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Best Chess Courses Online

15 July 2024 | KnightMaster Research Team
Best Chess Courses Online

Table of Contents

What are the best online chess courses?

We researched over 100 courses online to find the top of the crop.  Courses that we think really take advantage of the digital format and the benefits it brings versus a regular printed book.  

Online chess education has surged in recent years, with numerous platforms offering a wide variety of courses that claim to cater to beginners and intermediate players. With so many options out there, it’s crucial to sift through the noise and determine which resources truly offer the best chess courses online.

In this article, we will share our insights as we examined many chess courses for beginners and intermediates. We will provide a comprehensive review of 10 of the most popular courses available on platforms like Chessable, Knight-Master.com, Chess.com, and others.  We also take into account the overall quality of the chess learning platform that is offering these courses.

What Makes a Great Chess Online Course?

Before diving into specific courses, it’s important to establish what makes a chess course effective. The best online courses share several key characteristics:

  1. They REALLY Improve Your Chess and have a Real Impact: We want to see courses that are so good that they REALLY improve your chess skills and should merit the immense amount of time and effort invested in them.

  2. The Take Full Advantage of the Digital Format: In chess especially there’s a great benefit for learning chess with a digital course rather than a book. 

  3. Interactivity: The course should allow players to test their understanding through interactive exercises.

  4. Practical Examples: Quality courses use examples from real games and provide a thorough analysis of each position.

  5. Study Plans: An overarching study plan is crucial for players who wish to improve consistently.

  6. Qualified Instructors: The instructor’s credentials are significant; the guidance of titled players such as grandmasters can elevate a course from good to great.

Now, let’s review 10 of the best courses that are available online today for both beginners and intermediate learners.

List of Courses

1. “The Woodpecker Method“, Chessable

Overview: The Woodpecker Method, created by Grandmasters Axel Smith and Hans Tikkanen, is a highly-regarded tactical training book turned into an online course. The method revolves around a spaced repetition technique that aims to improve your tactical sharpness. The course is designed to hammer in patterns until they become instinctive.

Why we love this course
This course brilliantly adapts a quintessential book into a dynamic online format, perfectly suited for digital learning. The tactical quality is unmatched, with expertly crafted exercises that sharpen skills at every level. Plus, the training method is structured to maximize retention and enhance real-game application—making it a superb choice for serious learners.  If you want to buy just one tactical course as an intermediate to advanced player, this is the one.  

Pros:

  • Effective Tactical Training: This course excels at reinforcing tactical patterns that are common in real games.

  • Repetition for Retention: The use of spaced repetition is scientifically proven to help retain complex information.

Cons:

  • Limited Scope: The focus is almost exclusively on tactics, which makes it less suitable as a comprehensive chess course.

Who Should Take It: Post beginners and Intermediate players who want to solidify and continuously train their tactical skills.

woodpecker method best online chess course

2. “Step-by-Step Study Plans“, Knight-Master.com

Overview: We strongly believe that without a structured study plan to effectively guide your chess study, you will waste time and effort. Chess is complex. Would you study a math degree without a curriculum? Exactly. That is why we recommend the best study plans on the net as well as online chess courses.  If you are thinking about using study plans, this is the place to start.

Pros:

  • Comprehensive Approach: Unlike most courses that focus on one area, these study plans cover all phases of the game.

  • Personalization: The study plans can be tailored to the player’s individual strengths and weaknesses, making the learning process more efficient.

  • Unique Learning Path: The emphasis is on structured learning, with a unique process that’s not offered by other platforms.

Cons:

  • Time Commitment: The courses are comprehensive, which means that they require a significant time commitment to complete.

Who Should Take It: Beginners to intermediate players who are looking for a clear roadmap to improve all aspects of their game.

chess study plan best online chess courses

3. “Beginner to Winner“, chess.com

Overview: Chess.com offers an extensive range of beginner-friendly lessons under the “Beginner to Winner” series. The course covers the fundamentals of chess, such as how to move pieces, the value of each piece, and basic tactical themes.

Pros:

  • User-Friendly Interface: Chess.com’s platform is easy to navigate, which makes it perfect for absolute beginners.

  • Interactive Puzzles: Learners can immediately put what they learn into practice by solving puzzles.

Cons:

  • Lacks depth for more serious Players: The course is very basic, and players who want to move beyond the fundamentals may find it lacking.

Who Should Take It: Complete beginners who are just getting started with chess.

beginner to winner

4. “Master the Art of Position Evaluation“, Knight-Master.com

Overview: There are few things more important than having the ability to correctly analyze a chess position, and this course just nails it.  You will look at the game at a totally different perspective.

Pros:

  • Really Deep: This course goes to all the nitty-gritty of analyzing a position.  

  • Many Examples: Related to the above point.  You will instantly have the ability to use your new skills on some good examples.

Cons:

  • More for Post-Beginners and Intermediates: If you are a high intermediate and above, maybe you should better look at our recommendation below about the Reassess Your Chess Course.   

Who Should Take It: Post beginners up to and including intermediates (<1500).

best online chess course for strategy

5. “Caro Kann“, Chessly

Overview: An excellent course about the Caro Kann, an important opening, delivered by a top expert of this matter.

Why we love this course
Chessly provides one of the best opening courses on the net.  We like how the platform takes advantage of the digital format compared to a book.  We also like how things are clearly presented.

Pros:

  • Comprehensive Curriculum: Covers most of the lines you need to know in the Caro Kann, enabling one to become highly proficient in this opening.

  • Excellent use of the digital format: The course takes advantage of the digital format for learning chess.    

Cons:

  • Expensive: Some alternatives are lower priced and provide close to equivalent value. 

  • Not for advanced players:  If you are a looking for really deep lines, this course is not for you.

Who Should Take It:  In general the Caro Kann is not for beginners.  This course is for post-beginners and intermediates.  

Caro Kann course the best online chess courses

6. “Tactics Training” by GM Susan Polgar, Chessable

Overview: Susan Polgar’s “Tactics Training” focuses exclusively on helping players improve their tactical abilities. This course includes numerous real-life examples and puzzles.

Pros:

  • Experienced Instructor: GM Susan Polgar has decades of experience teaching chess, which translates into well-designed lessons.  We love her method of teaching and the tactics she brings to this course are excellent for their educational value.  

  • Practical Examples: The tactical exercises are based on real games, making them practical for learners.

Cons:

  • Narrow Focus: Only covers tactics, which limits its scope as a general chess improvement course.

Who Should Take It: Players looking to sharpen their tactical skills

best chess online course for tactics

7. “Positional Decision Making in Chess” by GM Boris Gelfand, Chessable

Overview: Sorry folks, we just love GM Gelfand and his genius strategic work.  GM Boris Gelfand is known for his deep understanding of positional chess. This course breaks down his thought process, providing insight into positional concepts that are crucial for success at higher levels.  Amazing stuff, but quite complex.  Also, the digital format works really well with this book.  

Pros:

  • Unique Insights: Gelfand provides his personal take on positional concepts, giving learners insights they won’t find elsewhere.

  • Advanced Concepts Simplified: Complex ideas are broken down into digestible lessons.

Cons:

  • Not for Beginners or low intermediates: The course is advanced, and not suitable for players who are still learning the basics.  If you are 1600 and above, you can start considering it.

Who Should Take It: High Intermediate to advanced players who wish to deepen their understanding of positional play (and deepen you will.)

best chess strategy course online

8.  “Master Tactics Series“, Knight-Master.com

Overview: This course (actually the entire Master Tactics series) takes a comprehensive look at all aspects of chess tactics, focusing on X-ray tactics, forks, pins, and double attacks. It provides examples from famous games and includes exercises to reinforce learning.
Now, if you have time for just one tactics course that is really deep and comprehensive, this might be the one you need.  

Pros:

  • Detailed Coverage of Tactical Themes: Covers an extremely wide variety of tactical motifs, with emphasis on practical exercises.

  • Interactive: Each lesson includes exercises to ensure understanding.

Cons:

  • Requires Prior Knowledge: Some tactical exercises require a foundational understanding of chess principles.

Who Should Take It: Beginners and intermediates who want to enhance their tactical vision.

best chess tactics course

9. “Keep It Simple for Black” by IM Sielecki, Chessable

Overview: IM Sielecki is a very serious instructor whose explanations are clear and comprehensive.  His theoretical knowledge is excellent, and his teachings are of high quality.  This course provides an entire opening repertoire for black and works well in a digital format.  Sielecki has several “Keep It Simple” courses, but we think this one is the best of them.  

Pros:

  • Simple and Practical Repertoire: The repertoire is easy to learn and effective, even for intermediate levels.

  • Great Instructor: Sileckiis is known for his patient approach to teaching, making him an excellent instructor for beginners and intermediates.  

Cons:

  • Somewhat Tame: Sielecki goes for very solid and tested lines and rarely ventures into some more dynamic positions.  

  • Presentation: Not everybody likes Silecki’s teaching style which might seem dryish. 

    Who Should Take It: Post Beginners and Intermediates who want one course that will help them develop their opening repertoire for black.  
best chess course for black

10. “How to Reassess Your Chess” written by Jeremy Silman, Instructor is GM Maurice Ashley, Chessable

Overview: Very simply, the best book on chess strategy.  Silman’s epic book is nicely transformed into an excellent online chess course delivered by the dynamic and exciting GM Ashley.  We love it.  Enough said.  

Pros:

  • The Best Chess Strategy Book: If you can buy only one chess strategy book, this would be the one.

  • Great Instructor: GM Ashley is dynamic, exciting, and funny.  We wish all instructors were like that.  

Cons:

  • Expensive: $$$$$ big bucks. 

  • Very Long: It can take you a whole year to learn this course. 

    Who Should Take It:
    You first need some experience as a chess player to really appreciate this book.  Hence, don’t touch it if you are not at least 1500 online rating, maybe even 1600-1700.  
best chess strategy course