Questions and answers

A trial lesson is a real lesson with a coach — only it’s free. Your child gets to know our online platform, plays and solves puzzles, while the coach gently observes what your child can already do and what interests them. After the lesson we call you, tell you what we saw and suggest a suitable group.

The trial lesson commits you to nothing: if you decide not to continue, just tell us, and that’s it. No charges, no contracts and no calls trying to persuade you to stay.

You can sign up through the form on the website — an administrator will message you on WhatsApp and arrange a convenient time.

Nothing. The trial lesson is free — and it has been our rule since the school was founded: a parent should see how the lesson runs and how the child responds to the coach before paying anything.

For the child it is simply a first lesson: 40 minutes of play and puzzles on an interactive board. For you it is a chance to see whether the online format suits your family.

The first lesson is an introduction. The coach shows your child around the platform: how to move the pieces, where the puzzles appear and how the board works. Then come easy tasks within your child’s reach, so they feel success rather than stress. If your child already plays, the coach will give them a harder position and watch how they reason.

It runs like any regular lesson: a chat, some play and a couple of fun puzzles. No exams and no formal “level assessment” — everything happens through play.

No, nothing at all. We teach children who don’t yet know how the pieces move — every champion once started there. The coach will begin with the very basics if needed.

All you need is a device: a laptop, tablet or computer with an internet connection. It helps if your child isn’t tired or hungry before the lesson — the rest is our job.

The fastest way is the form on the site: click “Book a free trial lesson” and enter your name and phone number (WhatsApp). An administrator will get back to you and find a suitable coach and time.

You can also simply message us on WhatsApp at +374 99 553191 — the same number is in the site footer. If you prefer email, write to info@araratchess.ru.

We usually reply within a day, and more often within a couple of hours during working hours. Requests are handled by a real administrator, not a bot, so if you wrote at night, you’ll get a reply in the morning.

If more than a day has passed and you haven’t heard from us, message us on WhatsApp again: your message may not have come through. We never lose requests on purpose — it can only happen because of a technical glitch.

We start at four. For ages 4–7 there are special short lessons of 20–30 or 40 minutes: a young child finds it easier to stay focused when the lesson is short and built like a game.

Older children and adults take regular 60-minute lessons, and strong juniors up to 90.

If you’re not sure what would suit your child, come to a trial lesson — the coach will take a look and advise you.

At four, chess is first of all a game — and that is exactly how we present it. Little ones learn the pieces through stories and pictures, make the knight go “hop, hop”, and along the way train their attention and memory — the very things that develop fastest at this age.

Experience shows that if a child enjoys sitting over a board game at home for 15–20 minutes, an online chess lesson will suit them. If they can’t manage that yet, don’t worry — waiting six months is perfectly normal.

Of course. We take a different approach with teenagers: more tactics, analysis of their own games, tournament practice and — if they wish — the path to chess categories and a FIDE rating. We choose coaches who can have a genuinely interesting conversation with a teenager: at this age they are almost adults.

If a teenager already plays, we place them in a group by level, not by age: strong juniors train together with candidate masters.

Yes — we have a format “for amateurs aged 20+”: 60-minute lessons with candidate masters. Many parents, having watched their children study, come to learn themselves — and that is the best family habit imaginable.

We teach adults as patiently as children — from scratch, with no “What, you can’t tell a knight from a bishop?” attitude. Quite the opposite: adult learners are the most rewarding students, because they came by their own choice.

A simple test: your child is interested in board games, can concentrate for 10–15 minutes and enjoys getting things right. That’s enough to start — the rest will develop in lessons.

There’s no need to wait for “readiness” in the sense of being able to sit still: that is exactly what chess trains. If sitting through a lesson is hard for your child, start with the short 20–30-minute format, and their attention will grow along with their interest.

At 4–5, children can focus for 10–15 minutes at a stretch, and our short lessons are built exactly around that: the activity changes every few minutes — play, a puzzle, play again. By 6–7, most children can easily work through the full 40 minutes.

Our coaches know these age norms and never demand the impossible from a little one. If a child gets tired, the lesson switches to something else rather than being “pushed through” to the end.

Those are exactly the children we start with. There’s no need to know the rules beforehand: the first part of the course covers just that — the pieces, how they move, castling, check and checkmate. A child who starts from scratch is playing full games within a couple of months.

It’s even easier for a beginner: there’s nothing to unlearn, and the coach builds the right habits from day one — recording the game, thinking before moving, not grabbing a piece straight away.

With the pieces and the board. First, how each piece moves; then how the pieces work together — attack, defence, simple traps. After that come the first checkmating patterns and playing a game right through to a win. All of this happens on an interactive board, where the pieces are moved with a finger and the computer won’t allow an illegal move.

Alongside this, from the very first month, children solve mate-in-one puzzles, which teach them to see the whole board. Our programme, created by world and European champions, is designed so that each step builds on the previous one.

Most children learn the rules — how the pieces move, check and mate — in 4–8 lessons. First full games against peers usually start in the second month. Fully independent play, with the game written down, comes after three to four months of regular lessons.

It’s like learning to read: some children put syllables together within a week, others take a month — both are normal. The coach adjusts the pace to the child, not the other way round.

The online format actually helps shy children: the child is at home, at a familiar desk, and never has to “come up to the board” in front of a class. The first lessons are built gently — more play, less “answer in front of everyone”.

After 2–3 lessons almost all children forget their shyness: talking through a board and puzzles dissolves tension naturally. And a group of up to 5–7 is company, not a crowd.

That’s a normal part of learning, and our coaches know how to handle it: mistakes are discussed without passing judgement on the child. Not “you lost”, but “look, the position turned around here — let’s pin down exactly where”. In chess, a loss is material for growth, and children pick this up quickly.

If the frustration is strong and frequent, the coach will slow down the programme and add playful puzzles that give the child a sense of success. The school psychologist also runs free monthly webinars for parents where topics like this are discussed.

Great — that means your child needs a group that matches their level rather than one starting “from scratch”. During the trial lesson the coach will assess their real playing strength (two children with the same category can play very differently) and suggest a group where your child will be neither bored nor overwhelmed.

For children with a FIDE rating of 1500 or higher, we have a separate format: 60–120-minute lessons with international masters and grandmasters.

During the trial lesson the coach gives your child positions and puzzles of varying difficulty and watches how they reason, which ideas they spot and how they make decisions. There’s also a short chat to check their knowledge of openings, endgames and tactics.

In the first few weeks the level is fine-tuned in practice, through puzzles and games in the group. If the group turns out to be too easy or too hard, we move your child without unnecessary formalities.

Yes, and it happens often. There’s nothing to prove: come to a trial lesson, the coach will assess the level, and your child will carry on from where they left off. We don’t make children drop their usual openings or playing style — we build on what’s already there.

If you still have a paid package elsewhere, simply start with us once it runs out, or combine the two for a while: schools aren’t at war with each other, and stability matters more to a child.

We’ll move them to a stronger group or to an individual coach — this is sorted out within a couple of lessons. Keeping a strong child in an easy group makes no sense: they’ll get bored and lose interest, and our aim is the exact opposite.

Sometimes it’s the other way round — then we strengthen the basics, not by “demoting” the child, but by choosing topics that fill the gaps.

Yes. Children with a FIDE rating of 1500 or higher study in a special format — 60–120 minutes with international masters and grandmasters. We prepare them for norms, analyse games by strong tournament players and build an opening repertoire.

If your child doesn’t have a rating yet but already plays in tournaments, we’ll help them get one: we’ll suggest suitable tournaments and prepare them for their first official events.

Our own school platform: an interactive board, puzzles, homework and tournaments — all in one place. You don’t need to install or buy anything: the platform is included in the tuition fee at no extra cost.

Audio and video run inside the platform itself. If your child has ever had lessons “over Skype with a board on a website”, forget all that: here the board, the coach’s face and the tasks are all in one window.

A tablet is enough — most of our students learn on one. The pieces are moved with a finger, which children find even easier than using a mouse. A laptop or desktop computer with a mouse works too.

The only things that really matter are a stable internet connection and a screen that isn’t too small: you can use a phone, but the board will feel cramped for a child (see the next answer).

Technically, yes — the platform opens in a phone’s browser. But we recommend a phone only as a backup: the screen is narrow, the board is small, and part of the interface gets hidden.

If there’s really no alternative, your child can do a couple of lessons on a phone — nothing will go wrong. For regular lessons, a tablet or computer is better: it’s more comfortable for your child and easier on the eyes.

The minimum: a device with a screen of at least 8 inches (a tablet, laptop or desktop), a stable internet connection of 5–10 Mbit/s or more, and headphones with a microphone — ordinary phone ones are fine. A camera is desirable but not essential: the main things are the board and the voice.

You can check everything before the first lesson: the administrator will help you log in to the platform and make sure sound and video work.

Both at once: the video from the coach’s camera is part of the platform window. This matters both for learning (the coach points things out on the board) and for trust: your child sees a real person, not an abstract course.

By default, your child doesn’t need to have their camera on — it’s the coach who needs to be seen, not the child. You’ll find more about privacy in the “Child safety” section.

Don’t worry — the lesson isn’t lost. Reconnect once the connection is back, and the coach will carry on from the same point. If the connection is down for a long time, the lesson is rescheduled or finished on another day: fairness matters more to us than formalities.

If your internet drops regularly, write to the administrator: we’ll find a time when the connection is more stable or suggest how to improve it.

It depends on age: 20–30 or 40 minutes for ages 4–7, 60 minutes for children 7+, up to 90 minutes for strong juniors in the format with masters, and 60 for adults. The trial lesson lasts 40 minutes.

Short lessons for little ones aren’t about cutting corners — they’re about good teaching: a young child finds it easier to have shorter lessons more often than long ones less often.

The standard is twice a week: a comfortable rhythm for both the child and the family calendar. Once a week is also possible (progress will be slower), as are three or more — with 3+ lessons a week, an extra 5% discount is applied automatically.

The coach will suggest the best frequency after the first few lessons: some children need to speed up, others need a steady pace.

Yes, the schedule fits your family: mornings, evenings and weekends all work. We teach students from dozens of countries — from Los Angeles to Sydney — so there are no “inconvenient” time zones for us.

The time is agreed with the administrator at enrolment, and if life changes, lessons can be moved — it’s routine.

Yes — Saturday and Sunday are full teaching days. For many families the weekend is the only time a child isn’t busy with school, so we form groups specifically for those days.

The school’s weekly online tournaments are also held at weekends, so that everyone who wants to can take part.

Nothing special — just tell the administrator your city, and we’ll find a group at a convenient local time. Our students come from the USA and Canada (Los Angeles, Glendale, Toronto, Montreal), Europe (Paris, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam), the Middle East (Beirut, Tehran, Dubai) and Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) — every zone is covered.

Coaches work in different shifts, so “night in Moscow” is no obstacle.

Yes, with notice — it’s a routine situation: illness, trips, school events. Message the administrator or coach in advance, and the lesson will be moved to another slot that week or the next.

A lesson moved at your request with advance notice isn’t lost. The rules for “we forgot and didn’t turn up” are lenient, but please don’t take advantage of them: we have to plan our coaches’ time too.

If it’s because of illness or another good reason, the lesson is rescheduled, so your package is used up more slowly. If the group lesson went ahead without your child, the coach will send the lesson materials and homework so that nothing is missed.

For long absences (holidays, quarantine), the package can be frozen — there’s an answer about this in the “Refunds and freezes” section.

Not many: up to 5 students in groups for ages 4–7, and up to 7 for children 7+. This is a matter of principle: the coach must have time to work with every child in every lesson — otherwise it’s a broadcast, not teaching.

There are also mini-groups and individual lessons — the format is matched to the child and the budget.

In a group, a child gets something no individual lesson can give: opponents and partners. Children compete at solving puzzles, play each other and cheer each other on — and that’s the best motivation in the world. And groups cost less.

Individual lessons mean maximum attention from the coach and a programme tailored to one child: specific gaps are closed faster, and the schedule is more convenient. The best option is often a combination: a group for practice and competitive spirit, and individual lessons for technique.

By level and age. During the trial lesson the coach assesses how your child plays; then we check the schedules of suitable groups and offer you some options. The first few weeks are a chance to try the group on for size: if it isn’t right, we move your child to another one without any renegotiation or unnecessary questions.

Level matters more than age: a teenage beginner will be perfectly comfortable with younger children at the same level, and a strong ten-year-old with older ones.

Yes — this is common and works really well. Mini-groups of two or three children who already know each other are excellent: the trust is already there, and rivalry between friends motivates them more than any prize. And the price per child is lower than for individual lessons.

The only condition is a similar playing level. If one child is much stronger, the coach will give the two of them different tasks within the same pair.

At any time — and back again, too. If you feel your child needs more personal attention (before a tournament, for example), they can take a few individual lessons and then return to the group. It’s never a final goodbye.

The coach can stay the same if you wish: continuity matters more to a child than the school’s internal categories.

More than 70 coaches: grandmasters, international masters, candidate masters and teachers with many years of experience working with children. Lessons for little ones aged 4–7 are taught by candidate masters specially trained to work with the very youngest.

Children with a FIDE rating of 1500 or higher are taught by international masters and grandmasters. These aren’t just “names on the website”: our titled coaches really do teach the lessons.

There are three levels: candidate masters of sport (who teach groups of beginners and little ones), international masters (strong juniors and groups for improving players) and international grandmasters (tournament players, the 90-minute format). Coaches are assigned according to group level, and this is flexible: a coach grows together with their students.

Beyond the chess title, we look at the ability to work with children: patience, clear speech and the knack of explaining the same thing in three different ways.

Yes — tell the administrator you’d like a specific coach (for example, one recommended by friends), and we’ll fit their schedule around yours. If they have no free slots, we’ll suggest coaches with the closest style.

During the trial lesson you’ll see whether there’s “chemistry” between your child and the coach. If it doesn’t click, just ask for someone else — that’s normal, and no one will take offence.

Any time, no explanation needed. Your child must feel comfortable — that’s the main condition for learning. Write to the administrator and we’ll move your child to another coach, keeping the same group and programme.

Experience shows that changing coaches once every couple of years can even be useful: children respond differently to different teaching styles, and a fresh perspective keeps things interesting.

Elina Danielyan is the school’s head coach, an international grandmaster (GM) and one of the best-known Armenian chess players. She really does work with the school: she teaches lessons and supervises the coaching staff. Her profile, with a link to Wikipedia, is on the home page, in the “Our teachers” section.

Besides her, the school has dozens of high-level coaches, and the right ones are chosen for each student’s level and language.

Yes — lessons are taught in six languages: Russian, Armenian, English, French, Spanish and German. The coach is matched to the language of the lesson, so your child won’t have to “guess from the tone of voice”.

Mixed options are possible too: part of the lesson in one language and part in another — some families ask for this specifically, to practise the language.

Six: Russian, Armenian, English, French, Spanish and German. This isn’t just a claim on translated web pages — lessons really are taught by coaches who work in that language.

The language is chosen at enrolment and specified for the group. Changing it later is no problem — see below.

Choose the language your child thinks in: for children from the diaspora, that’s often Armenian or English. There aren’t many chess terms, and your child will learn them in a couple of lessons, whatever the language.

If Russian is your child’s second language and you’d like to improve it, there’s a gentle option: a Russian-language group where, for the first few weeks, the coach repeats the key phrases in a language your child knows better. This is exactly how many children from the diaspora start speaking fluently.

Of course — that’s exactly why the school has been called an international Armenian school from the very start. There are many Armenian-language groups, the coaches are native speakers, and for families who want to preserve the language (the majority in the diaspora, from Glendale to Marseille) this is a matter of principle.

There are also separate Armenian language lessons as a subject — more about them below.

Yes — English is the school’s second most popular language after Russian. There are English-language groups for all ages, including the format for little ones aged 4–7. For families planning for their children to study abroad, it’s a way to combine chess with language practice.

On request, we’ll find a coach who is a native speaker or speaks English fluently.

Very simply: at enrolment, tell the administrator which language your child is comfortable in. A good guide is the language your child studies in at school or speaks at home: chess comes more easily in the language you think in.

If you’re torn between two, come to a trial lesson in one language and try the other next time. Two trial lessons in different groups are perfectly normal.

Yes, at any time: we move your child to a group in another language at the same level. No progress is lost — the chess programme is the same; only the language of communication changes.

Some families do this deliberately: they start in their native language and, after a year or two, switch to English for practice. We’re happy to support that.

For children of the Armenian diaspora who are growing up outside Armenia and need to preserve the language of their parents and grandparents. From Glendale and Los Angeles to Paris, Marseille, Beirut and Tehran, thousands of families want their children to speak, read and write Armenian, but their surroundings don’t make that possible.

Our lessons were created precisely for this: language through play, chess and culture, rather than a dull school curriculum.

Yes — groups are divided by level, from “I hear it at home but can’t read” to fluent reading. Complete beginners start with the alphabet: 39 letters that children master within a couple of months at a playful pace.

Adults can join too: parents who want to improve their own Armenian together with their child enjoy these family lessons.

These children are our core students. They understand everyday speech but can’t read or write — and most children in the diaspora are like this. The programme is built precisely for this situation: we turn their spoken knowledge into literacy without making them learn “from scratch” what they already know by ear.

After six months to a year, these children can usually read simple texts and write short sentences.

Yes — written exercises are part of the course: first letters and syllables, then words and sentences. Writing reinforces reading, and one doesn’t work without the other.

Homework is light, 10–15 minutes a day, and is checked personally by the teacher, not automatically.

We don’t replace school — we complement it for those living outside Armenia. The differences: small groups of up to 4–6 students, a pace that follows the child rather than the curriculum, and teaching through play and culture — songs, celebrations, chess terms in Armenian.

If your family is planning to move to Armenia, tell us, and we’ll adapt the programme to the requirements of local schools so that your child can settle in without difficulty.

Not only can you — it was designed that way from the start. Many children study chess in Armenian and take Armenian as a second subject: the language is reinforced from both sides. Schedules are coordinated to avoid clashes.

Some families, on the other hand, take the language first and chess later — that works too.

The price depends on the format (group, mini-group or individual), the lesson length and your country of residence. Group lessons for ages 4–7 in the “Armenia, Russia” zone start from 412 per lesson with an 8-lesson package; prices in the Europe and America zones are slightly higher. Individual lessons cost more, and mini-groups are in between.

Exact current prices for all formats are on the “Prices” page: they match the student’s personal account on the platform — no small print and no hidden extra charges.

Packages of 8 lessons (twice a week for a month) and of 12+ lessons (three or more times a week, with an extra 5% discount). Validity periods: a month, 3 months (−5%), half a year (−10%, the most popular), a year (−15%) and 2 years (−20%).

The longer the period, the lower the price per lesson. The discount for 3+ lessons a week is added on top of the discount for the period.

We accept cards issued by foreign banks — we have students from more than 30 countries, and payment is set up to suit yours. The administrator will send you a payment link once the plan has been agreed.

If your card doesn’t go through (this happens with some banks), message us on WhatsApp and we’ll find an alternative together. There’s always a solution.

Yes. Families from the USA, Canada, France, Germany, the UAE and other countries pay for lessons with their own cards, with no commission on our side. Payment takes one click via the link in an email or WhatsApp message.

The currency you are charged in depends on your card — your bank converts it at its own rate.

Two permanent ones, with no promotions and no “today only” offers: an extra 5% automatically for 3 or more lessons a week, and up to −20% when you pay for a longer period (3 months −5%, half a year −10%, a year −15%, 2 years −20%).

The discounts add up. Separate terms may be possible for a second child from the same family — ask the administrator.

A package, and noticeably so: it’s not that paying for single lessons is impossible — it’s just that packages of 8+ lessons give a lower price per lesson, and longer periods add a further discount of up to 20%. Over a year-long package, the real saving is substantial.

You can start small: try a month (8 lessons), make sure the format suits you, then take a longer period with a discount.

Yes — we refund unused lessons in a package. If you paid for 8 lessons and attended 3, you get a refund for the remaining 5, with no “cancellation penalties”.

Message the administrator on WhatsApp — they will process the request, and the money will be returned the same way you paid. How long it takes to arrive depends on your bank.

First of all, tell us: “doesn’t like it” often means “the coach wasn’t the right fit” or “the level was wrong”, and that can be solved by moving to another group. We’ll suggest an option before you decide to leave.

If you do decide to leave, the remaining lessons are either refunded (see the previous answer) or used up before you go — whichever suits your family better. We won’t try to hold on to you and we won’t be offended: if our school isn’t right for your child, keeping them here because of money would be wrong.

Yes, you can freeze a package: tell the administrator the dates, and the package will be extended by the length of the break. A two-week holiday, a summer at grandma’s, an illness — these are all normal situations, and no lessons are lost.

A longer freeze (a month or more) is possible too; just let us know in advance so the coach can plan the schedule.

No — as long as you’ve told us about an absence or a freeze. Lessons missed because of illness or for other good reasons are rescheduled. Only lessons that actually take place are deducted from your package.

The only case where lessons are lost is when a family disappears without any contact for the entire period — but even then, just write to us and we’ll sort it out in a reasonable, human way.

No notarised statements needed: message the administrator on WhatsApp about your decision and we’ll process the refund for unused lessons. The contract ends automatically — there are no “early termination fees” in it.

Parents usually notice the first changes after 1–2 months: the child starts thinking before moving, calculating variations and losing more calmly. Visible “chess” results — wins against other children in their group, first tournament points — come after 3–6 months of regular lessons.

Progress is fastest for children who do their homework: 15 minutes of puzzles a day can make it several times faster. It’s slower for those who only work “in lessons” — that’s fine too, just a different trajectory.

There are three simple signs: your child takes longer to think about a move (instead of grabbing a piece straight away), starts to anticipate the opponent’s reply (“if I go here, he’ll take it”) and asks to play a game at home of their own accord. That is what growth in thinking looks like — the very thing children come to chess for.

On the platform, progress also shows in the numbers: the rating in weekly tournaments and the percentage of puzzles solved by topic.

After a month: the rules, the first tactical motifs (double attack, pin) and the habit of thinking before making a move. After six months: playing full games while recording the moves, endgame basics and taking part in school tournaments. After a year: category level for many children, their own opening repertoire and confident play against unfamiliar opponents.

Alongside this come the “invisible” results: attention, memory, perseverance and the ability to lose and to analyse their mistakes.

Yes — small amounts, 10–15 minutes a day: puzzles on the platform that are checked automatically and, now and then, a practice game. The amount is chosen so that, together with schoolwork, it isn’t too much for the child.

Little ones get homework too, but it is very light: 2–3 puzzles or a game with a parent. What matters is regularity, not volume.

Yes — both automatically and personally by the coach. The platform shows what has been solved and what mistakes were made, and the coach goes over the typical ones in the next lesson. Your child is never left “alone with a puzzle book”.

If a child skips homework for two weeks running, the coach will write to the parent — not to complain, but to understand how to help.

A category is a level of sporting achievement officially recognised by the federation: third, second and first category, then candidate master. For a child it is a concrete goal (“reach the third category”) and outside confirmation of their progress; for schools and tournaments it is a benchmark of playing strength.

Categories are earned at official over-the-board tournaments: score the required number of points against your opponents and you get the category. We prepare children for the whole process, from choosing a tournament to submitting the entry.

Yes: the coach guides the child towards the category norm — building an opening repertoire and working on the endgame and tournament psychology — and the school advises which tournaments fit the calendar. Many of our students make their norms while still in the younger groups.

The school’s online tournaments are a training ground before official competitions: the same time control and the same discipline of recording the moves.

It’s the worldwide rating of the International Chess Federation (FIDE): a number that rises with wins over strong opponents and falls with losses. Unlike categories, the rating is a continuous scale: 1500, 2000, 2700 — playing strength in numbers.

A FIDE rating matters for anyone serious about tournament chess: players are seeded by it, and title norms depend on it.

There’s no age limit: a rating is awarded for games in FIDE-rated tournaments, and there have been seven-year-old rated players. In practice, children usually start at 7–10, when they can already play long games and record the moves.

For our students rated 1500 and above there is a separate format — lessons with international masters and grandmasters.

Yes, it’s one of the school’s specialisations: the programme by world and European champions includes category preparation, from the third category to candidate master norms and beyond. Training games with a time control, game analysis, tournament conditions — everything just as in official competitions.

Strong juniors train in the 60–90-minute format with masters — that is exactly the “category” stream.

Yes, weekly — online tournaments for the school’s students on our platform: various time controls, groups by level, a school rating. Participation is included in tuition; nothing extra to pay.

Once a month there are offline events and tournaments in Moscow: real boards, opponents across the table, prizes — children look forward to these meetings for months.

Not at all. Tournaments are for those who enjoy competing: many children start out “just to give it a try” and get hooked, but some prefer lessons only — and that is perfectly fine.

The coach will gently suggest taking part when they feel the child is ready, but the decision always rests with the child and the parents.

Yes: for official federation tournaments (category norms), for online tournaments on the major platforms and for international junior events. Preparation covers everything from choosing the tournament and studying its rules to analysing the games afterwards.

The school’s online tournaments are set up as a “rehearsal” for external ones: the same time control, the same recording of games, the same need to keep your nerves in check.

It’s a tournament on our platform: children gather online at a set time, play several games in a row with a time control, and the results go into the school rating. Refereeing is automatic: the platform keeps track of the time, the moves and the results.

It usually takes place at the weekend and lasts an hour to an hour and a half. Parents don’t need to set anything up — the child joins the tournament from their personal account.

No — weekly tournaments and online sessions are included in tuition. That’s a matter of principle: competitive practice must not be an “extra service”.

The only events you pay for are large external tournaments with entry fees — but those are run by federations, not by us.

Chess trains exactly the skills that school is built on: attention (holding a position in your head), memory (remembering where everything stands) and planning (thinking a move ahead — and school is full of tests and projects). What parents notice most often: the child is more attentive in class and makes fewer “careless” mistakes in their exercise books.

There is another effect too: chess teaches that a mistake is not a catastrophe but information. Children carry this over to their tests and approach them more calmly.

True — this is the best-documented effect of chess. A child who holds a position in mind and calculates variations for 40 minutes trains working memory and concentration the way few other children’s activities do.

The key point: the effect comes from regular lessons, not from a couple of classes — as with sport. After 2–3 months of regular study the difference is usually visible to parents and teachers alike.

Yes, and in a special way: the ability to sit still comes not from being told to “sit up straight” but from interest. When a child wants to finish calculating the variations and find the win, they sit and think on their own, without reminders. That is the most lasting kind of focus: it comes from within, not from outside.

The short formats (20–40 minutes) suit even active children: attention is trained gradually, like a muscle.

Often — yes, and surprisingly well. Chess gives energy a structure: not “sit still” but “think fast”. Many active children excel at rapid and blitz, where speed of reaction is exactly what’s needed.

We start with short lessons and watch the response. If the format clicks, activity becomes a strength, not a hindrance. In borderline cases we’ll consult our psychologist (parent webinars are free).

At a sensible pace, no: 2 lessons a week of 40–60 minutes plus 10–15 minutes of puzzles a day are comparable to one after-school club and still leave a schoolchild room for a proper childhood. Overload happens when a child has 4–5 activities piled on at once — then something has to go, and it doesn’t have to be chess.

Our lesson lengths are matched to age: little ones get 20–40 minutes, no more. If you notice your child getting tired, tell the coach and we’ll slow the programme down.

For a little one aged 4–6, it is advisable, at least for the first couple of lessons: help them get started and show them what to click. After that there is no need: the child gets used to working with the coach independently, and that is part of the benefit of the lessons.

Nobody minds if you listen in from the next room — but it is best not to step in during the lesson: the coach will build a rapport with the child on their own.

No. 90% of our parents don’t play themselves, and it doesn’t hold their children back. Helping at home isn’t about “explaining the knight” but about creating the right conditions: a quiet desk, a working tablet, the 15 minutes of puzzles done.

If you know the rules, wonderful: play a game with your child — for them it is the best practice there is. If not, simply show interest: “show me what you’ve learnt”. That is enough.

Three techniques that work. First, ask not “did you win?” but “what was the most interesting part?”: winning or losing isn’t the only thing that matters. Second, play with your child at home, even if you lose fair and square: beating Dad is a huge motivator. Third, celebrate progress: “remember, in the summer you didn’t know how the knight moves, and now you can checkmate”.

And most importantly, don’t turn chess into a chore. A child who is forced to play stops wanting to.

First, find out why: tired after school, no rapport with the coach, too hard or too easy, or chess simply “isn’t their thing”. The first three can be fixed: a different time, a different coach, a different group. A break of a week or two often revives interest as well.

If it still isn’t working after honest attempts, don’t force it: chess works best when it is voluntary. A child may come back on their own a year later, and we see such comebacks all the time.

The biggest mistake parents make is putting pressure on the child over results: “how could you lose?”, “you should be beating the little ones”. Losing is part of chess; every champion has lost hundreds of games. Praise not the win but the beauty of a move your child found and the courage to play.

The second mistake is overdoing it: 3 tournaments in a row, an hour of puzzles every day. A child should miss chess, at least a little.

Yes — every student has a personal account on our platform: schedule, lessons, homework, tournaments and payments in one place. Log in from any device, including the child’s tablet.

Platform use is included in tuition at no charge. Nothing to install: it runs in the browser.

The lesson schedule and lesson history, homework and how it was done (what was solved and with what result), your child’s tournament statistics, and payments and packages. In short, your child’s whole learning life on a few screens.

Your messages with the administrator and the coach are also shown separately: no need to hunt for them across three messaging apps.

Yes — lesson recordings are saved in the personal account: you can rewatch how the lesson went and what the coach explained. This is handy both for the child (to go over a technique again) and for the parent (to see how the child is doing in lessons).

Recordings are available only to your family and the coach — more on this in the “Child safety” section.

Yes, lesson recordings are kept in the personal account. If your child misses a lesson through illness, they can watch the recording and do the homework as if they had been there. Forgotten a technique? Just rewatch the 10 minutes you need.

The coach can mark moments worth rewatching: “watch minute 20, that’s the bit about the pin”.

In the personal account, in separate sections: the schedule of upcoming lessons, with the option to reschedule, and payments — your current package, the number of lessons remaining and the date of the next charge. Everything is transparent, with no more wondering how many are left.

If something doesn’t add up, a WhatsApp message to the administrator sorts it out in minutes.

The fastest way is WhatsApp at +374 99 553191 (there is a WhatsApp button in the bottom right-hand corner of the site and in the footer). Write in Russian, Armenian or English — an administrator will reply.

Email: info@araratchess.ru — for non-urgent questions and documents. For anything urgent, use WhatsApp only: that is what we see first.

Our main channel is WhatsApp: that is where we send lesson links, schedules and payment details. Telegram works too — it is listed in the site footer next to WhatsApp.

If you would rather talk, call us on +374 99 553191. But messaging is usually the quicker way to sort things out.

During working hours, within minutes — rarely more than an hour. Outside working hours, the next morning: our administrators are real people working in shifts, but nobody is on duty at night.

If it’s urgent — “it’s lesson time and nothing works” — there is a contact button on the platform, and the coach will also help right there in the lesson.

Message the administrator on WhatsApp — the right place for anything like “my child is ill”, “the internet is down” or “we can’t log in”. You can message the coach too, but the administrator will reschedule faster because they can see the whole schedule.

The sooner you write, the easier it is to move the lesson without losing it. Writing 10 minutes before the lesson is fine too.

Yes: +374 99 553191 — call us, or message us on WhatsApp at the same number. It’s an Armenian number, but calls and messages work from anywhere in the world.

If calling abroad is inconvenient, a WhatsApp message to the same number is free over the internet.

More than 30. The largest groups: Russia (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg), Armenia (Yerevan, Gyumri), the USA (Los Angeles, Glendale, Boston, New York), France (Paris, Marseille, Lyon), Germany (Berlin, Munich), Canada (Toronto, Montreal), plus Spain, the UAE, Israel, Georgia and Australia.

The online format erases borders: groups are assembled by language and level, not geography.

We cover all time zones: our coaches have morning, daytime, evening and “night” slots. Children from Los Angeles and Seattle (10–11 hours behind Moscow) have lessons in our evening, which is their morning, and children from Sydney in our morning, which is their afternoon. Tell us your city and we’ll find a time that suits your child, rather than “whatever works out”.

The only thing we ask is that your child comes to lessons fresh and alert: a lesson at 7 a.m. in your child’s local time is better than one at 11 p.m.

Yes — this is one of our traditional audiences: the Armenian diaspora of Los Angeles and Glendale is the largest outside Armenia, and many families want their children to learn in Armenian without leaving California. Separate groups for North America gather at times convenient for both coasts.

Payment by American and Canadian bank cards works without problems or commissions on our side.

Of course: France (Western Europe’s largest community), Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Cyprus and Greece. Lessons run in all six of the school’s languages, so children from Europe join “their” group — by language and time zone.

Europe has its own pricing zones; current prices are on the Prices page.

Yes: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem — and Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The time difference with Moscow is small, so groups are easy to find. Paying with local bank cards works as normal.

Lessons can be in any of the six languages: there are Russian, Armenian and English groups at convenient times.

Armenia is the school’s home: Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Abovyan, plus Tbilisi and Batumi next door. The “Armenia, Russia” zone has special prices — the most affordable of all zones. The school has a branch in Yerevan, and offline events run both in Moscow and in Armenia.

Children from Armenia often study in Armenian — there are enough groups for every level.

The student and the coach. A parent too, if they want to listen in — we’re all for it, especially at first. No unfamiliar adults attend lessons; “guests” and “observers” are not admitted without the family’s consent.

Group lessons are seen only by that group’s students and the coach.

Lessons are recorded — it’s a learning feature: the child can go over techniques again, and the family can see how the lessons are going. Only your family and the coach have access to the recordings. Recordings are never made public and are not passed on to third parties.

If you don’t want a particular lesson to be recorded, tell the administrator and we’ll switch recording off.

We keep only the minimum: the name, a parent’s contact details and learning statistics. Data is not and never will be sold or passed on to third parties — this is set out in our Privacy Policy (the link is in the site footer). The site runs on HTTPS.

Payments go through payment providers — the school neither sees nor stores card details.

Yes. The child’s camera is optional by default: the coach sees the board and hears the child’s voice, which is enough for teaching. If your child has lessons with the camera off, nobody will insist otherwise.

With the coach it’s the other way round: the coach is always visible, because parents value knowing who teaches their child.

Inside the platform, communication is study-only: group chats stay on topic (schedule, tournaments). The platform doesn’t offer private “child-to-child” chats — if children want to be friends, their families get in touch themselves, outside the school.

At tournaments and offline events children naturally communicate — under the coaches’ supervision.

First, check that the sound isn’t muted in the platform itself (the speaker icon) and that the device isn’t in silent mode. Second, check the headphones: the problem is often the audio switching between the speaker and the headset.

If that doesn’t help, message us on WhatsApp while the coach carries on in the platform chat. We’ll sort it out in minutes, and the lesson won’t be lost.

Don’t worry: the child’s camera isn’t required, and the lesson will go ahead without it. The coach needs to hear the child and see their moves on the board; video is a nice extra.

If you want to fix it, allowing camera access in the browser usually helps (the padlock in the address bar → permissions). Still not working? Write to us and we’ll help.

Check two things: whether it is the right link (the current lesson link is sent on WhatsApp before the lesson) and whether the login has expired (sometimes you need to log in again using the button in the email). Forgotten the password? Use password recovery or message the administrator, and we’ll send new login details.

Before the first lesson, the administrator always does a short test login with you, so that everything already works on the day of the lesson.

Refresh the page — 9 times out of 10 the board comes back in the same position: the game is stored on the server, not in the browser. If that doesn’t help, rejoin using the lesson link.

If the board has disappeared for everyone (this happens when the network fails), the coach will pause the game and continue once the connection is back. Games are not lost.

WhatsApp +374 99 553191 — this channel is also for “it’s lesson time and everything’s broken”. Describe the problem briefly and attach a screenshot if you have one. If the problem happens during a lesson, tell the coach right in the platform chat — they’ll suggest a workaround while we fix it.

Server failures are our responsibility: we compensate for lessons lost through our fault.

Yes — we have many such students, especially in the short 20–40 minute formats where activity changes every few minutes. Coaches know how to work with restless energy: structured tasks, short steps, positive reinforcement.

We are teachers, not doctors, and we don’t diagnose — but adapting a lesson pedagogically is something we can and do. In borderline cases we recommend talking to our psychologist (parent webinars are free).

In our experience, yes: chess gives many of these children a noticeable boost. The game structures their thinking, and talking to a coach one-to-one or in a small group gently trains speech. Lessons go at a pace that suits the child, with no pressure to “answer in full sentences”.

Please note: we are teachers, not speech therapists, and serious cases need specialists. Tell us about your child’s particular needs when you sign up, and we’ll find a coach experienced in such lessons.

Yes: the board on the platform can be zoomed in, the pieces are large and high-contrast, and parents themselves keep an eye on how close the child sits to the screen. Many visually impaired children play chess successfully — the board is well suited to children with poor eyesight.

If special settings are needed (a larger interface), just let us know and the coach will use a suitable zoom level.

Yes — the pace adapts to the child, and this is one of the advantages of small groups: the coach teaches at the group’s speed, and in individual lessons at the speed of one student. Nobody is “falling behind”: everyone has their own rhythm, and it is respected.

If a child needs more time for a puzzle, the coach will give it. Chess is not a sprint.

Yes, it is. The school funds free chess lessons for children from orphanages: our teachers work with them, and neither the orphanages nor the families pay anything. This is not a promotion or a one-off campaign — the programme has been running continuously since the school was founded.

We see it as our direct duty: chess gives a child something no one can take away — the ability to think and belief in themselves.

Orphanages and similar institutions — boarding schools and family placement centres. The institution submits the application: just write to us on WhatsApp or at info@araratchess.ru, and we’ll agree on the group, the time and the equipment.

There is no selection based on “academic performance” and no competition: if the children want to learn, they can.

Message us on WhatsApp at +374 99 553191 or email info@araratchess.ru: “we’re an orphanage and we’d like chess lessons”. The administrator will then agree the details with you: how many children, what ages, which language and what devices the children have. Lessons usually start within a couple of weeks.

If devices are a problem, write to us anyway: we’ll try to help with that too.

The programme runs in two countries — the “Free lessons for orphaned children” page describes it in detail. Geography is no barrier: if your orphanage is in another country, write to us and we’ll discuss whether it is technically possible.

The online format lets children study from anywhere: all they need is a tablet and the internet.

In essence, they aren’t: the same coaches, the same platform, the same curriculum created by champions. There is just one difference — payment: for the institutions and families in the programme, there is none. As a matter of principle, we don’t make a “cut-down” version for students who study for free.

The beginners’ course: 4 sections, 84 lessons, 10 weeks — rules, tactics, endgame basics and practice games.

The Ararat school has been running since 2015 — at first in person, and since 2020 online as well. In that time thousands of students from dozens of countries have studied with us, and the programmes are updated every year.

Ten years of experience matters: our methods have been tested on many generations of children, not just written on paper.

Registered address: Russia, Moscow Region, Zheleznodorozhny, Yubileynaya St. 24. That’s the school’s office and in-person base. But students and parents don’t need to visit: lessons are fully online, and all questions are dealt with on WhatsApp.

Offline events take place in Moscow and the other branch cities.

Yes, three cities on two continents: Moscow, Yerevan and Toronto. The branches hold in-person events — tournaments and get-togethers for students and their families. The main teaching, however, is online: that’s how we connect children worldwide with the best coaches.

Monthly offline sessions and tournaments in Moscow are free for the school’s students.

More than 70 professional coaches — grandmasters, international masters, candidate masters and experienced teachers. Students — thousands of registered learners from over 30 countries, with new courses added every year.

The exact numbers keep growing: the school publishes current statistics on its home page.

Yes: a contract for educational services is signed with the family, and payments are made officially. The company details and the legal entity, “Ararat Company”, are given in the site footer.

After the course, the school issues a certificate — more on that in the next question.

Yes — on finishing the course the student receives a school certificate naming the programme. For children it’s an important ritual: a document stating what they have learnt.

Sports achievements are recorded separately — categories and ratings through official federation tournaments.

Three things. First — the coach: a neighbourhood rarely has an international master, while an online school gathers 70+ coaches from around the world. Second — the schedule: not “Tuesday 5 p.m., 40 minutes away” but a convenient time from home. Third — a group by level: your child gets opponents of their own strength, not “whoever signed up in September”.

A local club wins on one thing — face-to-face play at a real board. Our monthly offline tournaments in Moscow cover that need.

An app is a practice tool: puzzles, bots, statistics. But an app lacks the main thing — a real person who looks at your child’s own games, goes through their mistakes and answers their questions. In chess, 80% of progress comes from analysing your own games, and that is the coach’s job.

We use technology (the platform, automatic puzzle checking) for the routine part, and a human for the part that needs a human.

A YouTube lesson is a lecture for millions, not teaching. It doesn’t care whether your child is watching or has gone off to get an apple, whether they understood or got lost. A coach notices: they stop, ask a question, explain it another way.

Besides, education is accountability: homework gets checked, progress is tracked, and a parent has someone to talk to.

Six languages of instruction (including Armenian, our native speciality), our own platform included in tuition, a programme by world and European champions, small groups of up to 5–7, and 70+ coaches. Plus the social mission: free education for orphanage children.

And the human side: real administrators on WhatsApp rather than a chatbot, rescheduling without red tape, and freezing a package without having to produce certificates.

Yes, and it is often a winning combination: the in-person club gives face-to-face play and friends from the neighbourhood, while our school provides the teaching method, game analysis and tournament practice. Strong juniors often develop in exactly this way.

Just keep an eye on the overall workload: 2 lessons with us plus a club is fine, but four activities a week is already too much for a schoolchild.