Pegasus Chess Academy

Pegasus Chess Academy is for hobbyists deepening their craft. I help busy adult chess players make fewer mistakes and win more games.

Why you should join: Get peer support, practical playbooks and live rooms inside Skool.

The one-liner

A freemium chess academy for busy adults, with free entry and paid openings, drills, and live game reviews.

What they actually sell

Pegasus Chess Academy, from Jonas van Dael, helps busy adult players make fewer mistakes and win more without memorising for hours. Free forever access includes a free chess course and community for sharing games and questions. Premium annual membership unlocks a complete opening system for White and Black, a training programme with extensive videos and exercises, and a weekly live group coaching call where Jonas reviews student games. VIP adds private coaching sessions each month on top of that stack. Members are guided to connect a chess account to track mistakes. No card is required for the free layer.

Who pays and why

Adult improvers who blunder, freeze on moves, and lack time for opening memorisation. They pay when free content is not enough and they want structured openings plus live eyes on their own games.

Where the members come from

Jonas's YouTube channel under Pegasus Chess is the clear front door, and the about page cites a large subscriber base and solid online ratings. The Skool is the training back end of that audience.

What's holding it back

A huge free layer can keep most members from upgrading if the free course already feels complete. Weekly group game reviews also bottleneck as the paying cohort grows.

Steal this

Offer a free forever course and community, then charge annually for openings, drill libraries, and weekly live reviews of member games.

Would this work in another niche?

Yes for other skill hobbies with rating systems, such as language learning or music practice clubs. Weak where there is no clear artefact like a game to review live.