Curriculum | Exton Chess Academy
top of page

Beginners Track

A two year program that includes six Levels:

Pawn -> Knight -> Bishop -> Rook -> Queen -> King.  

Each level has 2 terms,  each term includes 8 sessions, one session per week. Based on the student’s performance coach may advice additional home assignments as needed. 

Beginner  - "Pawn"

​

Level 0 -  Pre-requisite: 

Audience: No prior knowledge of chess required

​

  • Introducing Chess Game

  • Rules to setup the Board

  • Meet the characters (pieces) involved in game

  • Learn how to move pieces, capture rules, understand  strategic and tactical value of each pieces.

  • Special Rules of game – check, en-passant, pawn promotion,  rules for draw & castling

  • What is an attack & how to defend?

  • Identify simple checkmate, stalemate patterns, draw positions

  • Learn Game Annotation & Coordinates training

  • Play few instructive games

​

Level 1  -  Basic Tactics:

​

  • Simple Tactics – Fork, Pin, Skewer, Discovered Attack, Overloaded & Removing Defender

  • Mixed tactics

  • Solving an extensive set of tactical puzzles.

  • Check Mate in One puzzles

​

Level 2 -  Opening Principles:​

​

  • Shortest move possible checkmates - Fools (2) , Knight's dream (3) , Scholar's mate (4).

  • Basic Opening Principles – center control, minor - major piece development, King Safety, do's & don't etc.

  • How to exploit when opponent don't follow opening principles?

  • Training Games applying opening principles

​

Beginner  - "Knight"

​

Level 1 - Exchange Strategies: 

​

  • Types of Exchange & Trade Rules.

  • Blunder - Tactical & Strategic

  • Hanging piece - Zero rule

  • Check Mate in Two puzzles

​

Level 2 -  Key considerations:

​

  • Getting and Giving up squares

  • Exploit back Rank weakness

  • When Checks are necessary?

  • Exploit open files

​

Beginner  - "Bishop"

​

Level 1 -Attack & Defend:

​

  • Where to attack?

  • Attack & Defense ideas

  • Advanced Tactics - Clearance, Blocking, Deflection & Decoy

​

Level 2 - Strategies to Attack the King: 

​

  • Focal points for Attacking the Un-Castled King

  • Focal points for Attacking the Castled King

  • Greek Gift & combinations

​

Beginner  - "Rook"

​

Level 1 - Basic end-game strategies:

​

  • Pawn Strategies

  • King & Pawn Endings

  • Queen & Pawn Endings

  • Exploit structural pawn weakness

  • Must know endgame patterns

​

Level 2 -  Check Mate  with Major & Minor pieces:​

​

  • Queen & King Vs King

  • Rook & King Vs King

  • Queen & Rook & King Vs King

  • Pair Rooks & King Vs King

  • Pair Bishops & King Vs King

  • Pair Knights & King Vs King

  • Bishop & Knight & King Vs King

​

Beginner  - "Queen"

​

Level 1 -  Famous checkmate patterns: 

​

  • The Arabian, Anastasia, Epaulettes, Legal, Boden, Greco, Swallow's Tail, Blackburne, Pillsbury. 

  • Check mate pattern exercises

  • Look out for Intermezzo (Intermediate moves)

  • Calculate till the end

​

Level 2 -  Know priorities & Explore minor pieces: 

​

  • Priorities & Decision making in chess

  • Visualization & Ghost-effect!

  • Positional power of minor pieces

  • Check Mate in Three move puzzles

​

Beginner  - "King"

​

Level 1 - Improving the position & Middle Game principles:

​

  • Identify weakness

  • Middle-game principles

  • Powerful exchange sacrifices

  • How to Plan middle-game

​

Level 2 - Getting ready to be a club player:

​

  • Exercising positional puzzles & common patterns

  • A peak into classical openings as white and black

  • Game reviews for  general concepts

​

Note: Based on performance Coach will advice as needed whether to put more effort in training games, solving theme based puzzles before they continue to next level.

Intermediate Track

A two year program that includes 6 Levels:

Pawn -> Knight -> Bishop -> Rook -> Queen -> King.

Each level has 2 terms, each term includes 8 sessions, one session per week. Based on the student’s performance coach may advice additional assignments as needed.

Intermediate - "Pawn"

​

Level 1 - Spanish & Italian

​

  • Opening as White - 

         Ruylopez (Spanish) -e4, Giuoco Piano (Italian) -e4

​

Level 2 -Queens Gambit A/D, English

​

  • Opening as White - 

         Queen's Gambit -Accepted/Declined (d4), English (c4)

​

Intermediate - "Bishop"

​

Level 1 - 35 Most important principles

  • 35 most important principles-

         positional chess, opening principles, attacking principles,

         middle-game principles, endgame principles

  •  Successful Centre Control

  • An over -extended Pawn -Centre

​

Level 2 - Common Opening Traps to avoid

​

  • Italian, Ruylopez, Queens Gambit, Danish Gambit, Kings Gambit

  • Four knight game, Scotch Game, Caro-kann, Sicilian, Petroff

​​

​

Intermediate - "Queen"

​

Level 1 - Identify Weakness & Initiatives

​

  • How to exploit pawn structure weakness

  • Play for Initiative Vs Material 

  • Pawn sacrifice for an initiative

​

Level 2 - Improve Calculations

​

  • Elimination process in calculation

  • Importance of Intermediate moves

  • How to handle complex positions

  • Learn to maneuver pieces 

​

​

Intermediate - "Knight"

​

Level 1 - French Defense & Marshall attack

​

  • Defense as Black-

         French (against e4),  Marshal attack (against e4)

​

Level 2 - Nimo-Indian & Queens Gambit Declined

​

  • Defense as Black- 

          Nimzo-Indian (against d4), QGD (against d4)

 

​Intermediate - "Rook"

​

Level 1 - End Game Strategies- Minor & Major pieces 

​

  • Minor Pieces (Bishop / knight & Pawn) Endings

  • Major Pieces (Rook - Pawn), (Queen  - Pawn)

  • (Rook -Vs- Minor Piece) Endings

​

Level 2 -  Study Games for middle game strategies

​

  • Evaluate positions, relate plans and structures

  • Create positional advantage using material balance, pawn structures, piece mobility

  • Solve positions from classics to improve calculation training.

 

Intermediate - "King"

​

L1 - Defensive Play

​

  • Don't Panic

  • The Defensive Sacrifice

  • Defense & Counter -Attack

  • Grim Defence

​

L2 - Positional Play

​

  • Space Advantage

  • Outpost

  • Exploiting Isolated d-pawn

  • Positional Sacrifices

​

​

Level - Advanced

A two year program that includes 6 Levels:

Pawn -> Knight -> Bishop -> Rook -> Queen -> King.

Each level has 2 terms,  each term includes 8 sessions, one session per week. Based on the student’s performance coach may advice additional home assignments as needed.

  • Analyzing advance concepts via instructive legendary games covering classic books

  • Improve calculation by solving complex puzzles,  focus on visualization skills, exploiting exchanges, managing material imbalances.

  • Improve your prophylactic thinking and defense

  • Improve positional chess, relate structures and plans from opening to endgame

Advanced - "Pawn"

L1 - The pawn Chain

  • Idea of building a chain (kingside or centre)

  • Attacking the pawn chain

  • Attacking the base as a strategy

  • Surprise Vs positional attack 

  • Blockading pawn chain

L2 - Overprotection & weak pawns

  • Overprotection of central squares

  • Overprotection of centre  to protect kingside

  • Get rid of weak pawns

Advanced - "Bishop"

L1 - Positional Play

  • Weak & Strong Squares

  • Strength and Weakness on Files & Diagonals

  • Weakness of First and Second Ranks

  • Outposts

  • Static weakness and attack

L2 -  Middle Game Strategies 

  • Space Advantage

  • Importance of Rooks on 7th rank

  • The power of the Pair Bishops

  • Strategy in closed positions 

Advanced - "Queen"

L1 - Study Classic Games

  • Morphy Move by Move

  • Art of attack by Alekhine

  • Bobby Fischer Games

  • Games of Vishy Anand

  • Modern Approach by Magnus Carlsen

L2- General End Game ideas

  • King's Activity

  • Pawn Power

  • Zugzwang

  • Fortress

  • Domination

Advanced - "Knight"

L1 - White's perspective

  • Control center

  • Exploit superior mobility

  • Exploit black's premature opening up of position

  • Exploit black's premature counter-attack

  • Exploit weakening pawn moves

L2 - Black's perspective

  • Seize the initiative

  • Play against gambits

  • Defend against powerful Attack

  • Seize the attack

  • Exploit unusual openings

Advanced - "Rook"

L1 - Technical Rook Endings

  • Rook Vs Pawn

  • Rook Vs Connect Pawns

  • Rook Vs Separated Pawns

  • Rook and Pawn Vs Rook

L2 - Elements of End Game Strategy

  • Centralization

  • Aggressive Rook posting

  • Welding together isolated troops

  • Materialization : File or Rank

Advanced - "King"

L1 - Repertoire for White

  • Identifying the style of play by analyzing various tournament games played

  • Building repertoire that suites their natural style of play

  • Illustrating various  games for selected opening played by Grand Masters

  • Creating an opening Tree - with variations and sub variations

L2 - Repertoire for Black

  • Identifying the style of play by analyzing various tournament games played

  • Building repertoire that suites their natural style of play

  • Illustrating various games for selected opening played by Grand Masters

  • Creating an opening Tree - with variations and sub variations

bottom of page