The Modern Chess Academy is a long-term project designed to provide continuous, high-quality chess training each month. Members gain access to four core components: Strategy Wednesday, which focuses on deepening strategic understanding; Tactical Thursday, dedicated to improving calculation and dynamic play; Guided Practice, offering 15 new test positions weekly, complete with annotated solutions; and Opening Lab, a monthly theoretical session where opening questions are answered by experts. With new materials delivered every month, this structured program ensures ongoing improvement across all phases of the game.
August opens a brand-new six-month Opening Builder journey with GM Grigor Grigorov, this time building a complete French Defense repertoire for Black from the structures upward — the ideal moment to join from the very beginning. Alongside it, GM Papaioannou explores the typical endgames of the Caro-Kann, the opening whose reputation rests on what happens after the queens come off, while GM Swapnil Dhopade trains the two halves of every calculation: looking for options and visualisation. IM Baumegger's Guided Practice continues with the second set of positional elements — open files, passed pawns, and superior pawn structures in both the middlegame and the endgame.
This July, the Modern Chess Academy advances all four pillars: GM Papaioannou turns to the typical endgames of the French Defense, GM Dhopade trains strategic calculation and long variations, IM Baumegger opens a new Elements of Positional Play cycle in Guided Practice, and GM Grigorov completes the six-month Opening Builder with the final theoretical stage of the 1.Nf3 repertoire. Alongside them run Opening Radar with GM Cheparinov, deep analysis of members' own games in Inside Your Games, and the Mentorship Program — one connected, month-to-month training system rather than a collection of separate lessons. A single month of membership unlocks all of it, live and on demand.
The four pillars of the Academy continue in June, each advancing into its next stage. Strategy Wednesday addresses typical endgames in the London, Torre, and Trompowsky. Tactical Thursday trains calculation in defense and visualization, while Repertoire Builder enters the theoretical phase of the Opening Builder project.
May is endgame month at Modern Chess Academy. Three of four pillars converge on the same skill cluster — Sicilian endgames with GM Papaioannou, endgame calculation with GM Dhopade, and the fundamentals of calculation with IM Baumegger. Repertoire Builder advances into the English Opening.
April 2026 continues the structured development of Modern Chess Academy. The Opening Builder journey advances into dynamic King’s Indian and Grünfeld structures, strategic understanding deepens through one of the most important pawn structures in chess — the Maroczy Bind — while Tactical Thursday focuses on calculation under pressure. Guided Practice brings a new dimension with study-based training, sharpening pure calculation, imagination, and defensive skills.
March 2026 continues Modern Chess Academy structural expansion. Opening Builder advances, positional sacrifices deepen strategy, attacking calculation sharpens tactics, and Guided Practice tackles material imbalance. This month is about dynamic play — when initiative outweighs material, and structure, calculation, and courage become practical strength.
February 2026 is a milestone month for Modern Chess Academy. Alongside our training pillars, we introduce a new long-term project reshaping opening study: Repertoire Builder. This month is about foundations — structural understanding in the opening, clarity in the middlegame, resilience in defense, and pawn-play mastery — all within one coherent ecosystem.
January at Modern Chess Academy launches the new year with a deeply structured training month focused on planning, calculation, pawn play, and modern opening trends. Our complete educational ecosystem continues with Strategy Wednesday, Tactical Thursday, Guided Practice, Opening Radar, the Mentorship Program, and the interactive project Inside Your Games.
December at Modern Chess Academy brings a complete training cycle focused on strategic transitions, endgame calculation, and practical decision-making. With GM-led lectures, structured guided practice, and our interactive project Inside Your Games, this month offers a powerful blend of theory, practice, and personalized improvement.
November 2025 marks a special milestone: Modern Chess Academy celebrates its first anniversary! This month brings not only our proven training structure focused on endgame precision, tactical awareness, and defensive mastery—but also the launch of an exciting new interactive project that transforms your own games into powerful learning tools.