How to Choose the Best Chess Course for My Rating

Finding the best chess course can feel overwhelming. With so many platforms, instructors, and formats available, it’s hard to know where to begin. The right course should match your rating, align with your goals, provide structure, and guide you through practical training so you improve faster and more confidently. In this article, I will help you choose the best chess course that’s right for you.

Choose the Best Chess Course for Your Rating

The first step to finding the best chess course is to know your playing strength. If you’re new to chess or returning after a long break, take a few online games or puzzles on platforms like Chess.com or Lichess to find your approximate rating. While these ratings are not equivalent to FIDE ratings, they provide a practical benchmark for selecting the right training.

Alternatively, online ELO-estimation sites that test your tactical responses can also give a rating snapshot. Here is one such tool by chess-maniac.

A good rule of thumb:

Beginners (0–900): Start with basic principles and a coherent thinking system
Intermediate (1000–1500): Build strategy, calculation, and positional understanding
Advanced (1800+): Dive into openings, endgame mastery, and decision-making models

Clarifying your goals helps you choose wisely—do you want to improve quickly, become tournament-ready, master an opening, or just play better against your friends?

Choose a Chess Course with a Structured Curriculum

A strong chess course has a clear learning path.
Look for lessons that build progressively: fundamentals/concepts → practice positions → strategy.
A structured curriculum prevents random study and accelerates improvement.

Course formats vary and affect learning:

Video lessons teach visually
PGN files help you review
Practical tasks and exercises reinforce concepts and turn theory into skill

Choose the format that keeps you engaged and helps you apply what you learn. You should also match the course to your available time

If you study little each week, choose shorter lessons. If you have more time, look for deeper programs with regular drills. The best chess course is the one you will complete. Steady, structured effort matters more than jumping between resources.

Evaluate the Instructor Behind the Chess Course

The instructor’s teaching style matters.
A good instructor:

Explains ideas clearly
Shows practical examples
Gives actionable rules

Titles such as GM and IM can indicate high competitive skill, but playing strength alone does not guarantee effective teaching. Teaching requires a different skill set — communication, clarity, and the ability to simplify complex ideas so students can use them right away.

If sample lessons exist, watch them first to ensure the teaching resonates with you.

If you’d like a taste of my teaching approach, sign up for my Free Masterclass, where I introduce the core ideas behind our systems.

Free vs Paid Chess Courses

Free chess lessons are useful if you’re exploring casually or aren’t ready to make a commitment.
Paid courses, however, typically offer:

Proper progression
Practice tasks
Deeper explanations

Major platforms offering instructional material include:

Chess.com
Lichess
Internet Chess Club
Chess World

We’ve even collaborated with some of these platforms, and you’ll find several of their high-quality courses available in our shop.

Of course, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room: Chessable.
Chessable’s most popular courses are opening-based — covering everything from the Sicilian to the Ruy Lopez. While these can be useful for players looking to memorize specific lines, they often lack the complete thinking framework that helps you actually understand the game. That limitation is one of the reasons I started creating my own comprehensive chess courses.

That said, not everything on Chessable is purely theoretical. A few courses take an interesting direction, such as Secrets of Chess Geometry and The Woodpecker Method — though their teaching and training philosophy is quite different from ours.

Then there’s MasterClass, which offers a wide variety of courses on nearly every subject imaginable — including chess. Their chess lessons are taught by none other than Garry Kasparov himself.
If you’re interested, I’ve shared my full impressions here:
👉 Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass: An Honest Review

Free vs. Paid Chess Courses: Choose the Best Chess Course

Want a deeper comparison?
👉 Free vs Paid Chess Courses: Which Should You Choose?

Consider Price and Read Reviews Before Buying a Chess Course

Free courses help beginners explore, but paid programs usually offer better structure, depth, and instructor guidance. Focus on long-term value rather than the lowest price.

Reviews reveal if a course delivers real improvement.
Check what players at your level say about clarity, structure, and results.
Feedback helps you avoid weak or unfocused courses.

Check out the testimonials from our students here.

Why Many Players Choose RCA Courses

Before online courses, chess study relied heavily on books. Classic authors shaped generations of players — David Bronstein, Alexander Kotov, Mark Dvoretsky, John Nunn, Bruce Pandolfini, and Jeremy Silman.
Their works remain foundational, and several have been adapted for digital training, including on platforms like Chessable.

However, most modern online courses are hyper-focused on specific topics — for example, a single opening line in the Sicilian or Ruy Lopez. These can be helpful, but most amateur players (800–2000 ELO) struggle not because they lack opening knowledge, but because they lack a thinking system.That’s why I specialize in making chess easier for amateur players, especially those aiming to reach 2000 ELO.
I distilled 30 years of competitive experience and coaching into digestible principles that help you:

Understand positions immediately
Make strong decisions during the game
Improve consistently without memorizing theory

Instead of gathering scattered advice from videos and books, my courses provide organized frameworks — a shortcut many students find more effective. You can discover my most recommended programs here:
👉 Best Chess Courses by GM Igor Smirnov

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