👑 New to chess? Try a workshop from £1, see below.😉👑

 

3 easy steps to a roaring start...

1. Try a £1 Workshop Series

Experience our expert-led sessions for just £1, thanks to our sponsor, the book-ends. Get a taste of our top-tier coaching and community before you commit

2. Subscribe to a Plan

If you enjoyed the workshops, subscribe as a Chess Cubs member to receive weekly one-on-one coaching from a Chess Cubs coach.

3. Meet Your Chess Cubs Coach

Once we have your preferred times we’ll pair you with an available Chess Cubs coach. Let the games begin!

Subscribe Got questions?

Sponsorship Display

Our Workshop Sponsor


We're excited to announce that the book-ends, a company we're proudly affiliated with, is sponsoring Workshop Wednesdays! Support from the book-ends means that we're able to offer and promote these high quality beginner workshops for as little as £1 per session throughout 2024. For pocket money prices, kids with a basic knowledge of the chess can attend workshops to improve their game.


By developing culturally enriching, bricks and mortar third spaces, the book-ends share our commitment to widening chess participation and community building. the book-ends have an award-winning boutique bookshop and art space in the historic market town of Wellington, Shropshire -- a town founded in the 12th century.

Fun fact: When the medieval town of Wellington was established, chess was known as 'shatranj' which originates from the game's Indian and Persian beginnings.




We're wild about chess....

 

Each member (cub) gets a dedicated expert-level chess coach, and is part of a global community of learners

Learn from the best...

Our coaches are a-ma-zing with kids, but they’re also as good as it gets when it comes to chess. We count professional FIDE-rated players, certified FIDE trainers and master level competitors amongst our global team.

From the comfort of your home..

Our priority is teaching kids chess, wherever they are. Using the web, our team of first-rate coaches do exactly that: one-to-one online tuition that really makes a difference.

...and connect with other Cubs

Chess development isn’t just about learning from a master (although that helps!). Chess Cubs offers kids real world playing experience against well matched, friendly competition, so there’s always fun to be had, and progress to be made!

Coaching Alumni

Coach Sandra
Women's International Master (WIM)
Sandra is a is a professional chess player and coach. A Women's International Master from Serbia with two GM norms (approaching Grandmaster level), she can also deliver advanced chess lessons and training games with analysis (Blitz, Rapid or as agreed). She enjoys using her experience to help players with their chess strategy, tactics or typical endgames.
Sandra won her state under-10s Championship, and went on to win the next 7 Championships in succession, breaking all under-18 records. She then went on to win the European Championship in rapid chess in a remarkable 25 minutes.

 

Book Coach Sandra
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Coach Ilias
FIDE Master, FIDE Certified Trainer
Ilias is a FIDE certified chess player. Like many of our Cubs, he started playing chess at just 5 years old, and progressed to a FIDE Master title in 2014 and a FIDE Trainer certification in 2018. He trains a range of students at different skill levels, and is highly skilled at helping beginners to progress quickly.
Ilias played on the Algerian national team between 2014 and 2019 at an array of international chess championships around the world including World Junior Chess, World Youth Chess, Arab Youth Chess and African Youth Chess.

 

Book Coach Ilias
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Coach Simona
Women's International Master (WIM)
Simona received her Women's International Master title in 2008 and became a chess coach in 2016. After finishing the world junior championship as a top 20 player, she went on to win the Lithuanian women's championship several times at classic, rapid and blitz, and participated in Olympiads with the national team.
As a working mum of primary school aged children (age 5 and 7), she knows exactly how to deliver engaging lessons for our Cubs around the world!

  

Book Coach Simona
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Coach Noemi
Women's FIDE Master (WFM)
Noemi is among the strongest female players in Croatia. She has taken first place at many tournaments including Croatian Girls Junior U17 championship in 2016. In 2019 she debuted for the Croatian Women’s Team at the Mitropa Cup, winning the gold medal with her teammates.
Noemi has extensive experience in teaching and coaching children and teenagers.

 

Book Coach Noemi

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Fees

 

World class chess training from the comfort of your home computer...

 

Monthly
£159 per month		 Quarterly
£394 per quarter
Save 18%		 Annually
£1486 per year
Save 27%
Up to 45 lessons each calendar year
Reschedule options
(by agreement with coach)
Fortnightly Club workshops
(chess games with other cubs)
Free access to all Chess Cubs workshops
Subscribe
(£159 p/m)		 Subscribe
(£394 per quarter)		 Subscribe
(£1486 per year)

"My six year old started as a complete beginner and instantly loved it. Richard is a wonderful teacher: welcoming, patient and kind with the children. He observes each child’s progress closely and adjusts the weekly lessons accordingly, always giving feedback to parents at the end of the session. My son thoroughly enjoys both the game (he now regularly plays with a neighbour) and the classes.”

—Nina

“My son loves going to the class”

—Grainne

FAQs

 

If your child is below 7 years old, or very new to chess, we may recommend a lesson length of 45 minutes before increasing to an hour, otherwise lessons are 60 minutes each.

You just need...

  • a quiet place for your Cub to learn -- somewhere they won't be distracted
  • a device (computer, laptop, or tablet)
  • an internet connection
  • Some software setup (inc. Skype) which we can help you set up.

Some Cubs may find it helpful to wear a headset (with headphones and mic), but this depends on how you have things setup at home; so see how your first session goes before you get any additional gear.

Yes! Each coach keeps a different schedule, each cub is matched to a coach whose schedule works with your own.

When you register, you'll be able to let us know what time you'd prefer. We'll do our best to find an available coach, if we can't we'll come back with alternative times for you to select from. Lessons will take place weekly from the day of your first lesson. So if  your first lesson is scheduled for Tuesday at 3.30pm, your lesson will take place every Tuesday thereafter at that time.

Child safety is top priority at Chess Cubs. All our UK coaches are DBS-checked. Coaches from outside the UK have also been vetted, endorsed by their local chess communities,  and are international chess players recognised by FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs).

Please email your coach at least 48 hours in advance if you need to reschedule a lesson, and CC: support@chesscubs.co.uk. Your coach will try to arrange an alternative time within the same week, subject to availability. If rescheduling is not possible, the missed lesson will be held as a "lesson in hand" for the remainder of the month. A "lesson in hand" allows you to take the missed lesson at a mutually convenient time with your coach, but it must be used within the current calendar month or it will be forfeited.

Each Cub receives up to 45 sessions in one Calendar year. You're not obliged to attend them all, but we recommend that your cub attends as many as possible.  We're closed during  August, and also for the last two weeks in December - no 1:1 tuition is delivered during these times. Typically lessons are 1 week apart; if you have a busy week ahead or a holiday booked, be sure to reschedule the lessons that will be missed (within the same calendar month).  This may mean that your child has two lessons in some weeks of the year, and this is fine.

We're rolling out a schools programme in 2022. Know of an interested school? Ask them to get in touch at support@chesscubs.co.uk, we'd love to hear from them.

Yes, thanks to our sponsor, the book-ends, we're able to offer £1 Workshop Wednesdays. These are taster sessions than can be purchased in bundles of 4 lessons (for £4) or individually for £2.

Our Terms and Conditions are available here.

Via PayPal (for workshops), or Go Cardless (for member subscriptions).

You'll see a debit for your tuition fees under the description 'Chess Cubs Ltd'.

That's no problem; members can just cancel their Go Cardless direct debit mandates. We'll be sorry to see you go, but you can cancel at anytime.

If you're leaving because you're not happy with something, please do get in touch with us at support@chesscubs.co.uk and we'll see what we can do to help, or make it right.

Lessons can still be received until the end of your billing period.

Yes, absolutely! Although we're still head-quartered in the UK, we think of ourselves as a remote-first, chess school for kids around the world. Everybody is welcome. All lessons are delivered in English, but your coach may also be bilingual and able to accommodate your first language. In the past our coaches have delivered lessons in French and Russian. 😺

We don't currently have in-person classes scheduled. However, it's something we're looking at. Please email support@chesscubs.co.uk to join the waiting list for your region.