If you live in St. John’s, Canada, and your child or you want to become stronger at chess, this article will help a lot. Chess is not just a game of moving pieces—it teaches focus, patience, planning, and thinking ahead. But to grow in chess, good teaching is needed.
There are many ways to learn chess here—some people go to a local club or academy, some take private lessons, others try to learn from books and videos. But there is one way that often works best: structured online chess training with good teachers. When it is done right, online training gives you a clear path, regular lessons, feedback, and coaches who care.
In this article, I will show you why online chess training is often the smarter choice in a place like St. John’s. Then I will show you the best chess tutors and chess classes in the city. First, I’ll put Debsie at number one, because Debsie is built to help you not just play better, but also grow as a person. Then I’ll also list some other good academies, so you can see comparisons—what each does, what they lack, and why Debsie stands out.
Online Chess Training
Online chess training means learning chess over the internet. You sit at a computer, tablet, or phone. Your coach might teach you live over video, or send videos, puzzles, homework. You can also play online, analyze your games, watch others play, get feedback.
Landscape of Chess Training in St. John’s and Why Online Chess Training is the Right Choice
St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, has chess clubs, some coaches, some classes in community centres, some school clubs. For example, NL Chess lists several coaches in St. John’s who teach both in person and online.
There are also beginner’s classes in local community centres (for example, “Leisure ‑ Chess” classes at H.G.R. Mews Community Centre) for adults.
But these offline or local options have limits. Sometimes good coaches are busy. Sometimes classes are fixed, with times you can’t attend. Sometimes the content is not well organized for long‑term growth. Sometimes feedback is weak. Sometimes it costs more per hour because you also factor in travel or setup costs.
Online chess training solves many of these issues. It gives more flexibility in time. You can choose times that work for you. You have more choices of coaches — not only local, but from elsewhere. You get access to many resources online: videos, puzzles, games, interactive tools.
You can practice, then show your games to your coach, get feedback, review mistakes. Online tools let you see your progress over time. For busy students, or people who live in places where travel is hard (especially in Newfoundland where distances and weather can make travel tough), online training is very useful.
Also online training often has a clearer curriculum. There is a path: start with basics, then tactics, openings, middlegame, endgame, then tournament prep. If well done, the curriculum builds one skill at a time.
Many offline classes don’t follow a strict curriculum; they may jump from thing to thing, or teach by what people ask, but not plan ahead. That can leave gaps.
How Debsie is The Best Choice When It Comes to Chess Training in St. John’s
Debsie was built for students who want to grow in chess, and also grow life skills — focus, patience, planning, problem solving. Debsie does many things better than many local classes. I will explain how:
First, Debsie has a structured curriculum. You begin with chess basics: how pieces move, basic rules, notation, simple tactics. Then you move to slightly harder tactics, strategy (how to plan), opening principles, parts of middlegame, and endgame. Then tournament mindset, psychological side, analysis of your own games. Debsie makes sure you do not skip steps.
That builds a strong foundation. Many offline classes or some local coaches may teach mostly games or tactics, but skip deeper strategy or endgame or planning ahead. Debsie does all of those.
Second, Debsie gives personal feedback. When you play a game, you upload or send the game. The coach watches it, notes where you made mistakes, where you could improve, shows you alternate moves, ways to think. The coach works with you to correct habits. That is different from offline group classes where coach can only see maybe 10 students at once, so detailed feedback is less.
Third, Debsie is flexible in timing. If your schedule is busy (school, work, travel, weather), Debsie allows you to schedule lessons when you can. You do not need to travel. If snowstorm in St. John’s, you still can learn. If you are on holiday, you can still do your lesson. You access online materials anytime: puzzles, video lessons, analysis. So you have constant things to do, always able to practice.
Fourth, Debsie is affordable for what you get. Because online removes travel cost, overhead of physical class room, Debsie passes on savings. Also you can choose lesson frequencies. You might take weekly, or twice a week, or even more sparse but still get value via recorded materials and online tools. This gives options for many budgets.
Fifth, Debsie has coaches who are experienced, feel caring, care about you as person, not just your rating. They teach you not only how to win games, but how to think better, stay calm under pressure, handle losses, learn from mistakes.
Offline Chess Training
In St. John’s, some students still choose offline chess training. These are classes or lessons that happen in person. Maybe in a school, a chess club, a community center, or at someone’s home. A teacher stands in front of the group or sits with one student.
They talk, show ideas on a board, watch games, explain, and correct mistakes. This is how many people used to learn chess for many years.
Some people like this way. They enjoy the face-to-face feel. You can shake hands before a game. You see others around you. For some kids, this helps them focus. Parents also like knowing their child is sitting in a real place, with real people.
In St. John’s, you can find a few such places. There’s a local chess club where tournaments are held. Sometimes there are group sessions there, with a local coach.
Also, sometimes coaches offer home visits or invite students over. And as mentioned before, a few adult beginner classes are offered at city-run community centers.
Drawbacks of Offline Chess Training
First, it is not always consistent. Some classes happen only once a week. Some stop during holidays or weather closures. In places like St. John’s, weather can be a big problem. A snowy evening or storm may mean the class is canceled. That breaks learning momentum. With online training, this problem goes away.
Fourth, feedback is less personal. In a group class, maybe 8–10 kids play at once. The coach walks around, but may not watch your whole game. After class, you may forget what you learned. If you’re shy, you may not ask questions. You may also not get homework.
It becomes more like a club hangout than serious growth. Debsie solves this by giving every student personal help. Your game is saved, reviewed. You see what went wrong, what was good, and how to grow.
Fifth, many offline classes do not use good tools. There may be one board. You might not be able to save your games or look back. If you miss class, you miss everything. There’s no recording. Debsie has recordings, notes, games, homework. If you miss a class, you can catch up.
Sixth, offline learning can sometimes be expensive. Some coaches charge a lot per hour. Or group classes may be cheap, but offer little personal help. That means less value for your money. With Debsie, you pay a clear price, and you know what you get: one-on-one coaching, detailed feedback, smart curriculum, friendly teachers, tools to practice, flexible timing.
Finally, offline training is limited by geography. You only get coaches who live near you. If there’s no strong coach in your area, your options are weak. Online removes that limit. With Debsie, you can learn from FIDE-certified coaches from around the world, with experience teaching kids and adults of all levels. You’re no longer limited by your location.
Best Chess Academies in St. John’s
In this part, I talk about several good chess tutors / academies / clubs around St. John’s. I show their strengths, but also where they don’t do quite as much. Then you’ll see why Debsie is better in many ways.
1. Debsie
Debsie is built for people who want real growth, not just playing a few games. If you pick Debsie, you get a path that makes sense, tailored coaching, tools, and life skills built in. I want to describe what Debsie gives you in St. John’s, and how it works day‑to‑day.
When you join Debsie, your first step is assessment. The coach sees what you already know. Maybe you know how the pieces move. Maybe you already have played some games. Maybe you know some tactics. Debsie finds your level.
Then the coach makes a plan just for you. That plan shows what you will learn, in what order, how many lessons, what puzzles, what games to analyze. This plan is not one‑size‑fits‑all; it adapts to your learning speed and your schedule.
Lessons are done live online, one‑on‑one or small group (if you prefer), where the coach watches your games, points out mistakes, teaches you new ideas. Between live lessons, you get homework: puzzles, opening drills, endgame practice, analysis of your own games. Tools are used: digital boards, move annotation, video replays.
If you make the same mistake more than once, coach tracks that and gives you extra help. You will also have recordings or notes you can revisit.
You can choose frequency. If you want to meet twice a week, fine. Once a week, fine. More or less. Debsie works with your school timings, your other activities. You don’t need to travel, especially useful in St. John’s when weather or snow or distance is hard.
2. Local Coaches via NL Chess / Local Tutors
In St. John’s there are several local coaches listed via NL Chess. Coaches like Michael Vanin, Raj Sancheti, Kavindu Deraniyagala, Brandon Fudge, Vimal Simha.
These coaches have good strengths. They are in‑person or hybrid (both in person and online). They often know local players, understand the tournament scene in Newfoundland and Labrador, and can do face‑to‑face training when needed. That helps with motivation, peer competition, being in local events.
However, local tutors often cannot offer as many hours as Debsie can, or they may not have a full curriculum built over years. Their schedule may be busy. Sometimes feedback is less formal. Some may not have all the digital tools. Also, travel and weather affect meeting in person. Cost per hour may be higher.
3. Superprof Tutors
Superprof is a platform where private tutors (chess among them) offer lessons. There are chess tutors in St. John’s via Superprof. For instance, there are tutors who charge something like CAD $15/hour, online lessons, FIDE rated players, who can teach from beginner level up.
These tutors give you a lot of choice. You may pick someone whose schedule fits, whose style appeals to you. Because it’s private‑tutor style, you can get personalized lessons.
But with Superprof, you often need to manage finding the right tutor, checking reviews, making sure they have the experience to teach the parts you want (openings, endgame, tournament prep).
4. NL Chess / Newfoundland & Labrador School Chess Association (NLSCA) Clubs & Programs
NL Chess is active in St. John’s. It offers clubs, events, school chess programs (after‑school or lunchtimes).
These are great for community, for meeting other players, for fun, for exposure to tournament play. If you like playing with peers, getting experience, maybe trying a few events, clubs are very good. But often they are less structured than a dedicated coach or academy. They may meet weekly or bi‑weekly.
The coach to student ratio may be large. Less time per individual. Less homework and follow up. Also offline clubs can get canceled for weather. Sometimes meetings conflict with school or other activities. For serious growth, you will need more than club participation.
5. Chess Academy of Canada and Larger National Programs
There are big programs like Chess Academy of Canada. It offers high quality instruction. Founded by Roman Pelts, has a strong reputation.
Such academies have advantages: well‑tested training methods, good materials, maybe camps, maybe peer competition from many areas, sometimes coaches with high titles. If you live in or near big cities, or can attend online parts, you may benefit from them.
They may not know the local tournament scene or the weather/travel difficulties. Also, cost may be higher. And personal attention, especially for beginners, may suffer if many students are grouped together.
Why Online Chess Training is The Future
Using what we have seen, I want to show why online chess training is not just convenient now, but what more and more people will choose going forward. First, access. Online means distance doesn’t matter.
If you live in far part of St. John’s or in rural Newfoundland, you can get excellent coaches. You can pause, rewind lessons, review recordings. You can use tools like computer analysis, databases, puzzles, video lessons. All that helps you learn faster.
Second, personalized pace. Everyone learns at different speed. Online training allows your coach to slow down or speed up depending on what you need. If you understand openings fast, you move on.
If endgames are hard, you work more. Offline fixed schedule classes may force you to keep up or lag behind, or waste time repeating things you already know.
Third, flexibility. Weather, travel, time. In a place like Newfoundland, weather can disrupt travel. Snowstorms, icy roads, etc. If your class is online, you never miss. Also you can schedule at times that suit school, chores, sleep. Even weekends or evenings; even if coach is somewhere with another time zone.
Fourth, wide choice. Online training gives you access to coaches anywhere. Not only local ones, but from outside, from other provinces, or even other countries.
How Debsie leads the Online Chess Training Landscape
Debsie doesn’t just claim to be good online. Debsie leads. It does things many other programs don’t, it does things better, and it thinks about the student’s growth in chess and life together. I want to show you exactly how.
Debsie builds a full learning path. From first move to advanced planning. The path is broken into parts: tactics, strategy, opening principles, endgame, psychological readiness. Each part has tools, puzzles, practice games, analysis.
You know what you will learn in month one, month two, month three. Many other tutors or local classes focus just on tactics or openings, or on games, or teaching what student asks. Debsie is more complete.
Debsie uses strong feedback loops. After you play a game, your coach goes over it move by move. Marks mistakes, shows better alternatives, shows how to think ahead. Then gives you exercises to fix your weak spots.
Then in next lesson, checks if you improved. That cycle keeps you from repeating the same errors. That kind of feedback is rare in many offline group classes, or when lessons are occasional.
Debsie uses modern tools well. Many online chess tools exist. Some coaches know them, many don’t use them well. Debsie uses interactive boards, engines, puzzles, databases, lesson recordings.
Also encourages students to play online, to use analysis, to study master games. That widens exposure, gives you more material, more variety. More practice.
Conclusion
If you live in St. John’s or anywhere in Newfoundland and you’re looking for the best chess training for yourself or your child, you now know the landscape. There are some local coaches. There are a few clubs. There are tutors online and offline. But if your goal is real progress—measurable improvement, strong thinking, and long-term growth—Debsie is the clear winner.
Debsie is not just about chess. It’s about helping kids and adults become focused, patient, confident, and thoughtful. It’s about learning how to solve problems, how to plan ahead, how to stay calm when things go wrong. These are skills for life, not just for the chessboard.
You don’t need to travel. You don’t need to worry about weather. You don’t need to figure everything out yourself. With Debsie, you get world-class training, a personalized plan, friendly support, and tools that make learning fun and effective.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete beginner or already playing tournaments—Debsie meets you where you are and takes you to the next level.
Other academies may offer bits and pieces. Some are strong in tactics. Others focus on openings. Some have good local community. But very few offer what Debsie does: a full learning path, smart feedback, deep personal attention, and life-skill growth. That’s what sets Debsie apart.
Comparisons With Other Chess Schools: