Frequently Asked Questions

Chess is an extremely powerful educational tool. Students develop logical decision making and problem-solving skills from learning sequences in the game of chess. The game improves a child’s memory and concentration by remembering their opponents moves and which positions can help him or her in a play situation. Chess also requires a lot of discipline and patience. Once children start playing in a tournament against other opponents, they will start to realize that certain tricks that have worked in the past will not work on every opponent they play. They will have to learn how to play smarter and slower to study their opponent and their moves.

Here is a breakdown of a typical one-hour online lesson:

10 minutes – Welcome, Introduction, and any questions the student had about the previous lesson.

10 minutes – The new topic is covered.

15 minutes – Exercises and worksheets to review material on the lesson topic

25 minutes – Practice and play time on chess board. 

We highly encourage our students and their parents to take advantage of the practice window on Sundays. This is a FREE bonus and only available to New England Chess School students.

Absolutely! We provide all the chess equipment.

Absolutely! We do offer online chess classes and the Sunday games outside of Massachusetts. However, we do our schedule is in operation through Eastern Standard Time. Please pay close attention to the time difference when you are scheduling lessons.

In-person chess classes are offered in Needham, Massachusetts on weekdays and weekends.

We currently offer chess classes for children up to 14 years old. However, we do offer some events for kids up to 12th grade as well. Make sure you follow NECS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up to date with all events and announcements. 

After a new student has started at the beginner level and has learned a few basic moves, they will be able to participate in a tournament in one of the beginner sections. The teachers find that when the students can start attending the tournaments and participating as players, they feel more comfortable with learning chess and feel like a part of the team. Additionally, new students should participate in Sunday Games, to gain more practice in competitive play.

Yes! Your child’s teacher will attend major scholastic tournaments and run USCF-rated tournaments on one Sunday per month online.

Parents can reschedule up to 5 classes makeup classes per semester. Whether you know in advance that you child is going to miss a class, or life just happens, and you accidentally miss a session with your teacher, you are welcome to reschedule a missed class. Once you become a member of NECS, your online parent portal will allow you to log in and reserve a day for a makeup class at any location and any available time the same class level permits.

Our chess tournaments are held in our headquarters in Needham, 50 Kearney Rd, Needham, MA, 02494.

We highly recommend parents attending with their child to Sunday Games. They will not only get the chance to watch their child compete, but also get the chance to compete with them. Family is very important to us at NECS. We want to make sure the children we teach have a great support system with their teachers, as well as their family at home.

A tournament chess rating is a number ranking that chess players earn when competing in chess games and tournaments. The way you earn and lose ranking points is simple. You will earn rating points the more you win. You will lose rating points when you lose games. 

• • Beginner players will typically start with a 100 rating. 
  • Experienced players will approach with around an 800 rating in scholastic chess.
  • Intermediate players will start developing rating points ranging from 1300-1400.
  • Master level players have ratings about 2200. 
  • The highest ratings in the world are around 2800.