Chess Clinic: From Beginner to Winner in 10 Easy Lessons

Thanks to a grant from the Monsanto Corporation, the Belleville West Chess Club and the Scholastic Center of St. Louis will sponsor a chess clinic for Belleville West students, parents, faculty, and staff.

The lessons will be held at 3:35 in classroom B340 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now through early May.  Participants may attend all sessions or choose only sessions of particular interest.

Lesson 1: Rules of the Game (Tuesday, 3/28/17)
(Objective, Movement of Pieces, and Board Setup)

Lesson 2: Finishing Your Opponent (Thursday, 3/30/17)
(Checkmating, Stalemating, and Basic Check Mates)

Lesson 3: Advanced Rules Made Simple (Tuesday, 4/4/17)
(Castling, En Passant, and Promotion)

Lesson 4: Starting off Strong (Thursday, 4/6/17)
(Opening Principles: Developing Pieces, Controlling the Center, Castling Early)

Lesson 5: Using Your Army (Tuesday, 4/11/17)
(Coordinating Attacks with Multiple Pieces)

Lesson 6: Making Sacrifices (Tuesday, 4/18/17)
(Piece Values and Exchanges)

Lesson 7: Outsmarting Your Opponent (Thursday, 4/20/17)
(Basic Tactics: Forking, Pinning, and Skewering)

Lesson 8: Outsmarting Your Opponent (Part 2) (Tuesday, 4/25/17)
(Advanced Tactics: Double Check, Discovered Check, Zwischenzug, Zugzwang)

Lesson 9: Avoiding Weaknesses (Thursday, 4/27/17)
(Pawn Weaknesses, Weak Squares, Exposed Kings)

Lesson 10: Avoiding Weaknesses Part 2 (Tuesday, 5/2/17)
(Trapped Pieces, Overloaded Pieces, and Hanging Pieces)

The workshop instructor is Mr. Lucas Spriggs, English teacher and sponsor of the Belleville West Chess Team.  Sign up here to participate.