Dear Chess Instructors,
It is with appreciation that we share the Scottsdale Chess Foundation Scholastics Curriculum Guide. This edition was shaped by instructor feedback, classroom experience, and comparative study of several of the strongest traditions in chess education.
Our goal was not to copy any one system. Instead, we identified the ideas that consistently produce strong student growth: clear sequencing, disciplined habits, active play, tactical fluency, differentiation for mixed-ability groups, and lesson structures that are practical for real classrooms.
The result is a Scottsdale curriculum built to help students learn chess in an organized, engaging, and challenging way. The standards provide a roadmap. The lesson plans provide support. Your instruction brings the curriculum to life.
Whether you use this guide as a complete framework or adapt portions of it to your teaching style, we hope it helps you teach with confidence and purpose. Thank you for the care, professionalism, and consistency you bring to your students. By teaching chess well, you are building thinkers, competitors, and young people who learn to make better decisions under pressure.
We look forward to continuing to refine these materials with your feedback and classroom insight.
Sincerely,
The Scottsdale Chess Foundation Scholastics Team
Most people think of learning as memorization. We take in information, practice until we remember it, and then hope it will be available when we need it later. But true understanding does not come from memorization alone. It comes from building a structure that organizes thought. That structure is what we call a framework.
A framework does not hand us the answer. Instead, it gives us a method for working toward the answer step by step. It provides order when things feel uncertain. In chess, that structure is critical. A player must navigate countless possible moves, often under time pressure and without complete certainty. A sound framework helps reduce confusion, identify what matters most, and guide practical decision-making.
Chess improvement is not simply the accumulation of facts. It is the development of habits of perception, reasoning, and action. A well-designed framework helps students build those habits in a way that can be repeated, refined, and trusted over time.
When we set out to define the Phoenix Framework, the goal was not to invent a new method for its own sake. The goal was clarity. Chess has a way of exposing habits, impatience, fear of being wrong, and the need for discipline under pressure. Out of that search came two ideas that merge into one complete philosophy: the discipline of PHX and the structure of TTSC.
PHX stands for Preparation, Hard Work, eXecution. It defines the mind-set needed for real growth, not only as a chess player, but as a person. It reminds students and coaches that talent alone is never enough. We prepare with purpose, work with discipline, and execute with conviction.
TTSC gives structure to the thinking process at the board through four practical pillars.
These four pillars bring order to decision-making. They help students identify what matters, recognize danger, create opportunities, and think in a repeatable way rather than relying on guesswork.
For developing players, the first two pillars — Targets & Threats and Tempo-Gaining Moves — form the essential base. We have found that in order for students to reach roughly the 0–1600 range, they need a solid foundation in these first two habits of thought. These pillars teach players to see the board more actively, notice weaknesses, identify forcing ideas, and begin playing with real purpose.
From roughly 1600–2000, greater emphasis is placed on Strategy and Calculation & Consequence Check. At this stage, players must connect positional understanding with disciplined analysis. They must not only recognize the important features of a position, but also calculate accurately and judge the consequences of their decisions. We also place increasing emphasis on endgame composition and studies, which sharpen precision, visualization, and technical control.
When combined, PHX and TTSC lay the foundation of our curriculum. PHX gives discipline for how we prepare, work, and execute. TTSC gives order to how we think, evaluate, and choose moves under pressure at the board. Together, they unite disciplined preparation with structured decision-making so students can sharpen the mind while strengthening character.
No serious curriculum is built in a vacuum. Scottsdale’s curriculum draws from several major schools of chess thought. Liu Wenzhe’s classification traces a long arc — from the Italian school’s beauty of tactics to the Chinese school’s art of thinking.
Scottsdale’s curriculum is a practical synthesis of these best ideas. It is structured, ambitious, and coach-friendly. We want students to build habits, think clearly, compete with discipline, and grow into stronger chess thinkers over time.
Our aim is not to imitate one tradition blindly, but to study the strongest features of each and combine them into a system that is clear, teachable, and effective for students at different stages of development.
Expectations and Goals
You set the atmosphere for the classroom. When you teach with energy, clarity, and confidence, students usually respond the same way. A positive tone encourages curiosity, participation, and a willingness to try hard things.
Students should feel that chess is challenging, active, and worth caring about. Use mini-games, demonstrations, stories, and well-timed play so lessons stay lively without losing structure.
Strong instruction starts with strong planning. Review the lesson, standards, materials, and likely student sticking points before class begins. Preparation creates smoother lessons, stronger pacing, and more time for real chess.
Respect, calm, and classroom order are essential. Students should know how to listen, ask questions, handle materials, and treat opponents. A well-managed room gives every student a fair chance to learn.
Every student learns differently. Adjust your pacing, prompts, and level of challenge so advanced students continue to grow while newer players can still succeed. Differentiation is part of good coaching, not an optional extra.
Students learn chess best by doing. Every class should include meaningful board work: guided play, mini-games, puzzles, or full games. Good lessons move students from explanation to application as quickly as possible.
Name ideas accurately and consistently. Students learn faster when coaches use shared terms for squares, patterns, tactical ideas, and classroom routines. Language is part of structure.
Punctuality, organization, and consistency reflect respect for students, schools, and families. Arriving early gives you time to set up materials, solve problems before class starts, and begin instruction with purpose.
The Scottsdale Chess Foundation Instructional Standards form the framework that supports the entire curriculum. They introduce chess in a structured sequence so students can move from absolute beginner to confident player without major gaps in understanding.
The standards also give instructors a shared language, a consistent roadmap, and a clearer sense of what students should know before moving on. This makes it easier to teach across different classrooms, school sites, and ability levels while still allowing coaches to adapt their methods.
The Lesson Structure gives coaches a simple outline for how class can flow. It usually begins with a quick review of previous learning, moves into the main concept, and then gives students a chance to practice the idea in action.
In this lesson, students continue practicing previously learned movement patterns and learn how the knight moves and captures on the chessboard.
The lesson-plan pages that follow include activities and worksheets that can be used during class or assigned for independent practice.
Review the right-hand support column first. It shows which standards are covered, what materials you need, and the key vocabulary to introduce.
This section outlines activities designed specifically for beginners or advanced students, depending on their needs and skill levels.
Knight
Each player starts the game with two knights on b1, g1, b8, and g8. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, and it always moves in a capital “L” shape.
Some lesson plans reference specific FIDE rules when a detail is easy to misunderstand or important for accuracy. When this happens, instructors can review the original rule text directly rather than relying only on a summary.
These references are most useful for technical topics such as draw rules, touch-move issues, illegal moves, castling restrictions, or competition procedures that benefit from precise wording.
The standards and lesson plans are not tied to a specific grade level. Students progress when they have mastered the material, not simply because a calendar says it is time to move on. That makes this framework usable with elementary students, teenagers, and even adult beginners.
As a general guideline, one instructional Level often fits a semester of approximately 10–16 one-hour sessions. Some groups will move slower. Others will move faster. Coaches should use the standards as the sequence and professional judgment as the pacing tool.
The lesson plans are not meant to be a strict script. New instructors may choose to follow them closely, while experienced instructors may use them more flexibly. The best instructional flow always depends on the students in front of you, the classroom environment, and the amount of time available.
These references are most useful for technical topics such as draw rules, touch-move issues, illegal moves, castling restrictions, or competition procedures that benefit from precise wording.
This Scottsdale Chess Foundation Scholastics Curriculum Guide reflects internal curriculum design, instructor feedback, and comparative research into strong scholastic chess models.
Development priorities included: clear standards and sequencing; coach-friendly lesson structure; school-day and after-school usability; differentiation for mixed-ability groups; and integration of competition, culture, and character.
Special thanks to Scottsdale Chess Foundation instructors, school partners, and families whose feedback continues to improve these materials.
