
Ralph Ghnatios
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Ralph Ghnatios FIDE certified Instructor. He has been teaching chess for more than 8 years mainly to kids between 6 and 12 years old. He has also helped build and implement several chess programs in schools and after school programs by introducing kids to chess competitions and FIDE tournament regulations. As a player, Ralph has been playing chess for more than 24 years. He started playing competitive chess tournaments in 2011. He has played several international tournaments around the world, including US open, Asia Zone 3.1, Beirut Open, 11th Mediterranean championship and many more. He has also represented his country in several online and on-board tournaments. As his club's team's captain, he has also helped his club advance from Second club division to first division.
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my Classes

class plan
Chess Champs
Spring Semester
Week | Session Topic/Theme | Class Structure Students will do & learn: | Materials needed |
1 | Basic Endgame: Queen and king VS king 2) Promoting a pawn to a queen and using the same technique to win | Warm up: Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (4 questions) Intro: Describing a queen and king VS king position and how to approach it. Content: 1) Revealing the 3 steps to win this basic endgame. 2) Practicing on the board and getting all the students involved. 3) Reaching the checkmate position where the king is cornered. 4) Finishing the game and avoiding stalemate. 5) How can we end up in a similar endgame if we have one pawn only. Closing: Resume, reminder of the 3 steps to win the basic endgame and a few tips. | Chess board (optional) |
2 | Basic Endgame: Rook and king VS king | Warm up: Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (4 questions) Intro: Reminder of basic endgame: Queen and king VS king. Introducing the Rook and king VS king basic endgame Content: 1) Revealing the 3 steps to win this basic endgame. 2) Practicing on the board and getting all the students involved. 3) Reaching the checkmate position where the king is cornered. 4) Finishing the game and avoiding stalemate. Closing: Resume, reminder of the 3 steps to win the basic endgame and a few tips. | Chess board (optional) |
3 | Simple Endgame with good bishop | Warm up: Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (4 questions) Intro: Definition of a pawn chain and good bishop Content: 1) Showing what are the necessary steps to win this endgame. 2) Give the students a chance to think creatively and find the moves on the board to capture the opponent’s pawns. 3) Understanding that the king can become an active piece in the endgame. 4) Support the pawns and move them up the board. 5) Reaching the promotion square with one of our pawns. 6)Checkmate and winning Closing: Reminder of the points explained during the session and checking the assimilated knowledge and skills during the session. | Chess board (optional) |
4 | Simple Endgame with good knight | Warm up: Challenging Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (2 questions) Intro: Reminder on pawn chain and how to attack it Content: 1) attacking the base of the pawn chain. 2) Visualizing the path of the knight on board 3) Reaching the target with the knight 4) Capturing opponent’s pawns 5) Moving up the board with the pawns till the promotion square 6) Promoting and winning Closing: Repeating the key points on the simple endgame that was solved. | Chess board (optional) |
5 | Profitable exchange and decision making in chess. | Warm up: Challenging Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (2 questions) Intro: 1) Definition of a profitable exchange and the value of each chess piece. Content:1) Using that knowledge to solve several examples 2) Calculating the outcome of an exchange. 3) Decision making: What move should be played 4) Special position with a checkmate using castling move. Closing: More Examples on profitable exchange and a conclusion on how to make a decision while playing on which piece to capture or save. | Chess board (optional) |
6 | Double attack | Warm up: Challenging Checkmate in one positions while waiting for other students (two questions) Intro: Definition of a double attack and how to use it to capture material and threaten a checkmate. Content: 1) Some basic examples on double attack 2) Some challenging examples on double attack 3) Searching for unprotected pieces on the board. 4) Using the value of the pieces to decide what to capture after performing a double attack. 5) Checkmate using en passant move 6) Introducing the concept of checkmate in two moves. Closing: Reminder on value of pieces and how to search for potential targets for double attack. | Chess board (optional) |
7 | Double attack part 2 | Intro: Review: Double attack Content: 1) Advanced double attack positions and how to solve them 2) Simple checkmate in two moves examples. 3) More challenging checkmate in two moves examples. 4) Back rank checkmate and how to use it. Closing: Session review and few recommendations | Chess board (optional) |
8 | Discovered attack | Warm up: Checkmate in two moves while waiting for the remaining students( two questions) Intro: Definition of a discovered attack Content: 1)Finding a discovered attack on the board. 2) Playing a discovered attack 3) Making the most of it and gaining biggest amount of material 4) Solving several examples Closing: Review and some ideas to remember | Chess board (optional) |
9 | Endgame basics | Warm up: Checkmate in two moves ( two questions) Intro: Some important points about chess endgame Content:1) Choosing the side of our attack. 2) Understanding the queen side, king side and center. 3) Using pawn majority to decide the side of attack. 4) The activity of the king in the endgame. 5) promotion and winning Closing: Review on important points in an endgame | Chess board (optional) |
10 | Double check | Warm up: Checkmate in two moves while waiting for the remaining students( two questions) Intro: Definition of a Double check Content: 1)Finding a double check on the board. 2) Playing a double check 3) Making the most of it and gaining biggest amount of material 4) Solving several examples Closing: Review and some ideas to remember | |
11 | Pinned pieces | Warm up : Checkmate in two moves while waiting for the remaining students( two questions) Intro: Definition of a pin and how to use it Content: 1) Spotting a pinned piece 2) playing a pin 3) Taking advantage of a pinned piece to win material 4) taking advantage of a pin to perform a checkmate Closing: review on pinned pieces and how to use them | |
12 | Mixed motifs and tactics | Warm up : Checkmate in two moves while waiting for the remaining students ( two questions) Intro: Review on some tactics and how to use them. Content: 1) Several examples with discovered attack, double check and pinned pieces. Closing: Review on tactical motifs and some recommendations. |
Using The Class Plan
Please Note: Both Age Groups (if applicable) will follow the same class plan structure and content. The content delivery will be tailored to the age group.