Coffee shops around the US are a great place to meet and play chess. Chess coaches often use coffee shops as meeting locations for chess lessons. Interestingly enough if you talk long enough to a coffee shop employee about chess they will usually know a chess coach or strong chess player who frequents the coffee shop. If the coffee shop is large enough it usually creates a perfect venue for your chess club meetups. We suggest asking them what a slow day and time is to pick for you meetup. Checkout this news story about how one barista increased foot traffic to her coffee shop by playing chess ..read more

National Chess Day in the US is the second Saturday of October each year.  People all over the US come together to celebrate by playing chess.  Here are some ideas of how you can celebrate this special day in your community.  Challenge a friend or family member to play chess with you over the board:  Consider taking the game outdoors to enjoy some fresh air while you play.  You could play at a park, lake, garden, or even your backyard.  If the weather is nice this is a great way to enjoy some good games.  Teach someone how to play chess:  No matter the ..read more

If you want to start a chess club here are some questions you might ask yourself. Are you passionate about chess, or are you a coach who wants to find students? Are you looking to start a new social club? Can you commit to a schedule of chess events for your club? Can you be consistent even though the turnout may be low? Would you welcome beginners and show them how to play?   If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you may be ready to start a chess club. Here are 5 things you will want to consider to get you started:   Purchase Equipment: Chess sets are the most essential ..read more

We were just featured in Disrupt Magazine.  To view our article on their site click here. How Chess Made Fun is Bringing the World’s Most Popular Game to a New Generation Chess is one of the world’s most beloved games, offering sophistication, strategy, and endless opportunities for game​​play. In recent years, it has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, and now over 600 million people play the game worldwide. With new players discovering chess every day, there has emerged a growing need for guidance into the formal aspects of the game as well as a hub where players can meet, learn, and p ..read more

It’s that time of year to decide what activities your child will be participating in after school. We suggest signing them up for chess club or a formal chess program.  There are so many life skills that come from playing chess regularly that your child will benefit from.    If your school or community doesn’t offer a formal after school program Chess Made Fun has you covered. Subscribe your child to become a member of our virtual chess club where we meet weekly to play chess as a group with video integration built-in.  We offer a monthly non-rated tournament to help you t ..read more

Chess is a fun game packed full of benefits.  Even casually playing each week will give you some of the benefits of life skills that may be applied in different ways.    Consider hiring a chess coach to maximize your potential.    Here are the top 7 life skills we strongly feel chess has to offer:  Planning ahead:  Chess teaches you how to visualize a problem, learn how to overcome it, and set goals to achieve a solution.  One constant in life is dealing with uncertainty and change.  Planning ahead skills will help you become more resilient to t ..read more

Interested in learning to play chess but don’t know where to start? Let us help guide you.  Visit our Basic Chess Rules page to see diagrams and learn more.   Learn how the pieces move attack and capture in this blog Learn what check is and the 3 ways to get out of check in this blog Learn what checkmate is and common types of endgames in this blog Learn how to castle in this blog Learn what pawn promotion is in this blog Learn the rule of en passant in this blog   After these 6 steps you are ready to start playing.  Join us for group play to practice or a non-rated mon ..read more

Learn pawn promotion  The pawns seem like simple soldiers but have you heard what happens if you move a pawn across the board to the other side? You may promote the pawn into either a Queen, Rook, Knight or Bishop.   This happens each time a pawn reaches the other side of the board.   Learn the rule of en passant It is important to note that this rule rarely occurs in games but it does occur and all chess players should know about it. If your opponent moves his pawn from the starting position 2 squares and passes your pawn’s line of attack, then you are able to recapture the p ..read more

We recently shared what check is in chess?  Checkout this blog on check for more information.  Today we are going to share common types of endgames in chess.    Checkmate – When you put the King in check and he cannot block, capture or escape check this means the King is checkmated and the game is over.   The person who checkmated the opponents king wins.  Resign – Either player may choose to forfeit the game resulting in a loss for that player.  Draw – Is a tie.  There are may ways to draw a game Stalemate, the king is not in check but ..read more

Check is when a piece (or multiple pieces) are attacking your King.  If a King is in check he must get out of check before moving any other pieces.     There are 3 ways to get out of check.  Block – to block a check you would move another piece in between the King and the piece attacking it. Capture – If the piece attacking the King may be captured with either the King or another piece then the player in Check may capture their way out of check.  Run Away – The king may move to another square that is not being attacked by any pieces.   If a King is in check an ..read more