There is a A famous Chess idiom goes, “Chess is a sea. Where a fly can drink from and an elephant can bathe in.” (yes that’s where our logo comes from!)

Chess’ popularity stems from how ANYONE can enjoy and reap the benefits of Chess. And regardless of whether you’re a beginner or a master, NO ONE has enough talent to remotely fathom the entire vastness of Chess.

And if you’re wondering if you have what it takes to make it to the big stage, there’s only one thing you need: You MUST find Chess FUN. If you can find Chess fun, be it the puzzles, the nail-biting games, the mind-bending positions, then yes, you WILL go very very far.

And if there’s one thing we can guarantee, there’s no other Chess school you’ll have more fun at than at The Jedi Chess Academy!

That’s a fantastic question. And the answer to both is that it…depends.

Hang on.

This isn’t a cop out answer. It depends on your goals.

If your goal is simply for your child to gain the peripheral benefits of Chess (focus, mental sequencing, social skills, etc) then learning Chess from even 3 years old is totally aligned with that goal!

On the other hand, if your goal is to learn how to play a full game of Chess ASAP, then based on our experience, if a child begins learning at 3, they’ll probably be able to play a full game only by the time they turn 4. However, if they begin at 4-6 years old, they can typically play a full game within 3 months. If they start learning from 6-9, typically they’d only need a month or even less. Beyond that, most of the time they even pick up the basic rules all by themselves.

Does that mean there’s no value to learning Chess earlier? On the contrary, learning Chess as early as possible has huge benefits! Many of the World’s top players began learning at 5. Chess is a game of pattern recognition. And the earlier you start, the more these patterns become second nature to the player.

As to whether you are too old to learn Chess. If your goal is to become a national, regional, or even global (go for it!) top ranked Grandmaster, then you’d best start learning by 12 (and latest by 16). This is partially biological (our brains finish developing at 25) and most importantly because of time. The MOST important factor to reaching the highest pinnacles of Chess is having the time to practice, play, and study Chess. Most working adults barely have enough time between work, family, exercise, social activities, and random chores to do anything else, much less devote many hours daily to Chess improvement.

Does that mean there’s no point to learning Chess as an adult?

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Our adult students receive some of the biggest benefits from Chess! As an adult, you have the advantage of a fully developed brain, a mature outlook on the world, history, and life, and no one forcing you to play Chess for CCA points. That means you’re often able to grasp complex and abstract concepts very easily, appreciate the rich historical and political background of Chess (our adult students are our biggest story fans!), and you are able to FULLY enjoy the game with no external pressure. Outside of becoming a professional Chess player, learning Chess as an adult is probably one of the best times to learn Chess!

Chess is one of the most intellectually AND emotionally difficult things a human can do. If you learn Chess in isolation, it WILL be demoralising, lonely, and not fun at all. There’ll be times you’ll feel like you aren’t smart enough for this game. There’ll be times when you make what seems like the most obvious and ridiculous mistake in the world. There’ll be times when you feel like you’re studying quantum mechanics, ancient Greek history, and memorising alien literature all at the same time.

Maybe you feel this way already.

What a great Chess coach CANNOT do is amplify these feelings. You shouldn’t feel like you’re not smart enough for this game. You shouldn’t feel shamed for your mistakes. And you abso-defi-lutely should not feel BORED.

Here at The Jedi Chess Academy, we believe that there is a tutor for anyone. That’s why we hire tutors from a diverse background and skillsets. From actors and storytellers who bring the game to life for beginners to former and current competitive players who understand the struggles of our more experienced students. But rest assured, no matter the tutor, they will create the same TJCA magic in the classroom.

Getting started is simple! Reach out through our contact form or Whatsapp us! We’ll get to know you/your child and recommend the best next steps based on your profile and goals!

Small group classes (ages 4 to 12): $540 per term of 12 one-hour lessons, at Katong and Bukit Timah. Your first class is a free trial.

Private in-home classes: $1000 for a package of 10 hours.

Adult group classes (Katong): $60 per 90-minute class. Try your first class for $30.

Not sure which is right for you? Take our Chess Assessment or WhatsApp us and we will recommend the best fit.

If you think you can teach for us BECAUSE you’re a great Chess player then we aren’t going to be a great fit. Yes, being good at Chess is important to being a Chess teacher. But we aren’t just looking for a player that knows a thousand openings or can solve super hard puzzles. We want a tutor that understands the struggles of Chess. That knows that Chess isn’t about flexing on weaker players or showing off on social media. Chess is about community. It’s about becoming a better human being. It’s about understanding that no matter what level you’re at, no matter how bad the situation, you can CHOOSE to have agency and play wholeheartedly with intention. That means we aren’t looking for someone that waves their Chess results around like a calling card. Because we don’t want our students to do that either. We want tutors that can tell us how Chess has changed their lives and THEMSELVES for the better. Because our students are going to be great at Chess, of course, but more than that they’re going to know how their life was changed on the journey to becoming great at Chess.

If that’s you, hit us up.

The Jedi Chess Academy began with our Head Coach and Founder, Jedi Huang. Before he started The Jedi Chess Academy, he was the lead tutor and first local full-time tutor of one of Singapore’s largest Chess schools. Despite taking it from less than 90 students to over 400 students, and training dozens of tutors, the larger the company scaled, the more he realised that the corporate structure of the company was incompatible with his vision of great Chess education. He believed that shareholder value and profit were inherently contradictory to incentivising great tutors to grow and stay, and providing high value lessons to the students.

Hence, realising that he couldn’t extinguish the fire from inside the house, he decided to jump out the window and start The Jedi Chess Academy. A place where he focused on building a small team of talented and passionate teachers.

With less management (only him), he was able to reduce prices and increase wages.

With full creative control, he was able to ensure that EVERY lesson and module was jam-packed with learning content and Hollywood-level storytelling (and no AI-generated stories).

By partnering with a company that organises regular Chess tournaments, he ensured that the business was financially incentivised to ensure that EVERY student made ACTUAL Chess improvement, so that they might begin competing as soon as possible.

By putting his name on the company banner (against the advice of every business and startup guru in his life), he ensured that he was PERSONALLY liable for ALL his classes. That every query and issue regarding his company would be personally answered and solved by him. Not by obfuscating to the curriculum of a foreign country. Not by pushing the blame to a faceless administrator. But by being there. Hand-in-hand through it all.

Because that’s how much he believes in his work and his tutors. That’s how much he cares.

But the story isn’t finished yet. He’s still writing it. And he can’t wait for you to see what happens.