♟️ What You’ll Be Able to Do After This Course
- Recognize common checkmate patterns in simplified positions.
- Identify the key attacking pieces needed to deliver checkmate.
- Understand how to remove escape squares step by step.
- Build simple mating nets around the enemy king.
- Finish winning attacks with clear and confident checkmates.
📘 What You Will Learn
Targeting the King is a structured checkmate course for beginners, designed to help students learn checkmate patterns quickly and confidently. The course follows the ChessHeroes training method, using simplified positions that remove distractions and focus on the most important goal in chess: checkmating the enemy king.
In this course, students will:
- train with simplified positions where opponent pieces are “frozen” to reduce complexity
- focus entirely on attacking the king and creating direct threats
- learn how to remove escape squares step by step
- build clean mating nets with clear plans
- develop strong beginner checkmate patterns from the very start
By isolating the core ideas of checkmating, beginners learn faster and gain confidence converting advantages into a real checkmate—instead of relying on traditional gameplay alone.
Perfect for:
- beginner players (including kids and adults)
- parents teaching chess at home
- students who struggle to finish winning positions with checkmate
👥 Who Is This Course For?
This course is designed for:
- Beginner players learning how to finish games with checkmate.
- Kids and adult beginners who want a clear attacking method.
- Parents teaching chess at home.
- Students who often reach winning positions but struggle to deliver checkmate.
📚 Course Lessons
Tip: Start from Lesson 1 and watch in order for the fastest progress.
Why Beginners Don’t Know Where to Look for Checkmate
8:48
Why Beginners See the King but Still Miss the Mate
11:30
Why Beginners Fail to Finish Winning Positions
10:40
Why Beginners Give Check Instead of Building Mate
10:09
Why Beginners Don’t Recognize Forced Mates
9:07
Why Beginners Lose the Plan After the First Check
9:13
Why Beginners Can’t Turn an Attack into Checkmate
7:52
Why Beginners Don’t See Simple Checkmate Patterns
7:55
Why Beginners Attack Everything Except the King
7:48
Why Knowing the Moves Is Not Enough
5:34
Why Beginners Miss Checkmates
7:07
Why Beginners Chase Pieces Instead of the King
6:27
Why Beginners Don’t Take Away Escape Squares
5:56
Why Beginners Rush the Attack
9:18
Why Beginners Miss Checkmates in Simple Positions
6:07
🎯 Final Skill Test
After the lessons, take a short online assessment. It helps us recommend the correct next level and the best learning format.
➡️ Continue Learning
Next course recommendation: Chess for Beginners | ChessHeroes Animated Course
🚀 Your Next Step
Complete the course, then choose the next step — no pressure.
Best For
- Kids ages 5–12
- Complete beginners
- Families who want structure
🏅 Why Parents Trust Chess Heroes Academy
- 15+ years of teaching experience
- 5,000+ students taught worldwide
- Multiple Provincial & National Champions
- 3 Scholastic World Champions trained through our programs
What Parents Say About Our Chess Programs
Thousands of families trust our programs to help beginners learn chess with confidence.
My kids had wanted to join VCS classes at Jericho for some time, and the availability of online classes during the pandemic provided the opportunity to overcome scheduling barriers. My 6 year old da...
My child had a great experience here. She got so much interest in chess after taking summer camp here. They even provide pizza lunch for camps....
My son attend this chess place in 2 weeks, and he has already achieved ore knight level. He cannot wait to go back there everyday....
Great teachers and a wonderful environment for kids to learn chess and practice in tournaments - has been an exceptional experience for our daughter....
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...
A definite recommend for all families with children interested to learn or further develop their skills in chess. Our 6 year old son participated in the summer camp offered by Vancouver Chess School a...
All the teachers are very talented and patient with kids. My kid excels at this school very fast. There are online and in person classes and tournaments that can accommodate everyone. I highly recomme...
My daughter has been taking chess for a number of years now. Gyan has been very supportive since day 1 and allowed her to progress at her pace. With heavy school workload, my daughter managed to res...
A great chess school. Our kid Leon attended his very first chess tournament in this school three years ago and now won his provincial champion and represent BC to win his first national champion. For ...
Vancouver Chess School has helped my child develop his chess skills and provides a wonderful chess community for all who love chess to grow together in. It organizes many chess events and tournaments ...
My Son started attending their online classes for the past 4 months. This has been an exciting and insightful experience learning the nuances of the game, strategies and new ways of approaching a pro...
I love vanchess! It taught my brother endgame techniques that he never knew about and tactics. I appreciate vanchess for its effective teachings....
The best school ever! My daughter loves her chess classes about 3 years! Thanks for teacher ...
Vancouver Chess School has given my 2 kids a fun, intellectual and safe space to hang out with other like-minded children. They have very competent and experienced instructors. Both their in-person (p...
Teachers at VCS are professional, caring and inspiring. It is a wonderful place to learn, compete and grow. Online classes & tournaments are very well organized during this trying time. My kid ...
Strongly recommend National Preparation Program workshop at Vancouver Chess School by Coach Gyan and Coach Maxim, their lectures are concise and dig into deep concept in a easy to understand way for t...
What a school! Coach Gyan showed my son and his three best friends an incredible week of chess. It was the first camp we tried for our sports crazy kids, and all of them could not stop talking about i...
Vancouver chess school offers the chess expertise and flexible class schedule both online and in person classes. My son enjoys her chess mates time very much and recommend to whom you may just start u...
My son is learning chess there from 5 years old. Teachers are amazing, VCS is great place for kids to learn chess, they can meet lots of chess lover and lots of chance to play chess. Mr G is my son’...
My son loves to play chess and we have been looking for a platform to play and learn chess. Luckily we found Vancouver Chess school. My son got an opportunity to play at Vancouver Chess school for the...
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Is this course suitable for complete beginners?
Yes. This course is designed for students with no prior chess experience and teaches the rules step by step.
-
What age group is this course best for?
While suitable for beginners of any age, it is especially effective for children ages 5–12 starting chess for the first time.
-
Do we need special equipment?
No special equipment is required. A real chessboard is recommended for practice, but you can also learn using an online board.
