Everything parents ask

Yes. ChessCubs Level 1 is built for children who have never played: Unit 1 starts before the first pawn move, and the pace is one idea at a time. Most ChessCubs students started at zero.

ChessCubs teaches children aged 6 to 15. The free trial class tells us (and you) exactly where your child fits on our seven-level map. Have a motivated 5-year-old? They're welcome to take a free trial class, and the coach will tell you honestly whether to start now or wait a few months. Under 5? Leave your details and we'll reach out when they're ready.

The first ChessCubs class is free: one real 45-minute 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 your child's placement on the map. No credit card. No pressure.

ChessCubs 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, parents do not need to know chess. ChessCubs 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.

Every ChessCubs coach is FIDE or USCF rated, with every adult coach 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.

A ChessCubs class is 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 ChessCubs 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.

ChessCubs runs two live 45-minute classes a week. One unit spans two classes, so every idea gets taught, practiced, and proven.

On your child's first ChessCubs 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.

If a ChessCubs group at the same level 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, and nothing else. ChessCubs sends 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.

Yes, by design. ChessCubs classes are live with a verified coach, and there is no open chat with strangers, ever: not in class, not in the app.

Every ChessCubs coach is FIDE or USCF rated. Adult coaches are screened AND background-verified before any classroom contact. All are then certified through our own exams: written, practical, and an observed class scored by a senior coach.

Cubby, the ChessCubs practice buddy between lessons, serves puzzles assigned around your coach's plan. It has no social features, no chat, no strangers.

ChessCubs collects only what's needed to teach: progress scores, game records, and class attendance. Parents see everything we see (details in our Privacy Policy).

Only you and your child's ChessCubs coach. Scores are never read aloud in class and never shown to other families. Race yourself, never each other.

ChessCubs shows 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 at ChessCubs that is 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.

ChessCubs homework is 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 ChessCubs 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 ChessCubs student put it best: "I started becoming more focused and I even improved in school."

ChessCubs is $59 a 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).

Message ChessCubs any time to cancel, no reason needed. The month you've paid for runs to the end of its cycle, and cancelling stops the next one.

There is no contract. Message ChessCubs any time to cancel: no phone call, no retention offer, no reason needed. Your current month's classes run to the end of the cycle. You're never locked in.

Yes. ChessCubs families with two or more cubs get 10% off the total.

Stopping for a while is easy: message ChessCubs to cancel, and your child's account, their level, their games and their certificates all stay exactly as they are. Email us when you want to come back and we'll put them in a class again. Nothing is lost by taking a break.