Frequently Asked Questions

The best way to get better at chess is to play more chess!

It helps to play a variety of people of differing skill levels and who are fun to play, like at a chess club or with the right chess tutor. It can be difficult (and less fun) to learn and improve with the same family member or play style over and over. Variety is the key.

Also see the Resources section for which tools, organizations, and apps and websites I recommend.

Yes! Check for discounts toward single lessons on special occasions, such as Black Friday and World Chess Day (July 20). I also offer discounts year-round to students with disabilities.

Contact me for a free 20-minute introductory sessions for dedicated one-on-one time during McMinnville Chess Club. We’ll get to know each other, play some chess, and be able to hit the ground running if you’d like to schedule a single lesson or get a punch pass.

Please note that punch passes already include discounts. Compared to single lessons, a punch pass of 10 lessons has a 10% discount (or the equivalent of 1 free lesson), and a punch pass of 20 lessons has a 15% discount (or the equivalent of 3 free lessons).

A zendо̄ is a meditation hall in Zen Buddhism where meditation is practiced. Chess Zendо̄ is where chess is practiced.

Fast moving pieces
Zen and chess in harmony
Inspiring minds

I use a combination of puzzles, exercises, Chess Bingō, narrated play, and game review. It’s important that playing and learning chess is positive and fun — when it’s fun, it doesn’t feel like learning!

With beginners, a lesson focuses on how the pieces move, the 3 major goals of every opening, calculating exchanges, and which common mistakes and blunders can be avoided. That said, “inquiry-based learning” embraces mistakes, review and analysis, and improvement, and I teach that mistakes are normal and aren’t themselves a failure.

During narrated play, I often pause the game when there’s an interesting opportunity or threat — even if it’s several moves away — and coach on how to recognize it and adapt accordingly.

With intermediate and advanced players, the focus is more on theory, identifying check and checkmate patterns, endgame tactics, the 5 stages of each game (opening, midgame, endgame, and the transitions between them), when to trade and when to keep tension, concepts like zwischenzugs and zugzwangs, and more.

Also see the Testimonials section to hear more from others about my teaching style.

My current students range from 8 to 43 yrs old. I work with students of all ages and skill levels, and one of my students even has a chess rating higher than mine!

I love working with youth and have been a professional youth group director for many years, and my first time teaching chess was with at-risk youth with the Cambridge Youth Program in 2005.

These days I lead the McMinnville High School Chess Club and organize McMinnville Chess Club’s youth outreach events, including World Chess Day together with McMinnville Parks & Rec.

Both! Lessons can be either in person and over-the-board, online, or a combination of the two as needed.

Online lessons are on Google Meet and use an online board on Lichess with games and positions I’ve created for my students.

Rates are the same whether lessons are online or in person. I believe, however, that in person, over-the-board lessons are more fun and effective because they employ all three of the major learning styles:

• Learning from listening,
• Learning from seeing, and
• Learning from body movement (kinetic learning) using physical chess pieces.

Lessons include standard, regulation-sized tournament boards, weighted pieces, and clocks, and — if it’s part of a personalized lesson plan — a book or magazine from the McMinnville Chess Library that I manage.

I don’t usually use clocks unless the lesson plan is personalized for students who want to compete online or in tournaments.

For group lessons, I include a large, outdoor set for fun gameplay and demonstration purposes that players and spectators alike can walk around and enjoy equally.

For students who have a punch pass of 10 lessons or more, I help identify and track goals and share progress updates based on the SMART framework:

• S for Specific: The goal, such as solving a chess puzzle in as few moves as possible, is both concrete and understandable.
• M for Measurable: Solving a series of chess problems or learning an opening without making mistakes is measurable and easy to track.
• A for Achievable: I personalize exercises around each student’s needs and areas of improvement, making goals reachable instead of overwhelming.
• R for Relevant: By following a roadmap in a personalized teaching plan, students practice and learn skills, enjoy seeing their own progress, and stay focused and motivated.
• T for Time-bound: Lessons that build upon one another lead to steady improvement, and quickly solving a series of chess puzzles or playing with a chess clock adds excitement and urgency.

Setting and accomplishing goals in chess is a lot of fun. Using the SMART framework, I can give students feedback and help them increase their chances of success and develop a healthy sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.

I’ve played since I was 9 years old, and I placed 2nd in my first chess tournament when I was 11. As a youth I attended chess clubs in every area where I lived, and I even asked my parents to let me switch schools to one 15 miles away that had a chess club (sadly, they said no).

As an adult, I’ve spent countless hours playing in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, right across from Harvard University, and for several years I ran the Los Angeles Chess group on Meetup.

These days I organize and play at the McMinnville Chess Club and McMinnville High School Chess Club in McMinnville, Oregon.

My standard rating on Chess.com at the time of this writing is 1692, and my puzzle rating is 1925 (2825 on Lichess). I believe, however, that teaching experience is actually far more valuable than a chess rating, which isn’t by itself the sole way to gauge a good chess tutor.

I enjoy competing, and I enjoy dedicating my time to my students more, as well as running the McMinnville Chess Club (and serving as the club’s Tournament Director) and the McMinnville High School Chess Club.

Individual lessons expire 1 year after the date of purchase. Punch passes of 10 lessons must be used within 10 weeks of purchase, and punch passes of 20 lessons must be used within 20 weeks of purchase, unless otherwise agreed to in writing.

You can schedule a lesson with me now!

If you’d like a free 20-minute introductory session, contact me for some dedicated one-on-one time during McMinnville Chess Club. We’ll get to know each other, play some chess, and be able to hit the ground running if you’d like to schedule a lesson or get a punch pass.