SUMMER CHESS CAMPS

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 PALS SUPER FUN Summer CHESS CAMP SCHEDULE!

PALS Summer Chess Camp June 8-12, 2026 at Central Christian

PALS Summer Chess Camp June 15-19, 2026 South Location TBD

PALS Summer Camp June 22-26, 2026 at Central Christian

PALS Summer Chess Camp July 6-10, 2026 at Central Christan

PALS Summer Chess Camp July 13-17, 2026 at The Hilton Garden Inn

PALS SUPER-FUN SUMMER CHESS CAMPS ARE UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE:

Various schedules to choose from
- Weeklong full day camp
- 3-day mini camps
- ½ day morning or afternoon weeklong camps
- And even, one day drop-in camp
Chess team relays
Blind-fold chess
Chess marksmanship battles
Timed, Tactical Chess Challenges
Exciting Chess Game Variants
And so much more!!!

PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION & CURRICULUM.

PROFESSIONAL
PREPARATION &
CURRICULUM.

All coaches are trained by National Masters and 16-time CO State Chess Champions, Griffin and Sullivan McConnell, co-authors of PALS Chess Academy’s unique and inventive summer camp curriculum. Students in three groups (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) will learn fun and creative lessons never before taught in PALS scholastic chess clubs!

ALL-STAR PALS COACHES

Head instructors include two National Masters and bonafide local stars, Griffin and Sullivan McConnell. Griffin is the top-ranked player on Team USA for People with Disabilities; his brother Sullivan the current Colorado State Chess Champion is ranked #2 among active Colorado players and tied the record as youngest CO State Chess Champion in history when he was just 12 years old.

SCHEDULE OPTIONS

Full day M-F 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Half-day Mornings M-F 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Half-days Afternoons M-F 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Three-day camps M-W 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Three-day camps T-Th 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Three-day camps W-F 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Morning recess 10:30 am to 10:45 am
Lunch break from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Afternoon recess 2:30 pm to 2:45 pm

WHY OUR CAMPS ARE THE BEST

PALS SUPER-FUN Summer Chess Camps are the gold standard for aspiring young chess players in Colorado. Highly motivated and enthusiastic PALS students have won Colorado Scholastic State Chess Championships every year since 2014, but most importantly, our chess camps are tons of FUN!! Here’s what your kids can look forward to:

Learning chess lessons from famous games in chess history, with entertaining move-by-move analysis and engaging team chess mazes, puzzles and relays that help reinforce the new material they’ve learned
Learning pattern-recognition, fundamental tactics, and step-by-step planning strategies in all phases of chess (opening, middlegame, endgame)
Learning chess notation to help them effectively analyze their own games and learn from their mistakes
Group and team challenges and presentations that enhance students’ teamwork and leadership skills
Special activities like bughouse (team chess), battleship chess, detective chess, piece mazes, chess stories and riddles, creative problem-solving, and much more!
Camps for children ages 5 to 17, with students assigned to groups based on age, level and chess ability.
Teacher-student ratio of 12:1 or better.