Skip to content
Est. 1.e4 — Royal Gambit Academy

Study chess
like the grand­masters.

A modern academy built on classical principles. Six courses, four palettes, three font systems — and one obsession: making you a player who finds the right move because they understand why it is right.

scroll · move ↓
12,400+ Active Members
18 GM & IM Coaches
1,800h Streamed Lessons
64 Countries Represented
§ I — The Method

Four pillars,
one complete player.

Every great player rests on four legs of a sturdy table. Wobble on one and the whole game tilts. Our curriculum trains all four — in sequence, then in combination — so improvement compounds instead of plateauing.

01 · Calculation

Tactics

See what is there.

Forks, pins, skewers, deflections, intermediate moves — the seven motifs that decide most games. Drilled until automatic.

02 · Positional

Strategy

Choose the right side of the board.

Pawn structures, weak squares, prophylaxis. The quiet judgment that separates club players from masters.

03 · Technique

Endings

Convert what you build.

Lucena, Philidor, opposite-coloured bishops, K+P races. Most amateur games are decided here — most amateurs do not study them.

04 · Pro Path

Mindset

Compete under pressure.

Time management, prep trees, recovery between rounds, the psychology of must-win and must-not-lose. The whole tournament, not the single game.

§ II — The Curriculum

Six courses.
One complete training arc.

View all courses
Chess Openings 101: Build a Rock-Solid Repertoire
Course

Chess Openings 101: Build a Rock-Solid Repertoire

A principles-first opening repertoire for white and black, built around the Italian, Ruy Lopez, Caro-Kann, and Slav.

Self-paced
Enroll
Mastering Strategy: Pawn in the Middlegame
Course

Mastering Strategy: Pawn in the Middlegame

Deep dive into the six pawn structures every club player must understand to play strong middlegames.

Self-paced
Enroll
Essential Endgames Every Player Must Know
Course

Essential Endgames Every Player Must Know

The core endgame positions every player must know cold, drilled until automatic.

Self-paced
Enroll
Tactical Patterns: Forks, Pins & Skewers
Course

Tactical Patterns: Forks, Pins & Skewers

Train the seven tactical motifs that decide most chess games until you spot them instantly.

Self-paced
Enroll
Mastery: Think Like a Grandmaster
Course

Mastery: Think Like a Grandmaster

Advanced positional thinking: prophylaxis, weak squares, piece trades, and grandmaster decision making.

Self-paced
Enroll
Tournament Prep: From Calm to Champion
Course

Tournament Prep: From Calm to Champion

Everything around the board: prep, time use, nutrition, mindset, and bouncing back between rounds.

Self-paced
Enroll
Each course = ~12 hours of video, board drills, and review games.
See full curriculum
§ III — The Training Arc

From first move to fluent player — in four phases.

01

Diagnose

A 30-minute assessment plus a 5-game review identifies the leaks in your game.

02

Drill

Targeted micro-modules — 15 minutes a day — fix the diagnosed weaknesses.

03

Apply

Themed practice tournaments and coached simuls put the new patterns under pressure.

04

Compete

Pre-event prep and post-event analysis turn lessons into rating points.

a · b · c · d · e · f · g · h
Bestseller — start here

Chess Openings 101

A complete white-and-black repertoire built on classical principles: control the centre, develop with purpose, castle early, connect your rooks. Italian Game, Ruy Lopez, Caro-Kann, Slav, plus a clean anti-everything system.

Plans, not memorized moves
Model GM games per line
Interactive position drills
Lifetime access + PGNs
Enroll Now 8 hours · Beginner-friendly · Lifetime access
§ IV — The Coaches

Trained by titled players
who actually still play.

Three Grandmasters and one International Master. Combined: nine national championships, two World Junior medals, and 41,000 hours of one-on-one coaching.

2587
Belgrade

GM Elena Voronova

Strategy · Endgames

“You learn the position, then you learn its plan, then you forget both and just play.”

2611
Lima

GM Tomás Reyes

Openings · Theory

“Memorize less. Understand the pawn break and the rest follows.”

2469
Seoul

IM Hannah Park

Tactics · Calculation

“Pattern recognition is silent fluency. Drills give you that fluency.”

2624
Riga

GM Aleksei Mikhailov

Tournament Prep

“A round in a Swiss is a chapter. The whole event is the book.”

§ V — From the Members

Words from those
who pushed their rating.

+312 rating

“Six months. Three courses. The endgame module alone changed how I think about every middlegame trade. I no longer fear simple positions.”

Marcus L. 1492 → 1804 USCF
Chicago, IL
+267 rating

“I came for the openings repertoire. I stayed for the way they teach pawn structures. The coaches actually answer your messages — at 11 PM, in detail.”

Priya S. 1655 → 1922 ECF
London, UK
+191 rating

“I made expert. From a guy who used to lose every won endgame. The drills are absurd in the best way — you don’t calculate, you just know.”

Diego A. 1801 → 1992 FIDE
Buenos Aires, AR
§ VI — Common Questions

Before you make your move.

01 Do I need to know algebraic notation?

No — the very first onboarding lesson teaches it in 10 minutes. By module two of any course you will be reading and writing notation comfortably.

02 What is the typical time commitment?

15–25 minutes a day for the structured drills, plus one longer session per week (60–90 minutes) for the analytical lessons. Tournament-prep students usually add a 2-hour weekend session.

03 Will my rating actually go up?

On average our active members gain 180–250 rating points in the first year. The number depends on starting rating and weekly hours, but the curriculum is designed to produce measurable gains, not vague “feeling stronger.”

04 Do you accept international students?

Yes — members in 64 countries. All sessions are recorded; live coaching covers four time-zone bands so you can almost always find a slot in your evening.

05 Can I cancel my membership any time?

Yes. Monthly plans cancel in one click. Annual plans cancel any time with a prorated refund for unused full months.

Your move.

Two-week trial. No credit card. Beginner to expert. Promotion or refund.