International Master to Lead NSCF Summer Chess Camp at Hartsdale's Leffell School

“Chess Camp is honestly the best thing that kids can do in order to have this immersive experience that they can’t really get any other way,” said Matan Prilleltensky, executive director of the National Scholastic Chess Foundation (NSCF).

This summer, the NSCF is making that experience even better. The organization has announced that International Master Silas Esben Lund will serve as lead instructor for all six weeks of its summer chess camp, bringing elite-level coaching to young players from across Westchester County.

International Master is one of the highest titles awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), ranking just below Grandmaster. Lund earned the title in 2007 and also holds the FIDE Trainer credential, recognizing his expertise as a coach. Originally from Denmark, Lund now lives in Chappaqua and has taught and coached in the New York area since 2017, including at the Anderson School. He has also captained European and World Youth Championship teams for both Scotland and Denmark.

A prolific chess author, Lund has written seven books focused on endgame and middlegame strategy — the parts of the game he finds most exciting. He’s especially known for breaking down complex ideas in ways that are easy to understand and apply, a quality that should serve campers well at every level.

So what does a day at camp actually look like? Prilleltensky walked through it: mornings typically open with a short introduction to the day’s topic, followed by a lesson and related exercises — first worked through individually, then in small groups. Afternoons shift to tournament-style games among campers, and the day wraps up with analysis of those games and follow-up lessons built around whatever ideas come up.

That approach makes a real difference, according to Prilleltensky, because lessons drawn from the campers’ own games feel immediately relevant — often more so than studying games between grandmasters.

Camp runs all day, from roughly 8:30 or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for all six weeks. “These kids learn a ton of stuff,” Prilleltensky said. “There’s no experience the kids are going to have in their day-to-day life where they’re going to sit and analyze or solve problems, or even play online, for six straight hours. It’s just not going to happen anywhere else.”

He also emphasized that the material never repeats. “It doesn’t matter if you came last year or last week — every single thing you learn is always going to be fresh, and it’s always going to be things you can take away and use in your games,” he said.

The camp welcomes players of all levels, from total beginners to aspiring tournament competitors. The camp will run during the weeks of July 13, 20, 27, August 3, 10, and 17, at The Leffell School, 555 W. Hartsdale Ave., Hartsdale, NY. Families can learn more and register at nscfchess.org/summer-chess-programs/.