"Since getting David as his coach in January '16, Adamson has gone from a preliminary rating of 440 to over 1000 in less than 6 months, and to over 1600 within a year, winning the 2016 USCF Junior Grand Prix. David is an awesome coach and a really nice guy. Cannot recommend him enough!"
~Helena S.
Welcome! My name is David Bennett. I am a United States National Master and international Candidate Master of chess and absolutely love everything about the "Royal Game." Just as I put everything I've got into every chess match, I give my all during each moment with my students, dynamically tailoring my instruction to meet the unique needs of each of my students. It brings me great joy to help my students achieve victories -- whether that means an "aha!" moment of understanding, winning a tournament, or improving your executive decision-making skills. I enjoy working with people of all ages and skill levels and with a diverse array of goals. My students will tell you that I bring a great deal of passion and energy to each lesson; I want to share everything I know with my students. I truly want to see my students achieve their goals.
UPDATE: International Master Oladapo Adu ('95 Nigerian Champion) and I are once again teaching our summer intensive classes — for youth and adults — throughout summer of 2024. Sign up here!
Shoot me an email to inquire about convenient lessons/interactive classes in your DC area community or online!
A few things about me
I am an actively competing National Master & International (FIDE) titled Candidate Master, ranked #1 in Washington, D.C. as of July 2019. (Just moved to northern VA but still teaching all around the area.) I've trained 5 DC champions.
I have experience as a professional scholastic coach with multiple schools in DC and VA and hundreds of private students. I have coached players ranging from ages 3 to 87 and welcome students of all age and experience levels.
I am VIRTUS certified, which entails a rigorous background check and training to ensure a safe environment for all. I've also completed the Stewards of Children and DC Mandated Reporter Trainings.
I strive to teach my students important life lessons from chess. including grit, good sportsmanship, strategic planning, analytical decision-making, resilience, open-mindedness, objectivity, sound judgment, lucid visualization, and more, leading to heightened self-esteem. I think the ability to react productively to a loss and to see things from a "10,000 foot view" is very important. I feel that my steadfast commitment to these areas sets me apart from many coaches, as well as my conversational style, focus on cognitive processing, and positive psychology -- really figuring out how our thinking process is leading to errors, while always seeing the silver lining and transforming every mistake into a small win (if learned from) that accumulates over the long term.
A Los Angeles native, I grew up playing chess and wrestling, leading to a balanced mental-physical core (and I strive to teach balance in everything). I've been in DC area since 2013 after serving in AmeriCorps in the Missouri Ozarks then assisting DC's homeless to transition into permanent supportive housing. Feel free to read more about my journey, in chess and in life, here.
I hold bachelor's degrees in history and political science (U of Michigan), and master's degrees in public admin. and urban planning (USC).
I am committed to Social Impact and Affordability, making the benefits of chess accessible to all. Please check out my Community Impact work (100+ hours per year). I have volunteered as coach for Chess Girls DC since 2016 and have taught at other nonprofits, on a military base, and at Francis Gregory Public Library in SE DC for several years -- join me every Wednesday evening at 6pm! I also teach a free international zoom class for adults (tips for those who can, but the concept is accessibility to quality instruction for all), which is every Saturday at noon Eastern; we've been going strong since the summer of 2020, and the community is wonderful!
UPDATE: International Master Oladapo Adu ('95 Nigerian Champion) and I are once again teaching our summer intensive classes — for youth and adults — throughout summer of 2024. Sign up here!
My teaching style
I take a holistic approach focused on developing a mastery of positional/strategic play and deep planning, teaching you to effectively dissect any position to find the move that the board calls for. I can assist you in thoroughly analyzing your games so that you can get to the bottom of your strengths and weaknesses. Then, I will work with you to develop a concrete plan to eliminate your weaknesses and fortify your strengths. After taking lessons with me, you should have the tools you need to effectively analyze games on your own, too.
A typical lesson includes tactical puzzle warm-ups (internalizing effective methods to unveil powerful sequences of moves), positional/strategic training to ensure a well-rounded player, learning fundamental endgame theory, in-depth game analysis, and some fun sparring with me (accompanied by analysis, helping my students to develop a structured thinking process that works for them). I am a big fan of learning from the greats -- the World Champions such as Lasker, Capablanca, Tal, Alekhine, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Anand, Carlsen, Hou, the Polgar sisters, etc. -- by studying classic games for pattern recognition and gaining a deeper appreciation of the Royal Game. Of course, the focus will differ from student to student, as I believe in carefully listening and responding to my students' needs/goals, rather than "one-size-fits-all" approaches.
With more and more chess players blindly following the suggestions of computers, I believe that it is now more important than ever to develop independent, creative, critical thinking skills -- understanding not just what a good move is but why it's a good move and how it fits into the big picture. Through my lessons, I hope to cultivate independent-minded students who are confident in their own decision making process/judgment and do not feel the need to become over-reliant on computers. We will develop those skills together.
I am very patient and 100% dedicated to your success. Whatever your goals, we will achieve them together!
To learn more, email me via the form below, explore the pages on this site,
or check out my blog, endorsements, Twitter & Facebook pages.
Live outside DC? Not a problem -- we can meet at a coffee shop, library, etc. that is convenient for you. Once we know each other, we can plan to meet in the comfort of your own home as well.
Prefer instruction in Spanish? Todo bien, hablo Español, también.
Check out my August 2018Washington Post feature here.
Training my student Jesse, the 2019 K-8 DC Champion, for the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions this August in Orlando
My student Zahir won the DC state championship in 2018, after which he traveled to Wisconsin to represent DC in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. The embedded article on his path to chess success is excellent. Zahir won again in 2019 as well as my student Jesse for K-8. Please pitch in to the fundraiser to help them get to Orlando this summer!
A clip from my YouTube channel, "Chess on the Brain," where one of the things I've focused on is providing free, in-depth analysis of viewers' games. I also enjoy playing and describing how to win Chess 960/Fischer Random Chess games, which feature 960 different randomized starting positions and require independent thought from move 1; Magnus Carlsen has recently championed this version of chess.
I share my thoughts on chess improvement, showcase my students' achievements, provide updates on my chess tournaments and travels (most recently to Bhopal, Mumbai, Kochi, and rural India with the Guinness Record holder GM Timur "Blindfold King" Gareyev), and engage in discussions on all things chess/news on my Twitter page @chessprof. Join the discussion!
A recent event where I taught chess at the tech company VerticalApps. I also teach military families with Blue Star Families on Fort Belvoir twice a month and at the Military Starbucks in Alexandria, in addition to volunteering weekly at Francis Gregory Library (join me and the tough competition 6pm Wednesdays) in SE DC and Chess Girls DC. I enjoy teaching a broad array of students from all walks of life. Let me know if you'd like me to teach at your organization to challenge your team's minds at work or during happy hour.