Colorado chess school molds the next generation of players

On the afternoon of May 26, the library at Van Arsdale Elementary School in Arvada was filled with children calling out moves, discussing strategy and announcing checkmates as Summit School of Chess held its after-school program. Jesse Cohen, a national chess master, stood in the middle of the room, proudly watching his students apply his teachings during their games. 

“So many other people out there, they just do a nine-to-five, and the job is just a job,” said Cohen, a three-time Colorado state chess champion and five-time Wyoming state chess champion. “I literally get to hang out with kids, be a big kid, have fun, share my talents and make an impact on the future generations all at the same time. I love my job.”

Cohen explains that national interest in chess has increased in recent years, thanks in part to Netflix’s 2020 hit show “The Queen’s Gambit.” After the show’s release, sales of chess books increased 603%, according to the NPD Group. Cohen’s Summit School of Chess in Westminster has contributed to the game’s growing popularity by offering instructional after-school programs, private coaching, and chess camps.

“When ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ came out, it set a trend that pushed us higher than we had ever been,” Cohen said.

Suddenly, after being around since 2012, Summit saw new students and new schools interested in learning about the game and starting new chess programs. Though the show aired in 2020, he still sees a lot of interest in chess.

“When I look at how many students came to our club this year compared to last year and how many students came to camp this year compared to last year, you know, it is staying strong,” Cohen said. “It is staying steady.”

Chris Howard, father of Duncan and Maxwell Howard, ages 9 and 11, sought out the Summit School of Chess after watching “The Queen’s Gambit.”

“I had played chess as a kid, and I kind of took a pretty big break once I got to late high school,” Chris said. “I came back to it during COVID, after ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’
and when I was playing, my boys saw me play, and I started getting them into it from that. So after a little bit of time, once they knew how all the pieces moved and whatnot, I started taking them to Summit School of Chess tournaments.”

Soon, Duncan and Maxwell went from being interested in chess to being coached by Cohen. 

“I didn’t really have formal training when I was a kid, but I thought that it would be great if they could have had that,” Chris said. “So I was like, ‘This seems like a great time to start them down that path and be taught by a national master.’”

Instantly, his kids fell in love with the game. 

“I really just like how everybody in the world really knows or has at least heard of chess,” Maxwell said, “so you can at least have some conversation about chess.”

The idea proved fruitful when Chris’ kids, along with other Summit School of Chess students, won the 2026 K-5 team state championship. Despite an uphill battle with several losses along the way, their team ultimately prevailed.

“We won because of tiebreakers,” Maxwell said. “And one reason for that is because early on, our players challenged people much stronger than us.”

While facing adversity, the team remembered Cohen’s teachings. 

“At our school, we have chess club with him,” Maxwell said. “He motivates us to work harder and get better at it.”

While Maxwell does not envision chess becoming his career, he expects it to remain a part of his life for years to come.

“Probably as a side hobby,” he said. “I’m probably not going to invest in it completely, but I’m not going to just give up on it completely.”

Cohen founded Summit in 2012, after he got laid off from his job as an apprentice jeweler. 

“I didn’t know what to do, and my family said, ‘Well, you’re really into chess. Why don’t you try to make that work?’” he said. “So, without a job, and all the time in the world, I decided to send a bunch of communications and phone calls to a bunch of schools in the Denver metro area, and I ended up with four schools that were successful right away, and I just kind of built it up from there.”

Today, over 30 schools in Colorado have hired Summit’s after-school program, where many children are introduced to chess for the first time and learn its basic rules and strategies from one of the organization’s five coaches.

“I’m gonna make sure that I teach them chess, and I do it in ways that are easy to understand,” Cohen said. “But if there’s one thing that I’m gonna get right as well, I’m gonna make sure these kids have a good time.”

The purpose of these after-school chess programs is not necessarily to teach students how to play high-level chess but to help them learn all the other skills that come with learning a competitive game. 

“I really think that chess increases critical thinking,” Cohen said. “You really have to consider your own desires and thoughts and still really give good consideration to your opponent’s ideas and thoughts, and you’ve got to think forward. You’ve got to predict the future. There’s so many aspects of critical thinking that I find [chess] influences the way I think about the world and how I tackle issues.” 

Maxwell Gulan is a chess teacher for Summit’s after-school programs, and he believes that the most challenging aspect of teaching children chess is the frustration of defeat. 

“They’ll get really emotional, get upset when they lose, which is understandable, and in a way, it’s nice because they want to win and they’re passionate,” he said. “I think the biggest thing, in my opinion, is to show the kids that a loss doesn’t have to be a bad thing, because it means that you’re gonna learn something, and that really might be better than a win.” 

Besides private coaching and after-school programs, Summit also organizes chess summer camps for children. This summer, the camps will be held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds from June 15-19 and July 13-17. 

“We have a ton of dodgeball, soccer, football, physical challenges, you know, all sorts of stuff that don’t always necessarily improve your chess skills, but you’re having a really fun time while being surrounded by chess and people that care about you,” he said.

Maxwell says these are the most fun parts of camp. 

“We have little breaks in the day, and that really helps us have more fun,” he said. “And then, when we know more kids, we can play more, and it makes us more engaged.”

Ultimately, Cohen hopes that Summit is helping build the next generation of chess players in Colorado. 

“I like to believe that at least a nice handful of these kids are going to carry chess throughout the rest of their lives,” Cohen said. “And maybe in 10, 20 or 30 years, when I’m older, I’m going to see hopefully a bunch of these kids that I’ve watched grow up dominating the chess scene. They’re the ones, hopefully, running the events and spreading the word and helping it grow and prosper even more than I did. So I guess time will tell, but that is my hope.”