I am a retired Engineering Manager with Masters Degrees in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and Engineering Management with secondary majors in psychology and economics. I consider chess a great game for developing thinking and problem solving skills that can lead one to professions in science, engineering, and other for obvious reasons. It is not just a game.
I purchased all four DVDs and associated workbooks from the Chess House https://www.chesshouse.com/ since they were not available with the DVDs and the associated workbooks on Amazon or elsewhere. The Chess House had very reasonable prices with free shipping and handling.
My evaluation of Elliot’s Chess School - DVDs and Workbooks for the Pawn Knight, Bishop, and Rook Levels for Beginner and Intermediate Children and Adults is as follows:
Elliot is a fantastic Chess Teacher who keeps things simple, but not to simple. His levels should not be named after the Pawn, Knight, Bishop, and Rook, but instead be named Introduction Level, Advanced Level One, Advanced Level Two, and Advance Level Three. I say this because all four DVD courses are not individually devoted to the Pawn, Knight, Bishop, and Rook, but they all are progressive and cover the rules of the game, algebraic notation, fundamentals, tactics, and strategy as you move through each DVD and the associated Workbooks. All of the above tools will make one a very good Chess Player and ready for Tournament Level Competition. I find the advantage of the DVDs and Workbooks allows the student of chess to utilize the left and right side of their brain which is better left up to psychologists to explain if not understood.
Over the decades, I purchased about every book on chess worth buying, but find this new learning style to be more efficient and beneficial. Yes, I read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess as well as books written by Bruce Pandolfini and many other grandmasters and teachers going all the way back to the 1970s when I was in the Navy Military aboard ships and at sea most of the time. I did not have the opportunity or time for joining chess clubs or entering tournaments because of my job working for the US Navy as an Engineer that required travel all over the world. I did manage to purchase some nice chess boards in Italy though to play aboard ship on my off-duty hours and at home.
I recommend this program as five stars to children and adults who really want to learn the game of chess. Even experience players may learn something they did not know. I recommend watching the DVDs over and over again and use that rewind button if something is not understood or you lose train of thought, and bring them out again and again as a refresher over the years. I recommend using a pencil to write in the workbooks and have an eraser handy if you discover an error later on, or find an error made by the editor.
Lastly, I recommend Elliot to consider renaming the levels as noted above, because it may be restricting the number of folks considering a purchase.