High Performance Chess Course II - From Training to Competition
An advanced chess training program for young players with tournament experience. Across 7 sessions, GM Andrés Rodríguez, IM Mario Villanueva, and FM Nicolás López Azambuja cover technique, endgame play, psychological preparation, focus, and decision-making during the game.
- Dates
- Oct 30 – Dec 11, 2026
- Time
- Friday from 19:00 to 21:00Montevideo (GMT-3)
- Where
- Live over video call
- Group
- No limit on placesThere's room for everyone
- Language
- Spanish
What it's about
Youth High Performance II – From Training to Competition
Second Edition · 2026
How do you turn chess knowledge into better results during a competition?
The second edition of Youth High Performance is an advanced program designed for young chess players looking to take a major step forward in their competitive results.
Across seven sessions, we will combine technique, strategy, psychological preparation, and training tools, focusing heavily on the key decisions that make all the difference during a game.
The course will be led by three outstanding professionals:
GM Andrés Rodríguez: technique, converting advantages, and practical endgames.
IM Mario Villanueva: competitive preparation, analysis tools, and tournament strategy.
FM Nicolás López Azambuja: chess master and psychologist, specializing in the mental and emotional aspects of competition.
Syllabus
Class 1 – Converting the Advantage into a Win GM Andrés Rodríguez
We will learn how to turn positional advantages into concrete results. When to simplify, how to limit the opponent's counterplay, and what decisions help guide a favorable position to victory.
Class 2 – Attention and Concentration: Training Focus During the Game FM Nicolás López Azambuja
We will work on internal and external distractions, identifying threats, and building routines to improve concentration and reduce errors during competition.
Class 3 – Tools to Analyze and Train Better IM Mario Villanueva
A session dedicated to analyzing your own games, spotting critical moments, using chess engines properly, working with PGN files, and turning mistakes into learning opportunities.
Session 4 – Competition Lab Intermediate Practice
A training session with a clock, solving favorable and difficult positions, recording decisions, and reviewing afterwards to apply knowledge under conditions close to actual competition.
Class 5 – Adapting Strategy to Tournament Situation IM Mario Villanueva
How to make decisions based on the standings, when to take risks, how to approach games where you must win, and how to correctly evaluate a draw offer.
Class 6 – The Pressure of the Result: Playing Without Getting Trapped by Winning or Losing FM Nicolás López Azambuja
We will address internal and external expectations, the opponent's Elo rating, competitive pressure, and the importance of keeping attention on the quality of our decisions.
Class 7 – Endgame Transitions and Practical Endgames: When to Trade and How to Proceed GM Andrés Rodríguez
We will study the right time for piece trades, making pawn breaks, and transforming favorable positions into technically winning endgames, with a special focus on rook endgames and pawn endgames.
A Practice-Oriented Methodology
This second edition includes tools for students to actively participate in their learning process.
Practical challenge in each session: during the final minutes of each class, participants must solve a position, choose a move, or build a plan, then compare their decisions with the instructor.
Own-game analysis: each student must present three annotated games of their own. Instructors will provide feedback aimed at identifying strengths, spotting weaknesses, and proposing concrete training tasks.
Competition lab: a special session dedicated to training decision-making under practical game conditions.
Who is it for?
The program is aimed primarily at young chess players with tournament experience who want to improve their performance, develop greater autonomy in analysis, and strengthen their technical and psychological resources.
It is a recommended follow-up for those who took the first edition, but it is also open to new students wishing to join.
Format and Duration
7 sessions: 6 classes and 1 intermediate practice.
Duration: 2 hours per session (14 hours in total).
Format: 100% online.
Recorded classes available for later review.
Supplementary materials and practical activities.
Expected start date: Friday, October 30, 2026.
Schedule: Fridays from 19:00 to 21:00 (Montevideo / Buenos Aires).
Organized by: Mijail Tal Chess Club and Academia Tal.
Youth High Performance II: because knowing how to play well isn't enough; you also have to learn how to compete better.
Syllabus
- 1Converting the advantage into a win – GM Andrés Rodríguez
- 2Attention and concentration: training focus during the game – FM Nicolás López Azambuja
- 3Tools to analyze and train better – IM Mario Villanueva
- 4Competition lab (intermediate practice)
- 5Adapting strategy to tournament situation – IM Mario Villanueva
- 6The pressure of the result: playing without getting trapped by winning or losing – FM Nicolás López Azambuja
- 7Endgame transitions and practical endgames: when to trade and how to proceed – GM Andrés Rodríguez
Who it's for
- Aimed at young chess players with tournament experience looking to improve their performance, technique, concentration, and decision-making.
Who teaches it
GM Andrés Rodríguez Vila
GM Andrés Rodríguez Vila is the first and only Grandmaster in the history of Uruguayan chess. He started playing at 10, played his first World Youth Championship at 12, and at 18 became his country's first International Master. Known as one of the most creative players in South America, he qualified for the 2009 World Cup and represented Uruguay in several Olympiads. Alongside his playing career he specializes in chess teaching and improvement at every level, with a special focus on young talents and high performance. He teaches mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico, and has also given lectures and courses in Chile, Colombia and Spain. He has worked across the whole chess-education pyramid, from beginners to Olympic teams, and is known as a specialist in intensive high-performance courses and tournament preparation. He was general coordinator of high performance at the Ruy López school in Villa Martelli (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and has spent more than 20 years training players through lectures, intensive and regular courses and tournament preparation. Since 2010 he has recorded videos for several sites and platforms; he is co-founder and director of Ajedrez Latino and co-founder of Academia Míjail Tal, and in 2020 he was high-performance coordinator for Fenamac (Mexico). A pioneer of online coaching, he now trains top talents from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other countries. He has coached world champions and leading players such as WGM Deysi Cori, GM Jorge Cori, GM Alan Pichot, GM Diego Flores, GM Leandro Krysa, GM Robert Hungaski, GM Leonardo Tristán, GM Luis Supi and WGM Candela Francisco.
IM Mario Villanueva
IM Mario Villanueva is a prominent Argentine player and coach, with over two decades of competitive experience and an extensive background in training chess players. He is part of the high-performance coaching team of the Argentine Chess Federation and has worked with some of the country's top young talents. He is also a Physical Education Teacher, a background that complements his pedagogical and practical approach to training.
FM Nicolás López Azambuja
FM Nicolás López Azambuja is a FIDE Master, FIDE Trainer, psychologist, and sociologist from Uruguay. He has competed nationally and internationally since 2004, became the Uruguayan Champion in 2014, and represented Uruguay in the 2014 and 2018 Chess Olympiads. He also has extensive teaching experience, developing an approach that integrates chess training with the psychological and practical aspects of competition.