Killer Chess Training review: scores and evidence
A subscription giving access to daily live Zoom lessons by GMs (Aagaard, Shankland, Gelfand and others), weekly homework marked with personalised feedback, a forum and weekly Lichess tournaments. It neither imports nor analyses the player’s games, and has no puzzle bank of its own and no app.
Read on August 30, 2026 from the service’s public pages — every score cites the page read.
Overall score
2.2/ 10
Rank
80=/ 128
Languages
1
Listed price
€765/yr (annual price shown, killerchesstraining.com/shop); monthly €149/mo; paid 7-day trial €49
What the service is
Killer Chess Training is an online chess academy operated by iForMates LTD, a company based in Glasgow (United Kingdom) according to its privacy policy; its driving force is GM and author Jacob Aagaard, who writes the weekly homework himself. The product page for "The early 365 Chess Academy Courses" states that those courses date from 2020, when the academy was "then operating under the name 365 Chess Academy"; the oldest posts on the site date from December 2020, and the exact date of the rename is not documented. The service is built on daily live Zoom lessons taught by about fifteen trainers (Aagaard, Shankland, Gelfand, Castellanos, Arizmendi and others), with recordings; a homework club with two levels ("Friendly" below 2000, "Killer" above 2200) marked with individual feedback; a forum, simuls and weekly tournaments on Lichess; and themed online camps plus a yearly in-person camp in Spain. The business model is a subscription: €149 per month or €765 per year (shop), with a 7-day trial billed at €49; camps are sold separately (€148 for members, €297 otherwise), some being included in the yearly plan. The service neither imports nor analyses the player’s games, has no puzzle bank of its own (files go through ChessTempo), has no mobile app, and is available in English only.
Activity history
- 2026-0825 August 2026: announcement of the online camp "Capablanca: The Invention of Positional Play" with GM Renier Castellanos, 24 to 27 September 2026, €148 for members and €297 otherwise.
- 2026-069 June 2026: announcement of the online camp "Pawn Sacrifice for the Initiative" with GM Boris Gelfand, 25 to 28 June 2026, three 50-minute sessions a day at 5 PM UK time.
- 2026-0311 March 2026: last heat of the Club Championship, played on Lichess within the Killer Chess Training team, with results announced in the newsletter.
- 2025-1231 December 2025: start of the New Year’s camp with GM Jacob Aagaard (31 December 2025 to 4 January 2026), free for all members.
- 2025-098 September 2025: announcement of the 2026 in-person camp in Roquetas de Mar (Spain), 17 to 24 May 2026, with GMs Aagaard, Castellanos and Arizmendi.
- 2020-1231 December 2020: "New Year, New Plans" post announcing more than 50 scheduled hours of training for January 2021 and citing a 9.13/10 satisfaction score in the members' survey.
- 2020-1210 December 2020: announcement of the Christmas attacking camp with GM Jacob Aagaard (23 December 2020 to 3 January 2021), the oldest readable post on the site.
- 20202020: first courses (calculation, positional play, strategy) published while the academy was operating under the name 365 Chess Academy, now sold as a bundle.
The scores, evidence by evidence
Every score points to the page read and the fact found there. A fact documented nowhere is not credited: document it, then write to us.
APersonalized diagnosis
0.0A1 :0Importing your games (Chess.com, Lichess, PGN files)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no game import; "ChessTempo files only"
A2 :0Automatic engine analysis of every game
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no engine analysis
A3 :0Recurring mistakes identified across all your games
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — human feedback on homework; nothing aggregated on games
A4 :0Types of mistakes covered (tactics, strategy, endgame, time…)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no error typology
A5 :0Written explanation of each mistake
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no explanation per game error
A6 :0Stated verification of the diagnoses (procedure, rates)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — not applicable, no diagnosis
A7 :0Tracking each weakness over time
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no history
A8 :0Comparison with players of the same rating
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no comparison
BOpenings
2.8B1 :1Building a personal repertoire
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — prescribed opening courses
B2 :1Training the repertoire (drills, games)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — recordings for 14 days, passive review
B3 :0Spotting where you left your repertoire in your games
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no deviation detection
B4 :1Verification of the lines taught (engine, practice)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — GM authors, no engine check announced
B5 :0Opening explorer and statistics
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no explorer
B6 :2Explanation of opening plans and ideas
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — live lessons explaining plans; traps/model games not documented
CTargeted training
2.2C1 :0Exercises drawn from your own games
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no exercise drawn from the player’s games
C2 :1Bank of tactical exercises (size, themes, rating)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — homework of "12/18 puzzles" a week; ChessTempo is a third party
C3 :1Endgame training
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "Technical Rook Endgames" course (GM Shankland), not interactive
C4 :1Strategic and positional training
https://killerchesstraining.com/shop — "Positional Play" course (Aagaard) video/live; no classified positional exercises observed
C5 :0Training defense and alertness
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no defence module
C6 :0Training calculation and visualization
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no calculation programme observed
C7 :1Difficulty matched to your real level
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "Friendly (< 2000)" / "Killer (2200+)" bands
C8 :0Spaced repetition (named algorithm)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no spaced repetition
C9 :2Personalized training plan
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "daily hour long lessons" + weekly homework: same queue for everyone
DPrice and value
0.8D1 :0What the free plan actually lets you do
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no free offer; 7-day trial billed €49
D2 :0Annual price of the full plan
https://killerchesstraining.com/shop/ — "€765.00 / year" (> €150)
D3 :1Commercial transparency (price shown, trial, cancellation)
https://killerchesstraining.com/terms-of-use/ — "All payments are non-refundable"; automatic renewal (membership page)
D4 :0Number of paid tiers (how simple the offer is)
https://killerchesstraining.com/shop — €765/year subscription AND camps sold separately (€69-297)
EEvidence and transparency
5.0E1 :1Published evidence of effectiveness
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — testimonials, "9.27/10 satisfaction" without method
E2 :2Chess verification of the content (positions, lines)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — content taught live by GMs
E3 :1Transparency of the method (algorithms, code)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — general description of the lessons, no parameters
E4 :2Marketing claims that can be checked (no overselling)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "no quantified ELO promise"; factual hourly cost
FContent and method
6.7F1 :1Courses organized by rating level
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "courses on all phases of the game"; levels only for homework
F2 :3Course authors named and titled
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — 15 trainers named including GMs Aagaard, Shankland, Gelfand
F3 :2Content formats (text, video, interactive)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — video (Zoom + recordings) + homework to hand in
F4 :1Published method of progression
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no curriculum with milestones; advice by band
F5 :3How often the content is updated
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "Daily live classes", synced Google calendar
GPlaying and practice
0.8G1 :0Playing humans online (pool, anti-cheating)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — play on Lichess (third party)
G2 :0Realistic artificial opponents
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no artificial opponent
G3 :0Replaying one specific position against the machine
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no position practice
G4 :1Tournaments and organized competition
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — weekly Lichess tournaments + simuls
HExperience and accessibility
1.3H1 :1Platforms available (web, iOS, Android, desktop)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — web only, "no mobile app mentioned"
H2 :0User ratings and reviews (stores, press)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — "9.27/10" internal survey; no store rating and no third-party review
H3 :0Interface languages available
a single language observed — https://killerchesstraining.com/ — English only
H4 :0Accessibility (keyboard, screen reader)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no mention of accessibility
H5 :1Offline use and known incidents
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — Zoom/server; no incident reported
IPreparation and study
0.0I1 :0Preparing for a named opponent
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no opponent preparation
I2 :0Annotating and sharing games (studies)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — marked homework; no game annotation tool
I3 :0Entering a game played at a club (photo, scoresheet)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no game entry
I4 :0Searching your games (filters, position)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no search within one’s games
JHuman coaching and community
5.8J1 :3Access to human coaches
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — live GMs + weekly "personalised feedback" on homework
J2 :2Size and activity of the community
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — forum + weekly Lichess tournaments; member count not published
J3 :0Tools for trainers, clubs and schools
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no coach/club space
J4 :2Engagement mechanics (streaks, virtual currency, reminders)
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — no currency and no streaks; no nagging observed
KPersonal data and interoperability
2.2K1 :0Exporting your data (games, repertoire)
https://killerchesstraining.com/privacy-policy/ — GDPR portability on request; no product export
K2 :2Protection of personal data (GDPR, hosting)
https://killerchesstraining.com/privacy-policy/ — iForMates LTD (UK), GDPR, host RAIDBOXES (Germany); Facebook Pixel present
K3 :0Public API and source code
https://killerchesstraining.com/ — closed, no API
Also, outside the grid
Features found that no criterion measures. They do not count towards the score.
- Daily live Zoom lessons by GMs
- Weekly homework marked with personalised feedback
- Weekly Lichess tournaments
- Intensive camps (live and recorded)
- Lesson PGNs on ChessTempo
Sources consulted
- https://killerchesstraining.com/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/privacy-policy/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/shop/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/product/killer-chess-training-the-early-365-chess-academy-courses/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2026/08/25/new-camp-coming-up-in-september/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2026/06/09/new-online-camp-with-gm-boris-gelfand/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2026/03/11/last-heat-of-the-club-championship-this-sunday/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2025/12/31/new-years-camp-with-gm-jacob-aagaard-begins-today/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2025/09/08/join-us-for-our-2026-in-person-camp/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2020/12/31/new-year-new-plans-for-chess-training/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/2020/12/10/attacking-training-camp-with-gm-jacob-aagaard/
- https://killerchesstraining.com/shop
- https://killerchesstraining.com/terms-of-use/
Services with a similar profile
The three services whose category profile is closest — a distance over the eleven scores, computed, never chosen.