above: US Chess Fed. Secretary Hoffpauir with IM Oladapo Adu, 1995 Nigerian National Champion, winning the 2022 Fredericksburg Open. He's been on a tear recently, competing across Africa and the U.S. in pursuit of his next title: Grandmaster! Adu and I have different styles of teaching, so perhaps students would benefit from the hybrid approach.
International Master Oladapo "Dapsay" Adu and I will be teaching classes throughout the summer of 2025—for the third straight year! We have taught together quite a bit, including for a Colombian team at the embassy and with Chess Girls DC. I will teach morning classes at 9am EDT and Adu will teach evenings at 6pm. We're expecting between 4-8 students per class. It's flexible, knowing students' summer schedules, so drop in when you can and pay per class; 30-45 minutes of interactive instruction followed by practice games with their peers. Showing up for part of the class is fine and you can adjust payment accordingly. There will be one advanced class per week, and the others are take-all-comers.
Please sign up below and we will send you more information. It is $30USD per class if you attend 2 or more classes that given week, and $40/class for all others — but if you could use a scholarship, just let us know and we'll figure something out.
These are intensive classes designed for serious chess players who really want to take their game to the next level. We'll do in-depth analysis of must-know grandmaster games and students' sparring (or tournament) games, solve complex puzzles, and spar with each other from move 1 and from unique positions for simulations (coaches, students, bots, and others online). Students don't need to have a certain rating, but they should be well familiar with the game, possibly having played in at least one tournament or having interest in doing so. So long as the student is focused and eager to learn with a group of wonderful peers who are passionate about the "Royal Game," that's what matters. Finally, we have some partnerships with the Colombian team I mentioned, NYC students, the Cuban Embassy, and children as well as adults on a military base, so we hope to create connections and get in sparring games/informal tournaments with these students.
We look forward to learning with you soon and, we hope, to elevate your game to the next level this summer!