Hi, I’m Ivona Jezierska.

I’m a Women’s FIDE Master, teacher, two-time Olympic chess player and an active player for more than 30 years.

I started playing chess at age eleven in my small native town, Cieszyn, in southern Poland. By the age of fourteen, I was a professional competitor and was brought to Warsaw, the capital, to represent a prestigious Polish chess club, “Polonia Warszawa.”

In 1980, in my 20s, I took the big leap and immigrated to the United States. Here I became a member of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team.

I played in Greece and in Dubai in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and I was a top contender in several U.S. Women’s Chess Championships.

In the late 1990’s, I developed “Chess4SuccessLA,” a comprehensive chess-learning program that improves intellectual skills and self-esteem.

I’ve since been teaching chess to women and couples and in elementary schools in the Los Angeles area, both in person and online.

My warmth and natural rapport with my students makes learning and playing chess an experience that while challenging, is great fun. The classes stimulates the mind, as you learn strategic thinking, problem solving techniques and tactics that are as important in life as they are on the chessboard.