Advanced Enrollment (Rooks)

Rooks of the Board (Advanced)

Overview: This group class assumes advanced knowledge of chess. Players should already know how to read and write algebraic annotation, basic tactics such as forks/pins/skewers/attraction/checkmate patterns, and terminology such as en passant and zugzwang. Players are encouraged to participate in local or regional USCF rated chess tournaments and actively pursue chess proficiency outside of club meetings via a combination of tactics workbooks, chess literature reading, and online resources. Players should be familiar with the concepts introduced in the Step 2 workbooks, or have equivalent proficiency. Note that the Saturday 11 AM Knights class from spring semester has been combined with the 12 PM Rooks class for more group interaction.

Suggested age range: 3rd grade to 9th grade, although younger players may be considered after an assessment.

Meeting times: 4-5 Saturdays a month from 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM.

Fees:

• Program fees are $80/monthly per player, assuming 4 Saturdays a month. When there are 5 Saturdays in a month, parents will be invoiced $20 separately for the 5th Saturday.

Curriculum:

• Workbooks from chess-steps.com, continuation of discussion of ideas in the Step 2 workbook. See infographic for description of later curriculum. Workbook progression is Step 3, Step 3 Extra, Step 3 Plus, then finally Step 3 Mixed. Players typically take one year to finish 3+ workbooks.

Addendum:

- Club membership can be discontinued at any time by sending an email to hello@wayoftheboard.org, and a prorated refund for that month will be issued accordingly.

- First visit is free and families can visit a class to see whether it a good fit for their chess playing child. However it is advisable to send an email in advance to ensure there is capacity for visitors and for the instructor to advise which class is likely the most appropriate.

- To encourage tournament participation, parents who send a photo of their scholastic player at the tournament to hello[at]wayoftheboard.org with permission to post to club Facebook page will be refunded the $20 club fee if event time overlaps with the Saturday morning class.