In-Person & Online Chess Classes and Tournaments,
Trusted by World Champions!
Vancouver Chess School has guided over 5,000 juniors to success — including 3 World Champions, FIDE Masters, and countless national & provincial champions — through our proven 12-level program, expert coaching, and exciting tournaments. Starting at $100 CAD/month.
What are our superpowers?
Champions
Titles
Experience
Reviews
Our Stars & Stories
Echo Heming Fang — World Youth Bronze! 🥉🌍
Echo finished 3rd (tied for 2nd) in Girls U7 at the 2026 FIDE World Youth Championship in Spain with 8.5 / 11! ♟️✨ So proud of you, Echo! 👏
🎖️ Levy Rozman Receives the VCS Signature Medal of Honour
Levy Rozman, known as GothamChess, sends his best wishes to all Vancouver Chess School students and shares his hope to visit Vancouver one day.
Karson Lu 👑 Crowned U7 FIDE Rapid World School Champion 2024!
Huge congratulations to Karson Lu on his incredible victory at the U7 FIDE Rapid World School Championship 2024 in Callao, Lima, Peru! 🏆 A remarkable achievement that brings pride to Vancouver Chess School and inspiration to all our juniors.
Hikaru Nakamura’s Legendary Visit to VCS! ✨
During a special training session, Hikaru Nakamura surprised our Team BC and Sunday Chess Club students! He played blitz, signed autographs, posed for selfies, and was awarded the very first VCS Signature Gold Medal — now officially named the Hikaru Nakamura Medal 🥇. A truly unforgettable day for all our young players!
Elliot McCallum Wins Gold at the FIDE World School Championships 2023! 🥇
Huge congratulations to our Grade 1 Provincial Champion, Elliot McCallum, on his sensational victory in the U7 category at the FIDE World School Championships 2023 in Rhodes, Greece (April 13–23). A proud moment for Elliot, VCS, and the entire Canadian chess community!
Elliot McCallum Presents VCS Signature Medal to Super GM Wesley So 🌟
At the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship, 9-year-old Elliot McCallum proudly awarded the VCS Signature Medal to Super GM Wesley So, celebrating his brilliance, sportsmanship, and inspiration to young players worldwide. A powerful symbol of respect across generations — from a rising talent to a living legend. 🙌♟️
Zhu Chen, 9th Women's World Chess Champion, Supports VCS.
We are proud to have the long-time support of Zhu Chen, the 9th Women's World Chess Champion. Over the years, we've exchanged ideas, class materials, and curriculum with her, strengthening our mission to provide world-class chess education. In this video Zhu Chen wishes all the best to the students and parents of Vancouver Chess School in their chess journey.
Our 3 pillars of excellence
Proven 12-Level Curriculum
Our structured program ensures that every student - beginner to advanced - follows a clear path to mastery. Each level builds on the last, developing logic, tactics and strategic thinking.
World-Class student success
We've taught over 5,000 students, with multiple National & Regional Champions - and 3 World Champions and 3 FIDE Masters trained at our school. Your child joins a winning tradition.
Innovative Chess platform & Games
Our Chess heroes platform offers interactive lessons, challenges and rewards, on a state of the art custom-built platform, designed to engage and motivate young learners.
What parents are saying
Vancouver chess school offers the chess expertise and flexible class schedule both online and in person classes. My son enjoys her chess mates time very much and recommend to whom you may just start u...
Our kid really enjoyed the chess classes. The classes/activities are well structured and the coaches are patient....
Vanchess has been really helping my son to stay focused and helping him to build confidence. So far I am really happy with my son's progress and looking forward to participating in their future camps ...
My son joined Van Chess three years ago and now he is in grade 3. He has learned so much here and has grown from a beginner player to Bishop level already. He loved all his lessons and also playing ch...
Vancouver Chess School does a great job of sparking excitement for chess in kids. Their regular tournaments are very well organized, and they have gone the extra mile in making sure tournaments, even...
My Son started attending their online classes for the past 4 months. This has been an exciting and insightful experience learning the nuances of the game, strategies and new ways of approaching a pro...
Our older son got curious about chess earlier this year - in the middle of the pandemic - and so we were happy to learn that Vanchess offered all classes in virtual form. After some cautious initial a...
I feel that the Vancouver Chess School is a very educational place for chess. They have some of Canada's top players as coaches and I was taught by a few of them. I just think that this would be a gre...
An excellent place to learn chess! The teachers are all very professional and eager to teach their students new material. My son had a lot of fun learning at this school....
Vancouver Chess School is not just a chess school. It is a place where children foster many different skills such as decision making, adapting to a competitive environment, and an opportunity to give ...
My son has been learning chess in Vancouver Chess School since 2018. He also participated many tournaments organized by the school, off-line and on-line. VCS provides very high-quality and systematic ...
I can't express enough how much I appreciate Vancouver Chess School (VCS) for their incredible contributions to my son's chess journey. VCS stands out as the finest and most prestigious chess school i...
Vancouver Chess School has been a blessing to our family and to the Chess Community. The instruction has been top notch and we love the fact that the school regularly has chess competitions. The schoo...
My son just completed a chess camp at VCS and had a great experience. He was really pleased with the way the camp was run and noted how enthusiastic Gyan and the other instructors were in maximizing t...
It is the de facto place to go for chess class in Vancouver. My kid got into chess after in-school chess class from VanChess, and has been going to their group and private classes for years. They ha...
I love vanchess! It taught my brother endgame techniques that he never knew about and tactics. I appreciate vanchess for its effective teachings. It is very good!...
Thank you, VCS, for providing the training sessions, invitational, and practice tournaments for the long term support of Canadian Chess Challenge competition. My son had chess lessons with VCS in his ...
It’s really good, it helped me achieve so much in just a couple months!...
My daughter has been taking chess lessons with VCS for two years now. After trying out different activities, chess is the only one that she's enjoyed and kept going. The coaches are amazing and patien...
Vancouver Chess school is one of the best with great education, teachers are all kind and patient with big smile....
Explore our programs for every
young chess player
Group Lessons
Small groups led by experienced coaches. Kids progress through our 12-Level curriculum with games, fun homework, and teamwork.
Join a Group lesson
Private Lessons
One-on-one coaching tailored to your child's strengths. Get rapid progress and personalized attention at every step.
Book a Private lesson
Tournaments
From beginners to national contenders - our rated events help kids sharpen skills and boost confidence in a fun, supportive setting.
Join a TournamentStart your chess journey
in 4 easy steps
Take the test
Find your child's level with our free online assessment.
Register
Create your student account in our secure platform.
Try a lesson
Book a free trial class to get started.
Enjoy!
Watch your child grow in confidence
and skill.
Our Unique Chess Learning Methodology:
A Pathway to Mastery
At Chess Heroes Academy, we believe every child learns best when they're challenged and inspired. That's why we built a 12-level system tailored to their unique pace - whether they're just starting or already making brilliant moves.
Our level system
Beginner
Beginner
What chess teaches your child -
on and off the board
Find your child's level with our free online assessment.
Focus, memory & concentration
By remembering strategies and analyzing opponents, kids sharpen focus and build memory - essential for school success.
Academic performance
Studies show chess improves math, reading, logic, and critical thinking - all leading to stronger academic outcomes.
Confident decision - making
In chess, kids learn to assess risks and make choices under pressure - building judgment they'll use far beyond the board.
Where Play Builds Real Skills
it's a powerful learning tool.
Top performers
Celebrating the achievements of our rising stars - students who've stood out in recent tournaments and events.
Celebrating students achievements
Echo Fang has been promoted to Rook level.
Travis Bleackley has been promoted to Pre-Rook level.
Julien Pattison has been promoted to Pre-Knight level.
Curtis Leung has been promoted to Pre-Knight level.
JACK XU has been promoted to Bishop level.
Julien Pattison has been promoted to Advanced Beginner level.
William Lima has been promoted to Advanced Beginner level.
Lucas Hsieh has been promoted to Pre-Knight level.
Raymond Sui has been promoted to Rook level.
Niko Chen has been promoted to Pre-Rook level.
