Gold Academy
The perfect choice for tournament players looking to raise their game. Suggested rating USCF 1000-1400.
Join National Master Matt Zavortink in this class for tournament regulars looking to get into more serious chess! Suggested rating USCF 1000-1400.
Gold Academy Schedule
Classes are ongoing; Start or Stop membership anytime!
Choose your time slot for the core lessons: Tuesday 7:00pm-8:30pm PST or Wednesday 6:00pm-7:30pm PST via Zoom.
Friday “Chess Lab” runs from 5:00pm-6:00pm PST. You can choose to join each week to play one game, two games, or skip these.
Sunday “Think Slowly” games run from 10am-12pm PST. You can choose to join each week to play one game, two games, or skip these.
Gold Academy Content
Openings
How to study your openings
General openings survey and typical structures and ideas
How to play with an opening advantage
Tactics
Attacking the King
Passed Pawns
Small Combinations
Advanced Tactical Ideas (Interference, Luring, Blocking, Chasing, Clearance, etc.)
Endgames
Pawn endgames
Simple Rook endgames
Other Simple Endgames
General Endgame technique/strategy
Strategy
Simple Plans and imbalances
Weak Pawns
What you’ll get
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✺ Homework
Weekly problems to solve at home - reviewed at the start of each class.
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✺ Weekly Lessons
Coach Matt will pick an appropriate topic for tournament improvers each week with new material!
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✺ Game Analysis
Quick feedback from your coach right after games finish in class!
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✺ Sunday "Think-First"
Join our Sunday “Think-First” Tournament to practice slow chess games online every week!
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✺ Friday Chess Lab
Join our Friday online Chess Lab to wrap-up the week with a couple of games
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✺ Structure
Topics will rotate over an approximate 4-month period before repeating for reinforcement