A few weeks ago a small chess tournament was held
in one of the Tucson schools.

No one expected anything extraordinary to occur and
the high school kids were counting on taking home all
the trophies.

Yet, a first grader named Max was determined to get
a trophy too.

Max turned six years old only three months ago and
faced a 3rd grader in his first game. Max won the game.

In the next round, Max played a 2nd grader and grabbed
the full point again.

But in the third round, Max was up against a 10th grader!

The big guy looked at Max as easy prey but after several
opening moves, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a
cake walk.

Max played a long interesting game and put up a lot of
resistance. Though he didn’t win in that round, Max’s
opponent and all the spectators were extremely
impressed and Max rightfully got a trophy.

As a reward and a reminder of his achievement, he got a
really COOL haircut with “checkmate.”

Congratulations, Max!

This story was shared with us by Max’s mom, Molly, when she
brought Max to our regular Catalina Foothills Chess Academy
class. Max has attended both, CFCA Summer and
Fall 1 sessions and will start on October 16th (Fall 2 session)
in the Intermediate 2 group.

Next time you bring your children to a chess competition -
look out for the blue Catalina Foothills Chess Academy t-shirts.
Kids who wear them are enjoying the game and improve rapidly.

GM Alexander Shabalov

Angie is a rare mixture of the nicest personality and strong chess player. Her feverish attacking style truly became her trademark in both chess and life. I believe that she only began to rise now…

GM Alex Yermolinsky (Board One of the U.S. National Team)

Angie is a quintessential team player. Every once in two years I have a privilige of being on the U.S. delegation to Chess Olympiad together with her. Her devotion to the team interest is unparallel, and I can only wish she had a better supporting cast.

Bob Doyle

Ms. Belakovskaia’s presentation was absolutely wonderful. That she was a woman, an intellect, creative and bright, enhances the fact that there is never, ever a substitute for intelligence and style. Whenever we expose children to such competence we do them a great service.

Dr. Jon Maksik

I was very impressed with Anjelina Belakovskaia’s presentation to our students. Ms. Belakovskaia spoke for nearly an hour to students of varied ages and chess experience. She was vital, compelling and personable; the students were riveted. I would be delighted to have her return to The Community School whenever she is able to do so and I reccomend her, without reservation, to other schools.

Gail Baptiste (Principal; P.S. #308, Brooklyn)

Anjelina has been working at our shool for the past several months, and has done an excellent job teaching chess for us. She is a very professional teacher who has put a lot of thought and effort into the way she presents her lessons, and has very good classroom management technique. Her lessons captivate the students and teachers alike.
The lessons and tests Anjelina uses are designed not only to teach the game of chess, but to benefit the students thinking, planning, and strategical skills.
We here at P.S. #308 can highly recommend Anjelina to anyone who is interested in starting a chess program in their school.

Helene Yavneh (2nd grade teacher; P.S. #308, Brooklyn)

If success can be measured by enthusiasm, then judjing by the children’s excitement when Ms. Belakovskaia comes to teach chess, and their desire to continue playing when her lesson with them is over, “CHESS PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN” by Anjelina Belakovskaia has, indeed, been very successful.

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