Jeffrey Ashton

17th Annual Summer Chess Camps 2026 Panda Chess Academy For 17 consecutive years, Panda Chess Academy has hosted its summer camps at the same Westpark location in Houston. A structured, serious, and enjoyable chess training experience for scholastic players. Location Panda Chess Academy 9900 Westpark #252 Houston, TX 77063 Camp Director National Master Jeffrey Ashton Owner & Founder, Panda Chess Academy All instruction is taught and organized by NM Jeffrey Ashton. 2026 Camp Dates July 6–10 – Intermediate to Advanced July 13–17 – Intermediate to Advanced July 20–24 – Beginner to Advanced July 27–31 – Beginner to Advanced Weeks 1 and 2 are designed for students with prior tournament experience or established intermediate strength. Daily Schedule Full Day 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM Full Day campers bring a nut-free lunch. Morning Session (Half Day) 9:00 AM...

Panda Chess Academy Closure Notice Dear Families, Due to expected winter weather conditions, Panda Chess Academy will be closed on Saturday, January 24, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM at our Westpark location (9900 Westpark Dr #252). Forecasts call for cold rain throughout the day, gusty winds, and temperatures dropping toward freezing by evening. Weather conditions are expected to change throughout the day, which can lead to unpredictable traffic and road conditions, making travel unsafe even during earlier class times. Some local organizations have already adjusted Saturday schedules out of caution, including the Houston Zoo (closed) , and area school districts that have canceled weekend activities, and we are choosing to prioritize the safety of our students and families. Make-Up Options A make-up class will be added to the end of the semester, or You may choose a credit toward future classes and other acti...

  I’ve been coaching chess for a while, and there’s one habit I’ve considered changing: when I give a student a good puzzle and they get stuck, I usually end up giving away the answer that same day. When I was younger, I told myself that someday, when I’m older and wiser, I would change this habit. Today, I decided to try being old and wise. While waiting for a child to be picked up from chess camp, I showed a student one of my favorite puzzles. He couldn’t solve it (no one can) and asked me for the answer. I printed the puzzle, added this caption, and put my name and the date on it: “This is the only time in your life seeing this puzzle for the first time.” Then I laminated it and gave it to the student. By the way, this is the first time I’ve laminated a chess puzzle and given it to a student. I’m not really into laminating, but I have a laminator and hundreds of laminating sheets… After the student left, out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT if the caption was okay. I kind of liked ...

I got a nice surprise yesterday—someone let me know that US Chess added a photo of me and my son, along with a short testimonial I wrote, to their official Mission and Vision page. It means a lot to me. That part of the website focuses on the values behind the game—what chess can teach us, and the kind of impact it can have beyond just wins and losses. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate those parts of the game more and more, especially as a parent and coach. If you’d like to take a look, here’s the link: https://new.uschess.org/mission-and-vision

Gemini did a deeper report, but I liked what ChatGPT has to say     https://chatgpt.com/share/684540b0-d78c-8001-8f79-990c88095ed6

As a tournament director, I'm required to do this once a year, and I wish organizations require chess coaches to do something like this.  https://new.uschess.org/safe-play-testimonials  

Out of curiosity, I asked Google Gemini Pro (Deep Research 2.5) to generate a biography of “chess player Jeffrey Ashton,” and I was pleasantly surprised by what it produced. The profile was thoughtful, well-written, and even brought up parts of my chess journey I had nearly forgotten. For example, I had no real memory of serving as president of the UTDallas chess team   What impressed me most was how the biography stayed grounded in facts while still presenting a genuinely positive view. It pulled from over 20 sources that were not written by me, along with two that were—this blog and a couple of ChessBase articles. Overall, it was a nice reminder of the path I’ve taken in the chess world. Here’s the biography!  https://chessprep.com/3YN2hCO

I sent a newsletter, and included a little story about an intense puzzle battle between my wife and brother-in-law. Below are the puzzles with answers. Here's the email. Answers are... Rh6 and Rc3.

We’ve had 810 tournaments at Panda Chess Academy at 9900 Westpark.  When we opened, as far as I know, we were the only brick and mortar “scholastic only” chess club in the U.S. or World (again, as far as I know, and I know an above average amount about chess stuff, but not all!).  This is a “fun fact” that I would be interested in proving wrong. I don’t like it when businesses exaggerate/lie, and having a reputation for being honest is important to me. Hosting 800 tournaments, coaching x amount of years, and being the first/only sounds nice, but I believe people care more about what a business/teacher is doing now, not what was done in the past.  I know there have been after school scholastic clubs, but I’ve never heard of a dedicated “sign a lease and buy your own furniture” brick and mortar scholastic chess club that only hosts tournaments and classes for K-12 and younger.  Please email me if I’m wrong so I can proudly admit that I’m wrong. 

 Hi! I’m now coaching at Mandarin Immersion Magnet School and Sri Meenakshi Temple. I also have my usual scholastic activity at Panda Chess Academy , as well as online classes in the evening. 

 

Hi everyone! Just wanted to update everyone.  My family is doing well. My kids are now age 5 and 1. We are going to be in Austin, TX tomorrow through Friday. We will be doing a lot of kayaking if the weather allows us. Panda Chess Academy has been open since February, and I've continued doing Zoom classes daily.  I will post some family photos soon! 

February 4, 2024 Moved in equipment. February 3, 2023 Got the keys.  January 31, 2023 Signed the lease.

 Welcome Juliet! 8 lbs, 22 inches. 

 This is my 5th article for ChessBase. ChessBase for Coaches: The Thornton Trap

I'm very happy about my fourth article: https://en.chessbase.com/post/chessbase-for-coaches-finding-novelties I have been a full time chess coach and organizer in Houston for 19 years, and I am very fortunate to write articles on top of that. 

  This is my third published article.  https://en.chessbase.com/post/chessbase-for-coaches-defending-with-black

 ChessBase published my second article - ChessBase for Coaches: Creating a Worksheet  

I'm happy to announce that ChessBase has published my first article.  ChessBase for Coaches: Showing a Plan 

Here is a list of articles and things related to my chess career.  https://linktr.ee/chesspanda Updates: - We are expecting another one :) - I've been super busy teaching chess - busier than I've ever been perhaps. But I love it!  - I hope to run in person stuff soon. I'm super thankful that I've been able to stay so busy during the pandemic.  - I have a new, I guess you would call it, hobby? Peloton. It's an indoor bicycle that I've used every day since last March. I'm not recommending it and I'm not a big fan. I am naturally bad at it PLUS I don't try. But I mention it for two reasons. 1) Other chess players who use it can add me and we can give each other virtual high fives! 2) They have a really encouraging daily streak motivational stat that works well for chess. I've used the bike every day, despite not loving it, despite not being good at it, etc., all because of this silly "days in a row" number. Imagine how a daily streak numbe...