Gainesville Chess Training

04/18/2026

Celebrating a happy moment with Logan after the 2026 Florida Scholastic State Championship ♟️

Big smiles, new friendships, and a love for learning—that’s what chess is all about! At Gainesville Chess Training, kids have fun while building focus, confidence, and problem-solving skills.

Looking for a fun and meaningful summer activity for your child? Come join us!

Message us to learn more.

03/24/2026

Congratulations to Logan on earning 5th Place at the 2026 Florida Scholastic Chess Championship K-1 Section! ♟️

We’re proud to see the results of his dedication, discipline, and consistent training . Strong work, Logan—keep climbing!

06/05/2025

Congratulations to Logan for his 12th place at Supernationals K-1 U-500. Logan is one of our most improving Kindergarden player at Gainesville Chess Training. Logan is with USCF president and Gainesville resident Kevin Pryor.

06/04/2025

Congratulations to Logan for his 12th place at Supernationals K-1 U-500. Logan is one of our most improving Kindergarden player at Gainesville Chess Training. Logan is USCF president and Gainesville resident Kevin Pryor.

08/31/2024

NIC Podcast #35 - A riveting interview with the First Lady of Chess, Judit Polgar. With the Olympiad in Judit’s home city Budapest around the corner, it’s hard to think of a better guest!
https://www.newinchess.com/blog/post/nic-podcast-35-gm-judit-polgar

08/02/2024

I have warm memories of the individuals and organizations who helped me to win the CJA award.

Reading and writing were instilled in me by my mother. I am grateful to my wife for her unwavering patience while I read late at night. Yuko Ushida, my ESL teacher in Gainesville (1999- 2000), went above and beyond to assist me in preparing for the TOEFL, especially in grammar and reading comprenhension.

After assisting patients with liver cancer for hours, Roniel Cabrera from UF's Department of Medicine edited my writing. My writing became more precise, concise, and based on the facts at hand thanks to Dr. Cabrera's guidance. George Footnote, the editor of the FloridaChess magazine, for his work with the publication and insightful feedback on my articles.

Finally, I want to express my special gratitude to Remmelt Otten at New In Chess, Murray Chandler, Graham Burgess and Dr. John Nunn (Gambit Publications), Yury Markushin (The ChessWorld) and Johannes Fischer (Chessbase). These companies give me a constant stream of high-quality books and DVDs to review ahead of publication.

At the end the purpose of all efforts is to aid chess players in improving their game by utilizing the appropriate resources that fit their skill level and needs.

08/02/2024

Receiving the CJA award was an exciting experience, especially considering the strong competition.

Correspondence GM Jon Edwards.
International Master Kostya Kavutskiy from the St Louis Chess Club
Pete Tamburro Senior Editor American Chess Magazine
Ray Linville Editor at Chess.com and winner of multiple CJA awards

08/02/2024

Happy to win the 2024 Chess Journalist of America Award to Best Online Review. Re-Engineering the Chess Classics by Matthew Sadler and Steve Giddins

06/18/2024

Here is my bold prediction: Gukesh will become the youngest World Champion in history later this year, BUT he won't hold that record for too long.

05/19/2024

Thanks to the ACSCA, UF Professor Subhajyoti Bandyopadhyay and https://www.facebook.com/BoardwalkApartments and School Staff and Teacher for their support with the Chess Program at Lake Forest Elementary School. Only one person in the picture but the results are the effort of many individuals : ) Picture by Eytan Oren

02/19/2024

Book Review:

Mindful Chess: The Spiritual Journey of a Professional Chess Player
By GM Paul Van Der Sterren

GM Paul van Der Sterren is a former candidate for the World Chess Championship, and writer. Two books by van Der Sterren, Fundamental Chess Openings and Your First Chess Lessons, caught my attention because of their clarity and concise explanations. The new book Mindful Chess, The Spiritual Journey of a Professional Chess Player, is written by Van Der Sterren in a more flexible style than the previous books mentioned above. The stylistic charm of the two interwoven circular structures in Mindful Chess makes it more enjoyable to read. When you finish the book, the author’s chess journey and the role of mindfulness fits together.

The first circular structure was built during Van Der Sterren's journey from amateur to chess professional and back to amateur. The second structure starts with the introduction of the three characteristics of existence, which are Aniccia (impermanence), Dukkha (suffering), and Anatta (non-individual). After completing his career as a chess professional, the author describes his journey as a meditation teacher.

At the end of this journey, van Der Sterren realized that in his life events happen and encompassed aniccia. The changing nature of life (Aniccia) will burden (Dukhha) the individual resisting change. Fortunately, the suffering of the individual will be alleviated by Annatta or the grace of the non-existence of individuality.

The author successfully made the content of the book relatable to any chess player. The book also provides the reader with a reality check about what mindfulness can and cannot do for a chess player. This explanation about the chess improvements attributions to the practice of mindfulness is very important. Many chess players have an intuitive belief that mindfulness practice can improve their performance, but they may find themselves pleasantly disappointed.

Mindfulness offers much more to the chess player than just a tool for playing better. It can also be a way to self-discovery. Mindful Chess can provide chess players with valuable insights into non-performance-related issues that can be addressed through mindfulness practice. The reader will be delighted with the time they spend enjoying this well-written and potentially life-changing book.

Gainesville (FL) has talented chess players of all ages. Gainesville Chess Training helps scholastic and adult players to develop their chess potential.