WIM Alexey Root, PhD

Alexey Root is a Woman International Master and the 1989 U.S. Women's chess champion. Her peak US Chess rating was 2260. She has a PhD in education from UCLA. You can find her books on chess on Amazon.com.

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How to teach chess (part three)

In this article and in the next one, I will outline exactly what I will teach these more advanced students. You can use these articles as a self-study guide (for improving your own chess). Or, if you are a chess teacher, you might try my outlined plans with your advanced students. More šŸ”¢
World Cup

World Cup

The skill of ā€œdribblingā€ in soccer is perhaps the gameā€™s most fundamental skill. Dribbling is running or moving with the ball under the control of your feet. Beginners learn how to dribble and World Cup players demonstrate excellent dribbling in their games. Likewise, as a beginning or intermediate chess player, you learn the endgame checkmates. The king and queen versus king and rook win should be in the top of the endgame fundamentals that you learn and practice. More šŸ”¢
Alexey Root

How to teach chess (part two)

Teaching chess to groups can be tricky, as not everyone comes to class with the same background knowledge. In How to teach chess (part one), I shared lesson plans for two 1.5 hour sessions with a mixed group (absolute beginners in the same class with chess players with some experience). In this article, I share lesson plans for three more 1.5 hour sessions with mixed groups of students ages 8-13. More šŸ”¢
Alexey Root - Thinking with Chess

How to teach chess (part one)

Since you are a chess player, you may be asked to teach chess to others. Teaching chess can be a rewarding volunteer opportunity, as you share your love of chess with schoolchildren or with people of all ages at a library chess club. Teaching chess can also be a part-time job or a career, as many parents pay for chess instruction. Like paying for music lessons or for participation in organized sports, paying for chess lessons is routine for many families. In this article and in my next article, I share lesson plans for five 1.5 hour sessions with a mixed group. More šŸ”¢
Elliott Neff teaching Boys & Girls Club children how to play chess- Fall 2016. Photo by Sarah Smoots

Chess coach Elliott Neff answers your questions

Thirty-two SparkChess readers had questions for chess coach Elliott Neff. Alexey Root chose the best ones and Elliott has the answers. All five readers received one-year Premium Live SparkChess memberships. Read on to find out which of the five also won a one-year Chess4Life Online Premium membership. More šŸ”¢
Elliott and Phiona on the Red Carpet in Hollywood, CA, September 2016

Prizes for your questions for chess coach Elliott Neff

Want to win a one-year SparkChess Premium Live membership and a one-year Chess4Life Online Premium membership (valued at $99) at online.chess4life.com? In the comments to this article, ask National Master Elliott Neff a question. On May 25, SparkChess writer Alexey Root will select the five best questions from the comments. The commenters who asked the ā€œfive bestā€ questions will each win a one-year Premium Live membership to SparkChess. More šŸ”¢
National Master Elliott Neff

Learn a basic endgame checkmate from Elliott Neff

When facing a lone king, you should know how to checkmate if you have king, a knight, and bishop. Most videos only show the checkmate when the king is already on the edge of the board. But it is important to learn what to do when the defending king starts in the center. NM Elliott Neff shows how to drive the defenderā€™s king from the center to the edge of the board and then follow it up with checkmate. More šŸ”¢
John Bartholomew

The “ask a chess celebrity” winners areā€¦

SparkChess readers had questions for chess IM John Bartholomew. We decided which questions were the best ones. All five readers received one-year Premium Live SparkChess memberships. Read on to find out which of the five also won a three-month PRO membership to Chessable and for John Bartholomewā€™s answers. More šŸ”¢