Barista Jake Presents Empowerment in Action "Dragons Beginner Chess Academy" with Coach Nate

One of the core and founding principles of our non profit and organization is providing opportunities for Teens and Adults with a variety of disabilities the opportunity to gain agency over their own lives, foster economic independence and have the opportunity to engage with others in the community.

We are THRILLED to present a new program that we are calling "EMPOWERMENT IN ACTION" and we are kicking it off with a partnership between us and a young man who is a Chess Wizard and just happens to be on the spectrum.

Dragons’ Beginner Chess Academy
All sessions are 90 minutes. Entry fee will likely be $25. Lesson plan may be subject to change based on participant progress. All that want to learn chess are welcome to join. This will run on Mondays (dates are below) from 6:30pm to 8pm. THERE IS NO CLASS ON JUNE 16th.

Week 1 June 2
Teach the naming convention for the squares on the board
Introduce files (columns) and ranks (rows)
Introduce the pieces and their names
Introduce the purpose of the game (checkmate)

Week 2 June 9
Teach how each piece moves
Have the students practice moves with the pieces
Teach how the board is set up

Week 3 June 23
Introduce piece values
Introduce piece captures and how the pawn captures
Introduce pawn promotion
Introduce move order (white moves first)

Week 4 June 30
Introduce the idea of check and checkmate- and the difference between them
Have the students differentiate between them
Introduce the 3 ways to escape a check

Week 5 July 7
Introduce castling and its conditions
Introduce basic checkmate patterns
Introduce the idea of stalemate

Week 6 July 14
Introduce opening principles
Introduce piece trades

Week 7 July 21
Introduce the idea of tactics and basic examples
Have the students practice tactics
Teach advice on how to avoid common mistakes

Week 8 July 28
Teach basic endgames
Improve on endgame mating patterns

Week 9 August 4
Have the students practice games against each other

Week 10 August 11
Have the students team up to play against me on the demonstration board. This can go one of two ways. The team may select one spokesperson to relay the team’s moves to me, or anyone can raise their hand to relay the moves to me.


Amazon has travel boards for $17: https://amzn.to/3RyI9AD

You may also like the following events from Coffee Closet with Barista Jake:

• Next Monday, 19th May, 06:00 pm, Barista Jake Presents Empowerment in Action "Dragons Beginner Chess Academy" with Coach Nate in Fairview Village
• Next month, 8th June, 03:00 pm, Barista Jake Presents "Empowerment in Action" Baking with Jake of Cookie Break with Jake in Fairview Village
• This October, 10th October, 10:00 am, "Fore the Kids" | 5h Annual Charity Golf Outing in support of Jakes Baristas in Parker Ford

Also check out other Workshops in Fairview Village.