Testimonials


Here's what some of our fans have to say!

I just had to tell you what a happy and excited first grader came home to me today. Aaron was incredibly enthused about his first chess club session. Thanks for giving that experience to him!! Now I am off to learn how to play Pawn Wars!!

- Lindsay

Hi. I just wanted to give a shout out to the acting teacher who worked with my sons at St. Eugene School. My son woke up this morning and put on the medal he received from class. He was so proud of his award and I recognize the skills he has learned along the way.

- Parent at St. Eugene School

Ilya, I think people are loving it. I am very impressed with the teachers. I am so happy that we got a good response.

- Lisa Grundon, Principal, Kingswood Academy

Our son Ethan S. had his first session with Chess Scholars last year and it was an amazing experience for him! In those six weeks, and beyond, we saw not only some intellectual growth, but emotional/social growth and development because of his experience in your program. The most notable was his level of sportsmanship. Thank you for making this program available for the young people in our community! With a world dominated by unhealthy competition and technology that draws away from direct and personal interaction with others, this type of program is exactly what our children need to facilitate their emotional, social and psychological growth and development!

- Heather C.

Thank you for coming to my daughters’ school this year! My daughter LOVES chess club! She cannot wait till it starts back up!

- Kathy Lynn G., Medinah Christian School

I'd like to let you know that my daughter, Brianna J., who is a first grader at Hunt Club, has really enjoyed Chess Scholars' chess club that was offered this fall. She has shown a great progress in her study of chess, made new friends and she wants to continue going to the chess club. She shared with me that other kids at the chess club had a good time too.

- Irina J.

Caleb has absolutely loved chess club. It has been especially great with his autism to see him so passionate and engaged in it. It's been the highlight of his school year! Thank you for all you guys do!!! Your program is amazing!

- Janet G.

Our current instructor for Chess Scholars at Indian Trail is Mr. McCarthy. I am writing you to let you know how wonderful he has been this quarter. He fully engages the students and provides a fun environment. He has great control of the class and is always very positive with all students. He is always prompt and always cleans up afterwards. The students really like him and he is doing a great job of teaching them the chess skills. He is very knowledgeable and makes learning chess very fun. Dick has been a pleasure to work with this quarter and he has done an outstanding job.

- Karyn H.

I just wanted to give you some feedback on the first class from yesterday at Schilling school. My daughters were so excited when they came home from the first class that they made me look for my old Excalibur electronic chess game. I found it and it still works! They played all night long. Jami asked me if she could go to chess club today. Anybody that can make them put down there Wii controllers to play chess must be doing something right. Great job! You’ve made both of them and their father very happy.

- Bill J.

My son, Oliver B. (6 yrs old), has been attending Mr. Jim's class at Old St. Mary's school, Chicago, IL and he has been enjoying the class immensely. I have had a pleasure to talk with Jim myself and was amazed by how engaged and dedicated to chess and how kind he is with kids. My child has been teaching me (! :-) to play chess and from how he does it I could tell how gentle, warm, patient and professional Jim is with kids. I wanted to thank him from both of us through you.

- Marina B.

Cole started I believe in either K or 1st grade ..He loved it so much we enrolled our other son when he started K so both our boys have been in for several years . They have learned a lot and we can't say enough great things about your program .. Thank you for making it so accessible and easy for the kids!

- Nicole A.

My son just finished chess camp at Vaughn Athletic Center (Fox Valley Park District) in Aurora and he loved it!

- Kirsten H.

Hi Ilya, I just wanted to share with you that my son took the summer class with AHPD, and Sergey did a fantastic job - it was a lot of fun for my son and he learned new things. He loves the trophy too.

- Andon

Hi Anna, I just finished telling Sarina and wanted to relay to you as well how much Tyler loves his chess class!! He wants to play all the time at home and will actually follow us around the house with the chess board. Thanks again, Eileen

- Eileen O., the parent at Frances Xavier Warde school

What was most amazing is how well Christian was able to take his grandmother through all of the chess pieces and breakdown how each piece moves and its advantages. He even has taught both his Mom and I, and that is a joy. We just wanted to say "thank you" for adding value to our son's education; we have seen that he thinks things out better and plans his steps and moves not only in chess but in life, and that's something he will have for the rest of his life. It has been one of the best educational investments we have made, and we plan to keep him in the program.

- Michael and Rivkah O., Willard School

Just wanted to pass along a HUGE THANK YOU for the great work that you are doing bringing these engineering concepts to our kids! How cool! My son, Canaan Baker (Our Shepherd Lutheran) - LOVES what he is learning! Thank you SO much and keep up the good work!

- Bethany B.

We recently signed Landon up for class on Mondays at Hollywood. We knew he was really enjoying your after school chess club. But yesterday he came home BEAMING!! His grin was from ear to ear as he showed us his trophy! What an ego boost for him! He was so proud of himself. We are so happy that he has found something that he likes and that makes him happy. He is always excited for Mondays! I just wanted to let you know how impressed we have been with the program and wanted to say thank you for all that you do! We will definitely be signing up again!

- Rebecca

Please accept my sincere thanks for the work your team put into instruction at Yeshiva Shearis Yisroel. My son, Dovid V., participated in both sessions of the chess club this year, and I cannot tell you how much he benefited. In addition to significantly increasing his understanding of the game, he now discusses strategies and spends subsequent time reviewing games he has played. Needless to say, these skills have carried over into other areas of his life as well. I often drive Dovid and his classmates to school, and I enjoy hearing them discuss various chess issues. Chess Scholars deserves a great deal of credit for not only instilling appreciation for the game in a group of spirited boys, but also making it "cool" and exciting for them. Again, many thanks for your work!

- Shana V.

My son Trevor is attending chess at Eichelberger and is having a wonderful time. He continually brags about the instructor. I just wanted to let you know about this.

- Scott

I just wanted to let you know, Ilya, how much my 4th grade son enjoyed Chess Scholars with Mr. Evans. When Mr. Evans came on as the new teacher for chess club, my son was excited, and it was a breath of fresh air. He got the kids excited about chess; he was teaching them not only how to play, but chess strategies as well. My son adored him, and when I spoke with Mr. Evans he was very polite and had wonderful interactions with the kids, always very respectful. I love watching my son's confidence grow through chess. That is a priceless gift. My son even won the 1st place trophy at their chess tournament! I wanted to personally thank you, and give a lot of credit to Mr. Evans.

- Jayna B.

I was very impressed with how well this program was run. I stopped in several times and I saw good teaching practices going on and a group of adults who knew how to structure a lesson. From my perspective, I can't see anything that would need to be changed. Thank you for all of your work.

- David K. Rongey, Principal, West Elementary School

I want to let you know that I have been to four of the 5 programs and all your instructors are very nice and work great with the children. Thank you so much for a wonderful program.

- Shana Gagliardo, Recreation Coordinator, Franklin Community Education and Recreation