Testimonials

Incredible chess centre! I grew up with this place and do not regret a second!!!

Overall, VCS is a great school with amazing coaches at various levels. Highly recommended to all kids and adults interested in chess improvements. We taught our daughter the game of chess during the pandemic. Our original purpose was to reduce her screen time by playing some boardgames, without much expectation on the results. Over time, her interest in chess grew, and we started to send her to VCS for regular classes and tournaments. The weekly classes/lectures at VCS always have a focused topic and are mixed with fun activities, such as quizzes, mini-tournaments, and even live tournament analysis. With a group of 5-10 kids discussing chess moves and expressing their ideas under the guidance of chess coaches, the atmosphere of the classes is absolutely amazing. Despite so many ex-curriculum activities (sports, music instruments, languages, camps, etc.) for the kids nowadays, the VCS classes are always one of my daughter’s favorites. The weekly and monthly chess tournaments are also very well organized by VCS, and the small tokens offered by VCS after the tournaments like trophies and medals keep the kids motivated. It has been almost one year now, and we are amazed by the progress our daughter made over this period of time. The quality of her games has improved a lot, and she can even occasionally win some local tournaments in her age group. Outside chess, one side benefit of attending VCS is that our daughter started to (logically) express her opinions more often, in and out of school. We believe it is large contributed by the interactive chess classes at VCS. Thank you, Mr. G, Harry, Amir, Stephen, and all the other coaches that we have not met yet, for running this special school. We look forward to learning more from you in the coming years!

Our kid really enjoyed the chess classes. The classes/activities are well structured and the coaches are patient.

I represented team BC at the 2019 Canadian Chess Challenge (CCC), where I won 1st place in the toughest section of the competition. This year, Gyan personally invited me to Captain Team BC at the 2022 CCC as I was both the highest rated (CFC 2241, CMA 2563) and the oldest (Grade 12). Overall, I highly approve of the extremely thorough training sessions conducted by Janak, Gyan, and Stephen. They covered excellent material, such as studying openings through pawn structures and their corresponding middle-game plans. The puzzle training really got your brain working and I even learned some things too. The level of dedication from the logistic team is amazing and doesn’t just include the training sessions. Behind the scenes, they were furiously working to ensure a smooth event. In addition, their wisdom, experience, and encouragement both inspired and motivated the team. As players, all we had to do was just focus on our games and deliver our best! On another note, VCS used to host many tournaments like the monthly Active and bi-monthly West Open tournaments, along with special events like the B.C. Active Chess Championship. These tournaments allowed me to gain experience as a junior by playing with stronger players; they were essential to my success today. Understandably, due to the Pandemic, these tournaments have not yet been held since. I truly hope that one day, these events will once again be reinstated for the betterment of young and new players. My time at VCS has been very positive. I’ve learned a lot and gained valuable tournament experience. All in all, I highly recommend VCS as a key stepping stone for youth and newcomers to be integrated into the wonderful world of fun and competitive Chess!

Friendly and helpful teachers. They organized many tournament for different level chess players. Helped my kid improve chess skills!

Great chess school. Provided many training sessions, coaching, and encouragement for the players of the 2022 Canadian Chess Challenge. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Vancouver Chess School!