General Information

Registration for Q3 Courses are now closed. New students are required to sign up for an evaluation session first, except for those signing up for Ultra-Young or Beginner courses.

Dates for Q4 courses will be published in early September. Tentative dates are from 27 September – 19 November.

Please note that published dates are tentative and the SCF reserves the right to amend course dates at any time.

Chess Courses Overview

SCF offers the following fundamental chess courses:

• Ultra Young (Born 2019 or 2020)
• Grade 1: Beginner (Born 2018 or earlier)
• Grade 2: Elementary
• Grade 3: Intermediate
• Grade 4: Developmental
• Grade 5: Junior Preparatory Squad

Our focus for this course is to help newcomers appreciate the beauty of the game and therefore, the lessons are expected to be fun and engaging. We will also provide guidance on general etiquette and lessons on sportsmanship during the course.

Please note that students will undergo an assessment during the last lesson. Students shall be promoted to the next level (Elementary) if they pass the assessment.

Elementary:

This course is ideal for trainees who have just successfully completed our beginner classes. Trainees can expect to strengthen their understanding of basic endgames, checkmates and tactical motifs. They will also progress to slightly more advanced content such as combinations and basic calculation techniques.

Intermediate:

In this class, we will continue our focus on building fundamental chess skills that are so crucial at the early stages of learning the game of chess. Trainees can expect to deepen their tactical skills and improve their calculation techniques.

Trainees shall also be introduced to basic strategical motifs – an equally important component of chess apart from tactics.

Developmental:

In this course, trainees can expect a deep dive into more advanced concepts, such as practical endgames, various middlegame strategies, and strategic motifs. In addition, we will again place a special focus on strengthening tactical skills, solving combinations and calculation techniques using slightly more complex examples.

Junior Preparatory squad(JPS):

This training is targeted at trainees who are interested in competing in both casual or serious tournaments. The focus areas include preparation for games, tournament approach, revision of important tactical and strategic motifs, important laws of chess that trainees should be mindful of and many others.

This training will be particularly useful for students that are intending to compete in the yearly National Schools Team Chess Championship (Sep) & National Age-Group Chess Championships (9 – 13 Dec).

Intensive holiday Camp:

Our biannual Intensive Camp is a dedicated five-day training program conducted from Monday to Friday, strategically designed to accelerate learning and maximise player development. 

Over the course of the week, participants will follow a carefully condensed version of the regular lesson plan, enhanced with targeted drills, focused skill-building exercises, and practical application sessions. 

This concentrated format allows players to make significant progress in a short period of time, providing both a sharp boost in technical ability and the opportunity to gain substantial on-the-board experience. Whether aiming to refine existing skills or to prepare for upcoming competitions, the camp offers an immersive and highly effective pathway to improvement.

Step 1: Chess Evaluation

If you have already decided on registering for the Beginner or Ultra Young (born 2019 or 2020) course, please skip to Step 2.

Before signing up for a course, you should first go for a chess evaluation, a coach will evaluate your skill level and the appropriate course you should take.

Step 2: Signing up for a course

After getting your evaluation results, register for the appropriate course. These courses are quarterly courses, and there are also holiday intensive courses during the June and December school holidays.

National Junior Squads

After completing the Junior Preparatory Squad course, the next level of course is the National Junior Developmental Squad (NJDS), which is part of the National Junior Squads (NJS). However, the criteria for these classes are stringent, requiring students to have played and performed well in qualifying events (National Schools Individuals, SG Chess Festival Classical Tournament, National Age Groups). For the full criteria and information on the National Junior Squads, please click here.