Catalina Foothills Chess Academy welcomes first students
On Saturday, June 5th, 2010 Catalina Foothills Mathnasium on Swan and Sunrise opened its doors for the Catalina Foothills Chess Academy.
The Summer Chess Program began and the first group of enrolled children got their first formal chess lessons. Even though all of them knew how to move the pieces, a few simple questions revealed that plenty of learning was ahead.
On the first day the CFCA Rules were introduced and children had fun playing “Dragon and Chickens” and “RBQ” games. This helped them to review the basic material and make a first move into developing analytical reasoning skills.
Catalina Foothills Chess Academy
Our Rules:
1. We are here to have FUN.
2. Everyone who plays chess is SMART, even if he or she makes bad moves.
3. If you WIN – be proud and happy, but not at the expense of your opponent.
4. If you LOSE – don’t get discouraged – you learn with every game you play.
5. Chess is NOT Karate; we fight with our brains, not muscles.
6. If you mastered something – HELP others.
7. PRACTICE at home and do your homework.
* Special Rule for girls:
8. It is OK to beat boys in chess, even if they cry. They will learn faster.
If you are a parent – please use e-mailed to you password to access:
Catalina Foothills Chess Academy Summer 2010 Program
Filed under News by on Jun 6th, 2010. Comment. 
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Comments on Catalina Foothills Chess Academy welcomes first students
Dear Anjelina,
Your chess program for kids sounds wonderful. So sorry to hear you’ve left New York. I live in Staten Island, NY and am looking for a place for my daughter to learn chess. Do you have any recommendations? I would be willing to travel anywhere in the 5 boroughs to get her lessons like you give : ) I’d also appreciate any tips on helping her.
Thank you for your blog.
Ron Domingo
917 622 0232
Dear Ron,
Thanks a lot for your comment. There are many chess programs available in New York and I’d suggest you call (visit) a few o them to figure out which one works best for you. Meet the coach, ask about the program, its structure, vision and goals. See if you and your daughter like the program environment and coach personality.
Here is a list of Chess Clubs by States at: http://main.uschess.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=198
You might want to start from: NY CHESS KIDS. Contact: SAUDIN ROBOVIC 212-598-9674 email: saudin@nychesskids.com . I know Saudin from the time I lived in NY and was quite impressed by his always positive attitude, love for chess and patience as a teacher. If you end up meeting him, please say Hello from me.
Good luck!
P.S. As for the tips – I am planning to put quite a number of them on this website (this is why it is “Chess For Parents”), so please come back here once in a while. I have seen many different approaches from parents and coaches and observed children to improve significantly or drop-out of chess completely. Based on those observations, I created a “Code of behavior” and “Guide for encouragement”, so parents can help their little ones to have fun playing and learning chess, while improving rapidly their cognitive abilities.
Anjelina
Could you please hook me up with a password?
Dear David,
Thank you for your inquiry and interest in my chess program. All the materials on this website are Copyright ©Anjelina Belakovskaia. The access is given exclusively to the parents of current Catalina Foothills Chess Academy students. My teaching approach requires homework to supplement in-class lectures and significantly boost children’ learning and retention abilities. However, homework is not a substitute for the lectures and as such shouldn’t be used outside of my structured program.
Please send me an e-mail if you represent any of my current students and I’d be happy to provide you with a password.
Sincerely,
Anjelina
I’m interested in speaking to you about your curriculum and classes, here in Tucson. Do you have a contact number?
Dear Valerie,
I’d be happy to provide you with additional information and answer the questions you have. You can reach me by phone: 520-370-0700 or by e-mail: Anjelina @ gmail.com
Best regards,
Anjelina
Dear Anjelina,
I have a 5.5 years old who love to play chess. He just started at after school program for about 2 months and asked for his parents to play with him every day. Since I cannot see ‘beginner fall 2010′ section, I’d like to know the calendar and tuition for the class and just wonder if it’s OK to start him at your institution at this age?
Thank you,
Hello and thank you for your inquiry.
If your child knows how to move chess pieces and what is a checkmate, I’d suggest to enroll him to the Intermediate 1 group on Fridays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. This is a former Beginners group, it is small and has another boy who just turned 6 y.o. Kids in the group are on the early stage of learning chess and I am sure your son would fit in. If he would need any help with some of the subjects we already covered, I’ll let you know.
The tuition is $200 for 8 classes.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Sincerely,
Anjelina