Starting on June 2nd, AYLUS began giving chess lessons to kids who wanted to learn more about the interesting game, led by Aaron Wu and Baron Niu, two advanced chess players. Baron has been playing in chess tournaments for 8 years and has a USCF rating of around 2100. He has won many prizes in state championships and open tournaments and is currently ranking 37th in the top 100 players in the United States for his age. Aaron is also an experienced chess player, with a USCF rating above 1800. He also won several trophies and cash prize in various chess tournaments. They both love chess and have enthusiasm and experience to share with kids.
The lessons were given every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday night with 2 hours for each lesson. In total, 16 lessons with 32 hours were given this summer. The teachers taught 10-14 kids every class and split classes based on the kid’s chess abilities and skill. First, the kids were taught basic moves and rules about chess and slowly, they began to understand the fundamental principles of chess. The teachers taught with enthusiasm to show that even basic board games can be enjoyable for everyone. After a few lessons, they started to play against each other, laughing and having fun, with beginners sometimes beating intermediate students. With puzzles, lessons, and tournaments, students have advanced very far quickly and have a good grasp over the marvelous game of chess. At the end of the summer, each child enjoyed the classes and several of them planned to participate in the future official chess tournaments. They are all looking forward to continuing the chess class next summer!
Written by Aaron Wu and Baron Niu