Chess
Lessons
Individual
lessons cover a structured curriculum that takes a student from Beginning
to Intermediate and Advanced levels of play.
Current affiliated instructors listed on the About
page.
Current Lesson Availability
with NM Jordan
Groff (as of 5/28/25):
Lightly
shaded lesson blocks are already taken by current students and dark shaded
blocks are otherwise unavailable. Unshaded lesson blocks are available
for either online or in-person lessons (at 1227 Whitney Ave, Hamden,
CT). Please email info@playmorechess.com
to reserve a time. Lessons are reserved and purchased in sets of four
(monthly).
Please note that Coach Jordan is very involved in the Summer Chess
Program (Jun 23-Aug 1) so will not have new lesson times available 9am-3pm
on those days.
Start
Time (EST): |
Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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8:00AM |
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8:15AM |
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8:30AM |
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8:45AM |
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9:00AM |
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9:15AM |
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9:30AM |
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9:45AM |
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10:00AM |
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10:15AM |
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10:30AM |
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10:45AM |
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11:00AM |
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11:15AM |
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11:30AM |
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11:45AM |
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12:00PM |
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12:15PM |
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12:30PM |
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12:45PM |
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1:00PM |
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1:15PM |
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1:30PM |
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1:45PM |
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2:00PM |
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2:15PM |
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2:30PM |
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2:45PM |
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3:00PM |
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3:15PM |
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3:30PM |
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3:45PM |
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4:00PM |
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4:15PM |
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4:30PM |
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4:45PM |
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5:00PM |
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5:15PM |
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5:30PM |
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5:45PM |
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6:00PM |
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6:15PM |
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6:30PM |
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6:45PM |
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7:00PM |
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7:15PM |
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7:30PM |
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7:45PM |
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8:00PM |
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8:15PM |
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8:30PM |
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Lesson
Availability: Individual lessons are available throughout the year,
purchased month-to-month. Please
email info@PlayMoreChess.com
to confirm availability and reserve an available time slot.
Description:
Students have one lesson a week, either
60 minutes or 45 minutes in length.
Each week chess topics are reviewed and new topics are learned and assigned
for the week ahead. Students usually move forward with one or two new
topics each week, though the topics and pace are customized based on the
goals of the student.
Additional
Lesson Information:
Lessons are purchased in advance, four lessons at a time, on a month-to-month
basis. A lesson time-slot is guaranteed as long as monthly payments are
current. If student has a schedule conflict, a set of four lessons can
be extended to include a fifth week lesson as long as instructor is told
in advance (no extensions for no-show lesson).
Curriculum Choices: Play
More Chess Academy lessons students, with guidance from their instructor,
choose a book to guide their studies based on their interest and goals
for chess improvement. PMCA
has over 160 books available to choose from but students in the past
have frequently chosen from one of the following:
Everyone's
First Chess Workbook by Peter Giannatos. 352pgs. |
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Learn
Chess Tactics by John Nunn. Written by a renowned grandmaster
noted for his devasting tactical ability. 160pgs. |
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Chess
Tactics Workbook (5th ed) by Al Woolum. This is a best
selling chess tactics workbook with over 25,000 copies sold. It
takes the student from the basic fundamentals to checkmate. It covers
basic tactical elements through more advanced tactical concepts
and into mating attacks and combinations. 133
pages with 870 diagrams. |
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Evaluate
Like a Grandmaster by GM Eugene Perelshteyn & FM Nate Solon. |
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How
to Reassess Your Chess by IM Jeremy Silman. It takes intermediate
and advanced students beyond tactics to include more positional
understandings and is organized primarily around types of imbalances
found in chess games 658pgs. |
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Winning
Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan. An introduction to the
moves, strategies, and philosophy of chess openings from one of
the world's top chess players. 257pgs. |
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Chess4Life
Workbook(s) - These books are mostly used in Scholastic
classes but can also be selected for use in individual lessons.
Sample topics listed on the Classes
page. |
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