Chess Tutorial Programs are a great too for improving your chess. It can be done on your own time and most programs retail for under $200. Although I can't publicly endorse any specific tutorial, here are the features you may want in the program you decide on: Database of master games. This is important as you will have access to the most up-to-date lines in your opening repertoire. Chess Engine. Most people who buy tutorial programs have a chess-playing program already, but even if you do, another program makes an excellent sparring partner. A wide variety of positions in the tutorial itself. Remember that they say a master has 50,000 positions he is familiar with. The more you have in your tutotial (the more types) the closer you will be to that goal. A "Rate-My-Play" feature. This is usually an automatic part of any tutorial system. Let's you know where you stack up, so you can chart your progress. Remember to play human opponents between sections in the tutorial---that way you implement the new concepts you learn little by little, instead of trying to juggle too many new concepts at once. Good luck with your improvement!

I think Lenin said it best: Chess is the gymnasium of the mind. To most people chess is not an end in itself. If you wanted to keep in top physical shape, you might go and work out with weights or an exercise machine. That's what chess is----an exercise machine for the mind. It helps you stay in top mental shape. It also teaches foresight, patience, abstract reasoning, evaluation, and calculation. What more can you ask for in a "teaching tool" for kids? I believe that such a tool gives kids an incredible "head start" in life. You don't have to be World Champion for chess to help make a winner out of you.