Chess Dojo

What it is

A paid Discord-based training program run by GM Jesse Kraai, GM Kostya Kavutskiy, and IM David Pruess. Members follow a rating-graded training plan (tactics, classical games, analysis, endgames) and submit work for peer and coach feedback.

Review

Chess Dojo is closer to a graded training program than a social club. Membership buys access to a rating-banded curriculum (800-1200, 1200-1400, and so on up to 2200+) plus the Discord where members submit games, tactics work, and classical annotations for feedback.

The value sits in two places. First, the plan itself is opinionated and actually changes across rating bands — a 1400 is told to study different endgames than an 1800. Second, the review culture: graduating a cohort requires submitting annotated games and sparring classical time controls, not just racking up blitz on Chess.com. That feedback loop is what most self-taught improvers are missing.

Who it's not for: players who won't actually do the work. The Discord doesn't lecture people into submitting games. Lurkers pay $25/month for replays of YouTube streams they could watch for free.

For a serious adult improver between roughly 1200 and 2000 who can spend 3-6 hours a week studying, this is the strongest structured English-language community in chess. Players looking for a course library with a weekly cadence instead of a Discord culture should compare with ChessMood.