John is an excellent instructor. A complete beginner, after working with him I’ve turned a casual curiosity into a real hobby. I leave each session excited having learned something valuable and difficult to obtain otherwise (from books or online videos.) I highly recommend John.

I started working with John almost a year ago. I was completely new to chess and was interested in learning to play. John has done a great job teaching me the basics (and now some more advanced material) and has also gotten me really excited about the game. Lessons are a nice mix of tactics, broader strategy, and some chess history. It has been really wonderful taking lessons with John. Beyond providing great lessons, he is a really fun and enthusiastic person. It's hard not to be excited about chess when working with him. He is also a dedicated teacher and regularly follows up by email in between lessons, sending homework and lots of resources for outside work.

I have had the pleasure of being one of John's chess students for almost a year and half now, and I can confidently say I have improved leaps and bounds from where I started. While John always has an interactive and challenging lesson planned, I appreciate that the lesson is fluid and adaptable to my particular needs/interests that week, whether it be because I have questions about a specific tactical exercise or master game we are reviewing, or because I have experienced a particularly memorable success or failure in my chess-play that I would like to review. The lessons logically and effectively build upon themselves so that your basic skills are solidified and bolster you as you move on to more complex theories and exercises. As an adult, with a hectic job, I am immensely appreciative of John's flexibility when it comes to arranging lessons and his ability keep me challenged and developing into a more formidable chess player.

I first met John at an unrelated event, but he really got me interested in Chess, and it has become an activity that I really love and enjoy due to his instruction. John's lessons are engaging, substantive, and honestly fun, and he's helped me improve my game dramatically. John is a great guy and an excellent instructor, and I would encourage anyone with even a passing interest in Chess (no matter the skill level) to give him a try.