
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Lesson 7 - Double Check
Double check is one of the most powerful moves you can do in chess. It is when you have 2 pieces attacking your opponent's king at the same time.
In this lesson you learn the power of the Double Check and how to achieve this powerful trick. ![]()
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Lesson 8 - Pin and Win
Imagine how good it would be if your opponent couldn't move their pieces. How easy it would be to win!
Well, that's just what a PIN is good for. Use this lesson to learn how to spot and use pins in your games. ![]()
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Lesson 9 - Opening Traps
Getting off to a good start is a sure-fire way to maximise your chances of winning the game.
This lesson shows you a few of the most common tricks and traps in the first few moves of a game. |
Lesson 10 - Endgames
If you think that with just 2 pieces left on the board the game is simple then think again! If you have the smallest of advantages, just one pawn, you can use that advantage to drive home victory -- but you'll need this lesson first!
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