Beginners Track
Week One: Intro to Chess
Week Two: Chess Basics
Week Three: Fun and Trivia
Week Four: Chess Scholastics
Week Five: Chess Openings
Week Six: Chess Endgames
Week Seven: Tournament Prep
Week Eight: LAFI Chess Tournament and Award Ceremony
Intermediate /Advanced Track
Week One: Strategy and Tactics
Week Two: Chess Scholastics
Week Three: Opening Theory
Week Four: Middle-game Theory
Week Five: Endgame Theory
Week Six: Strategy Tactics II
Week Seven: Tournament Prep
Week Eight: LAFI Chess Tournament and Award Ceremony
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Only $100 per Track
Current Cohort Dates
Meet our Chess Coach
Mr. Okhomina (Mr. O) is a licensed DC attorney, educator, and competitive chess enthusiast. Mr. O grew up in Prince George’s County and has over 25 years of experience playing and teaching chess, in the DMV area and internationally. Mr. O also holds a Master’s degree in Education and has extensive experience teaching learners of all ages.
7 Interesting Chess Facts
- Initially, the Queen could only move one square at a time, diagonally. Later, she could move two squares at a time, diagonally. It wasn’t until Reconquista Spain, with its powerful. Queen Isabella, that the Queen became the strongest piece on the board.
- The number of possibilities of a Knight’s tour is over 122 million.
- During World War II, some of the top Chess players were also code breakers. British Chess Masters Harry Golombek, Stuart Milner-Barry, and H.O’D. Alexander were on the team that deciphered the Nazi Enigma code.
- The word “Checkmate” in Chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means “the King is dead.”
- The longest chess game theoretically possible is 5,949 moves.
- A computer called DeepThought became the first computer to beat an international grandmaster in November 1988, Long Beach, California.
- The folding chessboard was invented by a priest who was forbidden to play chess. The priest found a way around it by making a folding chessboard. When folded together and put on a bookshelf, it simply looks like two books
Got Questions?
Please contact LaMont Geddis our Program Director at programdirector@thelafi.org.