Chess Club

“Give a child a toy and they will play for a day. Teach a child chess and they will play for a lifetime.”

We teach:

  • Fun! Enjoying the game and the social side of chess.
  • The basics: rules, the board, piece movements, check, checkmate and stalemate.
  • Tactics and Combinations: how to win pieces and checkmate!
  • Openings, Middle game and Endings: where your pieces go and when and why they go there.
  • Official tournament play: Get involved in the wider chess world through unrated USCF rated play.

What our students learn:

  • Respect: We go into every game with a winning attitude and come out with a winning attitude.
  • Leadership: motivating yourself, assisting others, and providing a positive role model; chess will teach leadership skills to last throughout life.
  • Evaluation: chess develops the skills needed to break down large. problems into manageable parts and to address each part in turn.
  • Values: chess teaches confidence, creativity, and patience.

Dates: Year round

Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Times: 6:00-7:30 PM
Cost: $30 per month
Class size: Limit of 20
Location: 3rd floor auditorium​
Instructor: Paul Mechem. Paul is a United States Chess Federation rated Expert. He has more than 25 years of chess experience teaching students of all ages. Having previously worked as a therapeutic youth counselor and foster care/adoption social worker in Illinois as well as with adults with disabilities in St. Louis, Paul now teaches chess professionally in Missouri and Illinois.

Pay HERE for September

Beginning in October, Chess Club will be paid via recurring payment. All recurring payments can be managed on your My Account page. You can switch to manual renewal there as well. If you choose this option, you’ll need to make sure to log back in and process your payment. We’ll no longer be invoicing for classes. This will free up our limited staff time to serve you better in other areas. If you have any difficulty, please call the office or contact us here

Register for October:

Chess Club Registration
I have read and agree to the Parent and Student Contract (linked under “Programming” on the website)
I have a current Leu family membership

*All participants must have an active Leu membership to participate in classes.  Family memberships cost $50 for the whole year! Individual memberships (age 15+) only cost $35 for the whole year!

**You may attend one free trial class without a Leu membership.