The PrimeChess Curriculum

The board, piece placement, the object of the game, and reading and writing moves in algebraic notation.

How each piece moves and captures — pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queen and king — and what each is worth.

Castling, en passant, pawn promotion, stalemate and the other drawn endings.

Recognising check, practising the three ways out, and finding mate in one.

Mate with king and queen and with king and rook, then complete games with guidance, touch-move and good sportsmanship.

A simple pre-move safety check, spotting hanging pieces, and when a trade helps or hurts your position.

Forks, pins, skewers and discovered attacks: winning material on purpose rather than by accident.

Centre, development and king safety; a simple repertoire built on ideas, and the early traps you must not lose to.

Back-rank and smothered mates and the attacking patterns that decide club games.

King and pawn endings, the square rule and opposition, and converting an extra piece.

Rated games, reviewing your own losses, and building a study habit that survives the course.

Deflection, decoy, in-between moves and king hunts, and calculating short forcing lines accurately.

Pawn structure, open files and outposts, good and bad bishops, and how to form a plan when there is no tactic on the board.

Opposition and key squares, the Lucena and Philidor rook endings, and the technique to convert an advantage.

A repertoire chosen for the structures it gives you, and the traps to sidestep in your own lines.

Attacking the castled king, and the habit of analysing your own games before you turn the engine on.

Selecting candidate moves, ordering forcing lines, visualising to depth, and eliminating your personal blind spots.

Prophylaxis, structural transformation, the minority attack, isolated queen pawns and pawn islands, and the long-term positional sacrifice.

Rook and pawn endings, opposite-coloured and good-versus-bad bishops, knight against bishop, bishop and knight mate, and endgame defence.

A theoretically sound repertoire: critical lines, anti-system weapons, move-order tricks, and opponent-specific preparation.

Annotated master games, defending worse positions, time management under pressure, a personal error database, and tournament routine.

Deep theoretical preparation for all main lines, monthly updates from grandmaster practice, novelty preparation, and opponent-specific opening analysis.

All theoretical endings relevant to your level, including complex rook, queen and minor-piece endgames, to a professional standard of accuracy.

Advanced tactical patterns (interference, zugzwang, geometric motifs), long-range calculation drills (6+ moves), and personalised error analysis.

Pre-tournament mindset coaching, norm cycle strategy (pairings, colour distribution), must-win situation handling, and post-tournament debrief.

Deep analysis of your tournament and practice games every session, building a personal weakness database, and coach-selected GM games matched to your style.

Beautiful games, light tactics, basic opening ideas, and fun game formats like blitz and Chess960.

Understanding master moves, pawn structure basics, classic game studies, and how tournaments work.

Chess technology tools, opening traps, famous stories, and casual internal mini-tournaments.