Well guys, I went ahead and signed up for the International Chess School website. I'm doing well for myself these days, and have the money to burn.

I honestly have to say, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. I really think I've hit pay-dirt, for real. I have about 50 chess books, and this looks more promising than any of them. It really is arranged, as though it were a high level college course on advanced chess. Not simply arbitrary information from a book here or a book there, but a very solid, well structured ciriculum that seems to really take you through everyhing needed to be very strong. Very neat, and organized, and the explainations, and the actual "teaching" is better than I think I've seen in any book, save for maybe, and only maybe Silman's books.

Books seem to portray information, which you can absorb, but this site seems to actually present the material in a way that actually "teaches."

For years, I've dicked around with books and programs, and practice, opening training, and playing, and yeah, it helped. But ultimately, I've stayed the same for years. I'd read a few chapters in one book, put it down, a chapter or two in another, put it down, a few pages in another, bored, put it down, and so on. Simply a mixture of information from arbitrary, differing sources, resulting in what must have been a fractured, incomplete knowledge base. Useful knowledge base yes, enough to be between 1200-1600 or whatever I am, but incomplete.

But this site seems to really have everything I have ever heard of that is important for chess covered to a pretty advanced level, structured in good order, missing nothing fundamental or even reasonably advanced. The teaching and description is done in uncommon detail.

So I don't know, I think it's worth 25 bones a month, since I'd pay that for a chess book anyway. I'll keep you guys updated, but it does seem truly different, and pretty promising. The only thing it seems to lack a lot of content on is the endgame. It is primarily a site on middlegame, planning, thinking properly, and all the ways to properly evaluate a position based on everything important. I have several good endgame books anyway.

As far as you Crash, I'm not sure there are any online courses to get you from 2300-above. I'm not even sure how people get above that, other than being gifted, and training in real life with Grandmasters and playing seriously with high level people.

As far as my own program, yes, you are right, and I've done that in the past with limited success. You said it, really, filtering out all but the best. I am not certain what is the best. Don't get my wrong, I'll always read heavily through my 50 chess books I already have, but this site really seems to be a good supplement, with what seems like a proper structured program from IMs.