About Nemo Qiyu Zhou

Chess champion Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou has held the lofty titles of Woman Grandmaster, FIDE Master, and World Junior Champion–but still remembers falling in love with the game because she wanted to play with the friendly knight piece in a store window. As reigning Canadian national champion, she shares her passion and expertise for chess with aspiring champions around the world through her StarCourse sessions and summer camp series with Varsity Tutors.

Nemo's Daily Strategy Sessions

Chess champions see the board differently, and Nemo’s five-day strategy syllabus will show campers just how to do it. Each session is guided by an expert instructor and includes collaborative challenges and plenty of chances to practice Nemo’s favorite tournament tactics.

Day 1: Opening Moves
Review the rules of the game and then immerse in the strategy of the ever-important opening moves to strategically open your board. Then practice those new skills against new friends.

Day 2: Middlegame Main Points As Nemo says, the key to chess is to not blunder your pieces and to capitalize when your opponent blunders theirs. Today students will master Nemo’s three-step checks, captures, threats checklist and learn to see it from their opponent’s side, too.

Day 3: Middlegame Mastery Why wait for your opponent to make mistakes when you can force them to? Explore the strategic toolkit of pins, forks, skewers, and more as you learn to take control of the game.

Day 4: Checkmate Challenge Most chess matches end in a stalemate or draw, because even when you have the advantage it’s hard to force that final checkmate. Learn Nemo’s strategies for getting that checkmate when you’re up...and for avoiding it while you’re down.

Day 5:Tournament Challenge The best part about chess? It’s fun to play...so let’s play! Practice your new strategies in a friendly tournament that will crown the camp chessmaster, and ensure a fun day of competition for everyone.

Small Groups, Expert Instructors

Camp sessions feature small groups of 6-9 campers led by an expert instructor, ensuring maximum participation, guidance, and collaboration. Instructors are chosen after an extensive vetting process that includes teaching demonstrations, background checks, and interviews to ensure both subject mastery and teaching ability.

Nemo's AfterCamp Checkmate Challenges

When the day’s strategy session is over, the rest of the day shouldn’t be stale, mate! Curious campers can join Nemo in the Learning Lab for video lessons on chess tactics and trivia, and take on challenges to learn the game from new angles.

Nemo's Unplug Projects

The chess champion mindset extends far beyond the board. That’s why Nemo’s camp comes with hands-on projects and challenges that take place off the computer screen and chess board, letting campers express their creativity and flex their critical thinking muscles.

Nemo's Chess StarCourses

Nemo isn’t just an international champion chess player, she’s also an avid chess teacher. Campers will get exclusive access to her Varsity Tutors StarCourse sessions where she’ll share the wisdom she’s gained on the world’s most prestigious boards.