Students working on chess problems The Cool Center offers the following: Chess Instruction     Learn chess from strong chess players     Individual and group lessons available for all skill levels Tournaments    Monthly Tournaments, Scholastic Tournaments, Inter-school and Inter-club tournaments Special Events    GM/IM simultaneous, Grand Prix Tournaments, Parents Vs. Children matches and more.. Instructors Our instructors are active USCF rated chess players. We train our instructors and coaches to work with children. They bring a very hands-on tournament oriented approach to learning chess. Success breeds Success. Our instructors will set a high bar for our students to achieve. Winning games and tournaments will help children get more motivated to excel in everything that they do. Children in our program will have numerous opportunities to strive for excellence! Founder and his Vision Pratap Chillakanti, the founder of the Cool Chess Center, was a top rated college player in India. He lead his University team to a fourth place finish at the National Inter-Varsity championships and he was undefeated through two cycles of championships. He has been a source of inspiration for his children to learn chess and strive for excellence. His twin boys, Mukund and Kartik Chillkanti have been rated in the top 100 list of the United Staes Chess Federation. Most recently, one of his boys has won the official Calchess State Scholastic Championship in K-6 division, while his other son placed third. Pratap's vision is to create a chess center and a program that enables students to Excel. "Play to Win" is his philosophy. This is the foundation on which the Chess Center and its Educational programs will be built up on. Chess & Education for Life In many countries, such as Russia, Israel, China, and Italy, chess is an integral component of the scholastic curriculum. Studies have shown  that Chess can help develop critical thinking that can be applied in other aspects of child's life including academics and social situations. It has also been observed that chess improved children's test scores as well.  Many educators list the following benefits of playing chess: Develops decision making, critical and logical thinking, evaluation of scenarios, planning, problem solving, and perseverance skills. Improves concentration, memory, and self-control Promotes creativity and independence Inspires self-motivation, self-esteem and self confidence Promotes sportsmanship Promotes socialization skills across generations as well as different cultures