how to balance chess and school?

I have 2 different views on this topic;

i. You are planning to go pro in chess sometime in the near future. If this is the case, It won't matter if you get crappy grades in school because you don't need a degree to play chess.

ii. You do chess as a hobby put plan to get a real full-time job. In this case, you probably need to put aside your chess for a bit, until you're confident enough to get good grades.

I played more chess than ever before or ever since during my junior year of high school. My grades were fine, and I gained tons of points before hitting my first (and very frustrating) plateau. 

But I don't know if that's for everyone. What you need to do at least is plan which tournaments you're going to play in long ahead of time, you need to set aside a certain amount of time for chess a day (say a half hour or so and more on weekends) and then not allow yourself to do too much chess stuff if you're not in very good shape school-wise.

You started high school and you're taking AP courses? Seems like a bit of a hurry, but if you can handle it go for it.

I guess I'd recommend something like:

 - Do a few tactic puzzles a day

 - Look at 1 or 2 GM games a day

 - Then maybe once a week spend a few hours playing games (not bullet games)

And when you do this, ideally you're not just casually looking, you're spending a few minutes on the puzzle even if it's easy. If it's hard and you can't solve it you're spending time with the solution, exploring different lines to really see why the solution works. Same for the GM games, pause a few times and do some analysis on your own. Which side do you think is better, why, what are the general plans. When there's, you know, like an opportunity to trade into the endgame, pause, would you do that, and why.

This way you wont get any worse, but also you can do this with minimum time investment.

Really, school is much more important.

And if you're doing well in school and have extra time, then you can expand this of course, but don't sacrifice school for chess

Even if you are gifted on chess, education comes first and utmost. It gives you a lifetime achievements and is worth more money in the long run...a good education carries you a lot further than being a GM. I'm a college student and I play chess for fun.

For some reason most freshmen think that you get a never-ending pile of homework in high school, it takes 1-2 hours. You'll still have a few hours of free time during a weekday and you always have the weekend to study chess. I agree with James, it's just a hobby.

Wait 'til you get to college. You become a machine that turns coffee to essays.

You already know the main advice: school is your priority. In the event of a conflict between school and chess, you have to choose the former.

But the picture isn't all that bleak. One of my daughters, for example, took enough AP courses in high school to complete an entire year of college, and she still had time for training and competing on the school's cross country team, as well as normal teenage activities. Another example is a guy whose name I can't remember who was an honor student at Penn State while finding time to be an All-American offensive lineman in football and an accomplished pianist. So yes, you can excel in academics while pursuing other interests. Just make sure you have the priority straight.

As others have suggested, if nothing else do a bit of chess every day, even if it's just a few tactics puzzles. And if there's a chess club in your area (maybe your school has one?), by all means join it and play a game or two every week. 

Best of luck in school and in your chess pursuits.

dont, be really good at one thing.

School is much more important than chess. 

School is da wae, chess is also da wae. I am undecided

i have been doing college work for the last 10 years. if i could go back ten years and start over, i would do only chess. i would have actually been better off!

for most people, the non-chess option is better, but this isnt universal.

I was a gifted student and one of the top 3 chess players in my high school. It's possible if you have enough motivation.

besides, AP is a waste of time. Dual enrollment is where its at !

like me