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Getting Started
Yes. That's exactly who Level 1 is built for. Unit 1 starts before the first pawn move, and the pace is one idea at a time. Most of our students started at zero.
Ages 6 to 15. The free trial class tells us (and you) exactly where your child fits on our seven-level map. Under 6? Leave your details and we'll reach out the month they turn 6.
One real class with a real coach. Your child plays, learns one idea, and enjoys it (most kids ask when the next class is). Afterward you get a written report and your child's placement on the map. No credit card. No pressure.
Our coaches are certified in childcraft before chess: how to praise effort, how to handle tears after a loss, how to make a hard problem feel like an adventure. And children only ever race their own last best, never each other.
No. Homework takes 5-8 minutes and comes with everything a parent needs. You don't need to know chess to know your child is thriving. The progress sheet and WhatsApp updates show you.
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Classes & Coaches
Every coach is FIDE-rated, screened AND background-verified, then certified level by level inside our own academy. The certification exam tests how to teach children before it tests chess. Chosen for warmth as much as skill.
Never more than 6 students, at every level: a hard cap, not a target. Small enough that your child's coach knows their games, reviews their mistakes and writes their progress report personally; big enough that they make friends.
Every class follows the same six-beat rhythm: a 90-second rapid-fire warm-up, one new idea, hands-on practice, a mini-game, ladder challenges, and a closing cheer. Kids love the routine. After a few classes they announce the next beat themselves.
Two live 45-minute classes per week. One unit spans two classes, so every idea gets taught, practiced, and proven.
On the trial class, absolutely. We encourage it. After that, class time belongs to the cubs: children speak up more, try harder things, and recover from mistakes faster without an audience. You'll get a report after class instead, often with a question to ask your child at dinner.
For group classes: if a same-level group has a seat that week, we'll offer a makeup slot; otherwise the class is forfeited. Tell us as early as you can. Early notice is what makes makeups possible. If we ever cancel a class, we reschedule it or credit it to your next month.
A laptop or tablet with a stable internet connection. That's it. We'll send the class link. No physical chessboard is needed for classes, though having one at home is lovely: kids consolidate what they learn by playing family members between lessons.
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Safety
Yes, by design. Classes are live with a verified coach, and there is no open chat with strangers, ever: not in class, not in the app.
FIDE-rated, screened AND background-verified before any classroom contact, then certified through our own exams: written, practical, and an observed class scored by a senior coach.
Cubby, the friendly practice buddy between lessons, serves puzzles assigned around your coach's plan. It has no social features, no chat, no strangers.
Only what's needed to teach: progress scores, game records, and class attendance. Parents see everything we see (details in our Privacy Policy).
You and your child's coach. Scores are never read aloud in class and never shown to other families. Race yourself, never each other.
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Practice & Progress
Three ways: a scored mastery checklist after every unit, a progress sheet that follows your child level to level, and a WhatsApp update after class telling you exactly what was learned, often with a question to ask your child at dinner.
They repeat it, and that's normal, built-in, and celebrated. We call it repeat-and-advance: children pass a mastery gate before new material, so gaps never snowball. No child is rushed past a wobble.
5-8 minutes after each class, in three tiers: one everyone does, one that revisits an earlier unit (deliberate memory training), and one stretch challenge for kids who want more.
From the very first level. Mini-games in class, full games with notation from Explorer level, arena events at the end of every level, and tournament training in the Competitor level.
Parents tell us yes: focus, patience, taking losses gracefully, thinking before acting. One of our students put it best: "I started becoming more focused and I even improved in school."
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Plans & Billing
$59/month, one flat price that covers every level, from your child's first pawn move all the way through Master Cub, our seventh and highest. No price increases as your child improves. That's two live coached classes every week, about $6.80 per class (private tutors run $40-$80 an hour).
Tell us within 14 days of your child's first class and we'll refund that first month in full. No forms, no reason needed. After that the month you've paid for runs to the end of its cycle, and cancelling stops the next one.
Cancel any time from the Billing page in your parent dashboard. No phone call, no retention offer, no reason needed. Your current month's classes run to the end of the cycle. That's also why we don't need a complicated refund policy: you're never locked in.
Yes and yes. Families with two or more cubs get 10% off the total. And you can pause anytime. Just tell us before your next billing month begins (a month already underway can't be paused partway; its remaining classes are forfeited).
Still have a question?
The first class answers most questions. Book a free trial and ask a real coach anything.