Charlotte Chess Center - Winter Elite Camp

Special Interests · Charlotte, NC · Ages 10–18

By Charlotte Chess Center

Schedule

About

The Charlotte Chess Center will organize a Winter Elite Camp, December 29, 2026 - January 2, 2027, just after the North American Junior Championship and Charlotte Winter Classic, held at different venues. This camp provides 25+ hours of the highest level of instruction available, including supervised training games, analysis, and classroom sessions daily. Many former Charlotte Elite campers have gone on to become GMs and IMs.

The 2026 Charlotte Winter Elite Camp instructors are GM Le Quang Liem (current World #18, peak ranking #14; 2731 FIDE / 2799 USCF; former World Blitz Champion and Asian Continental Champion; 9-time Chess Olympiad and 9-time World Cup participant; Webster University Head Chess Coach; FIDE Senior Trainer) and GM Jacob Aagaard (the world's leading chess author and trainer; trainer of Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann, Sam Shankland, Boris Gelfand and the Indian Women's Olympiad Team; former British and Scottish National Champion).

Eligibility: Due to the high level of chess and maturity required for this camp, there is a minimum student age of 10 years old and a minimum USCF/FIDE peak rating requirement of 1600. Please do not register if you do not meet both requirements. Adults rated 1600+ are welcome, with the understanding that camp enrollment will primarily be U18. Returning campers (previous Elite Camp or Winter Elite Camp attendees) are eligible to register. The average age of camp is expected to be ~12-13. Prospective students who do not quite meet the rating or age requirements should contact the center to join the waitlist. Groups are assigned based on age, rating, and experience.

Campers are strongly encouraged to couple the camp with the North American Junior Championship and Charlotte Winter Classic, held just prior to camp at a different venue.