Chess isn’t just about strategic thinking, although it certainly does help with that. It also helps with patten recognition, focus, flexible thinking and a variety of other vital cognitive skills. Ralph is committed to helping young people succeed in ways they hadn’t previously imagined possible.

“Our son really enjoyed thinking through the best moves for each chess game that he learned about in class. Coach Walker was very patient and very encouraging despite our son’s rambunctiousness in class, which we were very grateful for. Since our son was very enthused after the summer session, he wanted to continue on for further lessons.” 

At first, I was skeptical about Jeremiah playing chess.  It seemed like he should be spending more time for educational studies.  After a few weeks of playing chess under the leadership of Youth Development System Chess Training Class, Jeremiah began to focus more in class and started to become more organized and less hyper.  He has brought his reading grade significantly by thinking critically.  Also, his self-esteem has skyrocketed because he knows definitely he can play the game of chess very, very well……