The Knightly News

Yes. Did you know that your child learns a new chess tactic every single week? And these tactics get cooler every week? And that we reinforce these tactics in semester two by really pounding them home? And that after a few years these tactics turn to concrete? It’s true, and as educators, The Knight School coaches understand that this system is the very best way to produce a powerful, devastating chess game. As year-one advances, these various tactics begin to be used in a coordinated chess attack that no mom or dad can survive!

Yes. Our The Knight School chess classes are designed by educators who perfectly understand the gravity of the critical thinking, sportsmanship, creativity, and cause-and-effect understanding that we impart every week. Dedicated educators and savvy parents share a strong conviction that the qualities of foresight and proactivity which our graduates learn during our chess classes color every decision our students will ever make in every classroom and ballfield and street-crossing and lunchroom social engagement for the rest of their lives.

Yes. As educators, The Knight School coaches have found over the years that the kids who love chess the most tend to have their best friends in the class, so if it is possible to invite a friend to enroll alongside your child, please do so. This will maximize the fun for your child and accelerate the learning and chessboard mastery. If this idea seems smart to you, forward this The Knightly News to a friend who can enroll at theknightschool.com. Talk about a win-win.

Yes. As educators, TKS coaches understand that constantly varying our exciting classroom activities is a crucial part of the perfect chess class experience. Week after week, our students are exhilarated by everything about our classes, from the opening battle cry, to the silly chess zanies (short funny chess-related movie clips), to the tactics lesson of the week, to the three music-driven chess puzzlers, to the weekly mardi-grad bead chess tourneys, to the fun packup and lineup games we play. Our goal in TKS is to ensure that chess is the most riveting, compelling part of their week! And they never notice that each week the lessons get shorter and the chessplay gets longer, all done in our unique The Knight School carefully-crafted algorithmic curriculum.

Yes. Your child definitely enjoys their cozy little chess class, but did you know that they are a part of something very big? The Knight School teaches 15,000 kids every week, in 1100 schools, in 38 different cities, coast to coast! What is so fascinating is that within each time zone, each TKS class is simultaneously engaging in exactly the same TKS daily activity as every other class! Our national standardization is very cool and allows us to periodically check in via FaceTime with different classes in different cities. We are a national chess team!

Yes. One expression of how we are a national chess team is that every year during the summer, hordes of TKS students fly across the country and have the mountaintop experience we call TKS Nationals! Last year 143 kids from 22 cities joined our 50 national chess coaches in Jacksonville Florida, and this coming Summer Nationals will be held in Dallas Texas! So go to theknightschool.com/national-chess-tournament to enroll! Then, put on your spurs and join us Friday, June 25th, 2027 at 1pm through Sunday, June 27th, 2027 at 12noon sharp!

Yes. As another free benefit of The Knight School enrollment your child is invited to join the hundreds of kids nationwide who play chess online with each other every single Saturday of the year at 3pm sharp! Just go to theknightschool.com/splatterday to join us. This is a private chess tourney reserved exclusively for kids currently enrolled in TKS. Find your credentials at theknightschool.com/student-account-recovery. Check out the screenshot below which shows the top ten placers out of 326 kids who attended last week! Also note that every player is enrolled in one of the 38 TKS cities across America. This is a fantastic way to bulk up your chess game while making “pin pals” (get it?) in other cities!

And play this…

Yes, every single Saturday! We have a fun activity that we call the DanceOff in which every city competes against every other city each week, head-to-head. Just go to theknightschool.com/danceoff. Here are the brackets for fall 2026:

Yes, any enrolled student can be depicted on the “Wall of Greatness” (view this at theknightschool.com/thewallofgreatness) simply by their parent emailing me a horizontal pic wearing any color of TKS shirt. Additionally, any student who has submitted a pic and who places in the top 21 on any given week will be automatically depicted on the “Frame of Glory,” (view this at theknightschool.com/splatterday) which, as you see below on the right, is what frames the actual gameplay each Saturday. Fun!

Yes. “The Varsity” is our citywide chess class dedicated to those kids who are a little older, or a little better than everyone else in their school’s chess class. It is every Thursday 5pm-7pm at John Carroll High School and it includes free pizza, Capri Suns, and joke time each week. Ready to level up? Enroll at theknightschool.com.  

Yes. Our summer camp curriculum introduces 16 different openings during the 16 sessions of summer camp offered each summer. Check it out!

Yes, we have a very accessible Chess Tutorial for Parents. Check them all out at theknightschool.com/parent-tutorials. These are a fun way to spend time with your child, to learn how to play chess, to help your child to earn wristbands at home, and to know what all the kids are learning each week in class. The password for each lesson is simply the color you are seeking!

Yes it really is. If interested in starting a new TKS city somewhere across America, just reply and we will discuss. Our current family of 53 City Coaches is a very tightly-knit group of very excellent people. Here are a few of us hanging out after hours at Nationals 2026:

Yes. We are a very unique chess academy for many reasons, chief among them that good sportsmanship is our top priority, even over #2 having fun and #3 getting great at chess. The kids are trained how to be good sports every week, beginning every chess game with a handshake, ending with a firm “good game” and always being kind and deferential in every situation in which opponents disagree on what is happening on the chessboard.

Yes, we do. For kids who have conflicts, or just want more chess, or who want to meet other TKS kids from across the country, we offer a variety of excellent online chess classes. Private lessons one-on-one coordinated by TKS Denver City Coach Caleb? We offer them. A standard TKS Elementary class offered by TKS Las Vegas City Coach Ken? We offer it and 20 fun lids nationwide come every week and rock that class. An advanced Varsity class with kids from many different cities taught by TKS Philadelphia City Coach Luke? Yep! “The Masters,” which is the highest class in America, taught by TKS Knoxville City Coach Hollis? Yep. For more information on any of these, just reply and I will fill you in and possibly hook you up with an online class or private chess lesson!

Yes. Did you know that kindergartners get special privileges in their The Knight School chess classes? Yep. In fact, our kindergarten division is so important to us that it is a completely different The Knight School division called “Chess Nuts.”

While kindergartners and elementary kids enjoy the gags and movies and prizes and excitement of chess class together every week, Chess Nuts kindergarteners enjoy a few extra benefits. Our chess nuts wear the unique orange shirt, so there's no mistaking who might need extra help. This way they get special newbie tactics lessons from Coach, get mentored by veteran "marshal" students, and get more frequent check-ins from Coach during chess play. The result? A jump-start for youngsters just beginning their chess journey!

Yes. If you miss your chess class due to school closure, federal holiday, visiting Disneyworld, or just bad luck, come to the Varsity that week for free and enjoy a make-up class! So we can plan, be sure to reply and let me know if you decide to avail yourself of this fun, free benefit.

 Yes. Swag is cool. Purchase a second chess set (the first one is free with membership) for Mee-Maw’s house, or a personal TKS chess clock like the black ones we use in class (but this is a cool purple), PLUS purchase apparel, hats, and even our recommended chess book. Visit theknightschool.com/shop to shop ‘til you drop!

Yes. Did you know there's a right way and a wrong way to roll up your chess mat? It's true! Did you know that if you do it the wrong way it will cause explosions?! Okay, that part isn't true. But you do want to be sure to roll up the chess mat checkered-side-out. This will ensure that the chess board doesn't "bowl up" on you and will instead lay flat on the table when you play.

Observe:

Don't forget to put junior's name on their bag, too! There are still a few kiddos out there that don't have their name on their chess bag. Make sure their name is on their bag by the next class, or Coach is going to have to write it in handwriting that would make a doctor cringe.

Yes. Our national parent satisfaction score is very, very high. If you understand the customer satisfaction metric across all US industries known as the NPS system, we have boasted a score of +80 for years. For those not familiar with it, let it suffice to say that our customer satisfaction score is higher than Mercedes Benz, higher that Four Seasons Hotels, Higher than Chik-fil-A, basically the highest in America. In this age of robots and scammers, here’s a new one for you: My personal phone number is (205) 332-5233. Call or text 24/7/365 and I will take care of whatever you need. Everyone knows we are the best partners; ask around!

Yes! Did you know that all TKS kids will graduate after exactly five years? And chess will be free for life for them after that?

It’s true! There is no obligation, no commitment, no cost, and no action required by parents: this is just a fun new free benefit that changes your child’s shirt color every year until Graduation at the spring TournaParty of their fifth year! After that, chess will be $1 per month (for insurance/roster purposes) for life at our super-fun city-wide Varsity chess class. If you plan to wear that gray shirt and to graduate on May 15^th, please reply to this email so we can plan.

Fun challenge: can you tell how long each child below has been in TKS chess?

Yes. Yes, we are. If you are wondering why The Knight School has grown to become the largest chess academy in the U.S., coaching your child plus 15,000+ more kids each week nationwide in 1100 elementary schools, wonder no more. The Knight School’s amazing recipe for chess class—hilarious, timed, driving-music chess puzzlers, learning a compelling new chess tactic each week, earning its corresponding wristband once that tactic is mastered and demonstrated on the chess board, playing for each other’s mardi-gras beads, fun music in the background during our weekly tourneys, hilarious zany chess movies, all the most fun chess games like “BugHouse” and “ChessMaster Says” and “Chess Ninja,” and the very best chess coaches—is applied in a standardized format across the country. This summer at TKS Nationals we had our 50 national coaches and 142 kids from 22 cities, and everyone knew exactly what to do because our excellent formula never wavers. We hope your child enjoys the ride!