Program Information
Fall SuperNationals Over 1000 ASCF/USCF
Coach Joe Lafornara (Tempe Location)
Dear Parents,
We are thrilled to announce the Chess Emporium’s next installment of the Road to Nationals classes for our Tempe and Scottsdale locations.
These classes are designed for those students who are rated tournament players, and/or have been attending the PCC classes of at least Knight level or above, or done any of our past Supergroups offered by Coach Joe or other coaches.
Many of our previous students who have taken this class recently performed very well at the SuperNationals VII tournament that was held in Orlando, FL this past May.
Six such students from our Tempe location finished in the top 20 in the country in their respective sections and received medals for their performance with one of them becoming National Champion in the unrated section for blitz! While for our Scottsdale location, several others also finished top 20 with one student becoming National Champion in the K-3 under 800 section.
The Tempe class will once again be led by Coach Joe Lafornara (USCF: 1800). This class will be held once per week for 10 weeks on Thursday nights for 2 hours from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at our Tempe location starting Thursday, August 21st and ending Thursday, October 23rd.
The Topics that will be covered in this class are as follows: - Tactics and pattern recognition (will have occasional puzzle rush and FreeStyle chess variant contests for prizes)
- Pawn structures specifically discussing pawn majorities, and how to deal with doubled pawns
- Game review of students games on chess.com and ASCF games played in tourneys
- An Introduction to the Scotch Gambit and Goring Gambit openings
This class is to help students who are interested in playing in the K-6 Nationals tournament to be held in Baltimore, MD on May 1st-3rd, 2026, and/or the K-8 Nationals tournament to be held May 15th-17th, 2026 in Round Rock, TX. As well for those students interested in playing in the International Youth Chess Tournament in Las Vegas June 10th-14th, 2026.
If you have any questions about the class, or if you are unsure if your child is ready for this class, feel free to call Coach Joe at 480-865-2299. He can provide additional details and address any concerns you may have about the class. Join us as we prepare your child for an unforgettable journey in the world of chess.
Cost: $429.00 for new students (works out to only $21.50 per hour of instruction)!
Classes for Over 1000 ASCF/USCF students will take place Thursday nights for two hours from 5:30pm - 7:30pm on the following dates: 8/21/25 - 10/23/25.
Location:
Elliot and McClintock
1835 E Elliot Rd
Tempe, AZ 85284
Date:
Thursdays
August 21st - October 23rd
Time:
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Cost:
$429.00
Register: