Beginner Lessons - $25/hr
Beginner lessons start by examining the most basic building blocks of chess - starting with how the pieces move, continuing on to basic endgames and the values of pieces, and ending with basic tactical motifs and the fundamentals of opening strategy.
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Students who already have a strong grasp on these will transition to lessons centering on analysis of their games with a focus on helping them gain a better intuition for their pieces and pawn structure, start thinking more deeply about long term planning and also focus on developing their tactical vision. At this point lessons will also begin incorporating analysis of games of the great players of the past who faced similar issues as the student to aid in learning how to combat these problems.
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Suitable for students under 1100 USCF (about 1300 online).
Advanced Lessons - $50/hr
Advanced lessons will focus on an even more personalized lesson plan to help students continue growing after they mastered the basics.
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Prior to these lesson students will be asked to send games that they have played that week. Coach Lakshmi will then analyze these games prior to the lesson with an eye specifically geared to finding patterns of strengths and weaknesses in the student's play and attempt to understand the root cause of these issues whether they lie in holes in strategic understanding, practical decision making or psychological errors.
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From there Coach Lakshmi will form a personalized lesson plan for each student. Lessons may commonly involve examining model games of former champions to understand how to play structures and openings that commonly arise in the student's games, practical advice on building an opening repertoire, and analysis of intermediate and advanced endgames.
If a student hasn't had the time to play games before the lesson Coach Lakshmi will instead develop a similar lesson plan centered on helping the student learn how to handle types of positions that she has noticed they struggle with. Coach Lakshmi is also happy to adjust the lesson to answer any questions a student has before or during the lesson.
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Coach Lakshmi also has a wealth of experience from her own competitive career to help students work through the practical and psychological challenges that tournament-goers often face.​
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Scheduling Lessons
All lessons are available online or in person in Gainesville, Florida.​
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​If interested in lessons, please call or text +1(352) 871-3948 or email at banerjeelakshmi085@gmail.com.
Before beginning lessons, Coach Lakshmi often likes to have a (free) 30 minute phone call with the student (or their parent) to better gauge the student's skill level, discuss upcoming lessons and logistics, and answer any questions the student may have.