♟️ 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.
We've been taking our daughter to Vancouver Chess School for the last 4 years or so. She loves chess and this school and its teachers are a large part of why. The teachers at this school take a person...
Very good place to learn chess and playing tournaments, no matter if you’re a total beginner or really advanced. Plus, they have Summer camps for all to come too!...
This Chess school is amazing for all different levels. You should join it to learn chess and have fun!...
Wonderful place for chess. My son luckily found this amazing school when he fell in love with chess, and had much fun during learning. There are nice and professional coaches, passionate classmates, s...
I highly recommend this chess training school to anyone looking to improve their chess skills. The instructors are all highly knowledgeable and experienced, especially Gyan Awatramani. And their pass...
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 ...
Developing children’s intelligence is the original intention of learning chess, and there is a lot of harvest in its process. You have to work hard if you want to win, but you should always respect ...
The coaches are very nice and responsible, my son has been in this school for one year, he really like it....
A wonderful place for kids to learn and play chess! In addition to weekly classes and tournaments, Vancouver Chess School does a great job of organizing and running the Regional qualifiers and the Gr...
My son and daughter, aged 8 and 10, are members of VCS. They joined in 2019 April and since then they have enjoyed their lessons with Mr. G. VanChess has an online platform where chess puzzles, homewo...
The Camps are very interesting, you get to do a lot of fun chess activities, like class games, puzzles, and learn new openings. There are also CMA rated tournaments on Fridays....
My son has been enrolled with the school for approximately 7 months now and he has really enjoyed the experience, plus he has improved his game a lot. The teaching methods adapted for children strike...
This is an exceptional chess school that helped my child develop an incredible passion in the field of chess. The instructors are all engaging and helpful. There are many camps, tournaments, and other...
I love vanchess! It taught my brother endgame techniques that he never knew about and tactics. I appreciate vanchess for its effective teachings. It is very good!...
My son joined Vancouver Chess School this year and he loves it! I regretted not sending him earlier. The classes are well-structured, the programs are well-organized, and the teachers are all very nic...
My son Zac really likes VCS programs. It helped him from zero knowledge to a bit obsessed to chess now. I also like the VCS operation system that helps kids to focus on there target and motivate them ...
I have been a student at this academy for many years now and has guided me to many achievements. The academy helped me with my university applications as I can put the awards I received and competitio...
My son joined Van Chess three years ago and now he is in grade 3. He has learned so much here and has grown from a beginner player to Bishop level already. He loved all his lessons and also playing ch...
The best school ever! My daughter loves her chess classes about 3 years! Thanks for teacher ...
Great place, both before and post-Covid. My son has been attending for 3 years and has made great progress. They have lots of tournaments and camps. There's a clear system in place to track performan...
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.
