“By teaching,
one learns”
When juniors come into a chess club, two reactions seem to be normal: either (a) ignore them, or (b) regard them as a
problem – preferably someone else's problem! Both these responses are misguided. To a great extent, juniors should
be treated just as (I hope) you would treat new adult members. The Membership Secretary or Club President
(anyway, someone) should introduce himself, welcome the newcomer, take down his or her name and address, explain
the basic workings of the club, and find someone against whom they can play chess ‑ that is usually what they come to
a chess club for, after all!
As soon as possible you need to gauge the new corner's strength and potential and find out what their ambitions are.
Are they just social players? Are they interested in getting on the team, even entering congresses? If their standard is
low, how keen are they to improve?
Ideally your club needs to have a membership official or junior organiser to co‑ordinate your club's recruitment and
retention of new members in the manner prescribed above; this does not mean, however, that this one person is
lumbered with all the work and responsibility. It should be clearly understood and accepted by all the club members
that they must all take their turn in welcoming them, playing against them, teaching novices, etc.
So far I have hardly even mentioned juniors! That's deliberate because what's good for juniors is generally also good
for adults.
The only important differences are:
If their parents are not supportive, they may need help from club members.
slightly better than them) and from books and magazines (does your club have a chess library?). |
As well as needing experience, success at chess depends on two factors: ability and work. If a player shows no signs of
either of these, they are unlikely to develop beyond the lowest category ‑ which is fair enough, if you think about it ‑
we can't all be Kasparovs! Just don't expect every junior that walks in to be a genius, and don't make the opposite
error of treating them all as morons because
they are still novices. Juniors will show the same range of ability as adult
players.
For ease of transport, some clubs find it easier to run a separate junior team, but in general juniors should be integrated
as much as possible with the rest of the club. They should play in club tournaments, lightning competitions etc., and
play on the teams as soon as they are good
enough.
What sort of experience helps? The right mix!
Chess has elements of art and science, but is primarily a game, a "brainsport". Players improve by playing against
someone slightly better than themselves;
players keep playing as long as there is someone that they can beat!
Players need a mix of events and activities,
some of which will give pleasure in achievement, some of which will stretch
them.
Coaching
All clubs could usefully run their own coaching sessions. These can be of benefit to all members, not just juniors. Often the
persons who benefit the most are the club members who get up enough nerve to do some of the coaching! It is remarkable
how much you can learn about something by having to teach it! If you have already had the chance to coach on a regular
basis, you will probably have developed your own coaching techniques and materials. If not, you may find some of these
suggestions helpful.
General
advice
Most children and adults want to play chess, rather than listen to someone else spouting on about it. Coaching sessions
should therefore be short and interesting, and should be linked to some form of competitive practice. Practice should
predominate over coaching by about 3‑1 in any given session; in general the better the player, the more tolerant they
are of longer coaching sessions, but the basic principle remains the same; practice should predominate. Break a long session
up into
digestible units with some variety, e.g., short talk, practice session,
discussion to sum up.
Ideas for Practice Activities
Knock‑out championships – these are OK, but since they naturally exclude players as the event proceeds, they should
not be the only type of competition available.
Divisions of, say, six players, with promotion and demotion, and a prize for each divisional championship. Depending on
the time available you can have this running all the time, with the divisions reorganised after each cycle of five games, every
few weeks
or so.
Ladder competitions – very useful, since they can last as long as you want them to. A “Swiss” pairing board is useful for
displaying the name-cards of the players.
Club champion plays beginners two, three, four at a time.
Buzzer chess ‑ lightning chess, moving every 10, 15 or 20 seconds to the buzzer. Good fun, but inevitably leads to very
superficial chess, and thus
not very useful for training
Challenge local schools to "friendly" matches. (I think it was Botvinnik who said there are no friendly matches, only
serious
matches and training games!)
Ideas for
Coaching Activities
What to teach? Bob Wade (for many years the Chief National Coach) argues that the division Opening/Middlegame/Endgame
is not a particularly useful or real one, and that novices should first be taught the sort of skills and concepts that tend to come
in useful at all stages of the game (mainly tactics ‑ mating patterns, and all sorts of double attacks, e.g., pins, forks, double
and
discovered checks, etc.).
As for teaching position play, Wade believes that this should arise naturally out of a consideration of how pieces (and pawns)
work together; why this attack worked and that one didn’t; how come White's position became so overwhelming;
why this opening seems dubious; etc. Position play can be taught systematically, primarily by examining typical structures,
but tactics come first.
Group Coaching Techniques
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1) Game demonstration on the demo board This is a classic coaching technique, and is still a must ‑ the most common error is going on too long, and not using any other means of coaching to lend variety. For game demonstration, choose a game that you know well, that is of relevance to the students’ level of knowledge and ability, but which will also stretch them, or enrich their understanding of chess. Sort out in advance the main "teaching points" that you want to put across. Good preparation is the basis for good teaching. Do not confuse the issue with too much detail, although questions should be dealt with patiently and conscientiously. It is possible and indeed desirable to introduce an element of competition; e.g. sort out in advance a few points in the game to stop at, and ask each member of your group to think for a few minutes and then write down what they think the next move should be, perhaps supported by one or two variations. You can then award points in “How good is your chess?" style.
2)
Teaching openings
Juniors generally study openings either too much
or too little! The main object of the opening at this level should be just to
get into a playable and interesting middle game, not to establish a winning
advantage.
Encourage the playing of
openings that promote quick development of the minor pieces, active piece play,
simple plans, and which open lines for the rooks at an early stage.
Open games (beginning 1 e4 e5) and gambits are
best at this stage. Examples of suitable White openings are: Scotch Game and
Gambit, King's Gambit, Evans Gambit, Vienna Gambit. Suitable Black openings are
gambits like the Two Knights Defence, the Schliemann, the
Albin and the Von Hennig
Schara. In the early stages of a player's development,
it is important to actively discourage students from playing closed openings, so
that the player can sharpen his or her tactical skills in the clash of pieces
that is quickly achieved in playing an open game.
Methods of teaching openings
3) Positions for assessment or analysis
These can be set out one at a time on the demo
board, but by far the best way is to select and print or photocopy them in
advance. Either way, the children should be encouraged to write down their
assessment or solution before you show them the answer on the demo board. Mates,
combinations, sacrifices, find‑the‑plan, and endgames can all be done in this
way. It can also be useful to throw in one or two "indeterminate positions" in
which there may be no one clearly best move. It is possible to criticise
puzzle-solving as an artificial activity, unrelated to “real” chess-playing. I
disagree – calculation and assessment are THE basic chess skills, made easier by
the pattern-recognition that comes with practice. The great Mikhail Tal wrote
that he often used to “warm up” before a game by solving puzzles from basic
tactics books.
4) Teaching endings
Mix routine technical endings (e.g., standard
King and Pawn, and Rook and Pawn endings) with endings that the students may
never have been taught formally, e.g. Queen v Pawn on the seventh, or Queen v Rook, which involve some
interesting manoeuvring. Try to organise some sort of game or competition, don't
just show them.
5) Notation.
6) Laws of Chess
7) Involvement of
other club members
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Resources
Runs a Certificate of Merit scheme for juniors (basically a series of graded achievement tests with a defined syllabus of chess knowledge. It does not appeal to every child, but can be worth a try.
http://www.bcf.org.uk/whatsnew.html
The BCF occasionally runs a course whereby you can qualify to become an official BCF coach. If there is sufficient demand, there is a possibility of running such courses locally.
There are a multitude of colourful and attractive books for absolute beginners; that area is no problem. The main difficulty for the average player or the inexperienced chess teacher is on the next level up; there are thousands of chess books in print or available in libraries, but most of them are either very badly written or are simply far too advanced for the comparative novice or youngster who knows the moves but wants to improve.
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Here is my own list of recommended books for this level. Some may be out of print; all should be available in local libraries or
through interlibrary loan. It is now well established that becoming "chess literate" can speed progress considerably, and indeed
can have benefits that extend beyond the student's purely chess development. Most of these books also provide rich material
for the coach too. Most of the books 1 recommend have an emphasis on tactics, and this is deliberate; mastery of tactics
(good moves, avoiding mistakes, ...) is a precondition
of mastery of strategy (good plans). Some quotable opinions from the masters:
"Games of Chess are won by good moves, not good
positions." Abrahams.
"The most important thing in chess is to see
combinations." ‑ Purdy.
"Chess is the struggle against error." ‑
Zukertort.
"Chess is 90% tactics." ‑
Teichmann.
"The board is full of mistakes, waiting to
be made." ‑ Tartakower.
Books
Learn Chess, Pupil's Book, by Penn and
Littlewood (A & C Black)
Leam Chess,
Teacher's Book, by Penn and Littlewood (A & C Black)
Comprehensive chess course, by
Alburt and Palatnik (CIRC)
Winning Chess, by I Chernev
and F Reinfeld (Faber & Faber)
How to
beat your dad at chess, by Murray Chandler (Gambit)
Chess tactics for kids, by Murray Chandler (Gambit))
Winning chess
tactics for juniors, by Lou Hays (Hays Publishing)
Blunders and
Brilliancies, Mullen and Moss (Pergamon)
Chess Tactics, by P Littlewood (Crowood Press).
It’s your move, by Chris Ward (Everyman Chess)
The Art of
Checkmate, by Renaud and Kahn (
From Beginner to Expert in 40 Lessons, by
A Kostyev (Batsford)
The Chess
Teacher, by A Phillips (
Chess
Openings for Juniors, by J
Batsford Book of Chess, by R G Wade (Batsford)
Play Better Chess, by Leonard Barden (Octopus)
Adults usually prefer something with an element of strategy in; one of the best books to start with is Logical Chess, Move by Move,
by Chernev (Faber and Faber) which is a mine of good advice. I also like "My System", by Nimzowitch, which is suitable for
more experienced players. The Power Chess Program, by Nigel Davies (Batsford) provides a systematic course for the keen
player.
But note that even the keenest adult player will not progress far without a good
grasp of tactics.
Cassette Tapes.
Michael Basman Audio Chess, 7 Billockby
Close, Chessington,
but most of his coaching tapes are perfectly orthodox.
Videos
There are now many VHS videos on the market, covering a wide variety of chess topics, but mostly openings. This medium can
be a very effective way of getting a handle on a new opening. Some of these are very good. Several fellow-players have said
to me things like 'I can't understand why anyone would want to buy a chess video - surely it is poor value for money compared
to a good book on the same subject?'. I think this is to misunderstand fundamentally the nature of the medium. A better comparison
would be with an illustrated lecture, or even a private lesson; considered in that light, twenty quid for over two hours of
well-prepared tuition from a top-class coach is actually quite a bargain! Try http://www.badbishop.com/ or any of the general
chess suppliers.
The Demo Board.
It is very useful to have a large magnetic demonstration board that can be stood up against or hung from a wall. These can be
expensive, but last a long time with care. You can use one of these to coach a class or large group. You can demonstrate
particular manoeuvres, interesting positions, endgames, and even whole games (you can award points for guessing the
next move); you can also have consultation games (split the group into two teams, who discuss and decide what move
they want to play ‑ you work the pieces). You can also use the demonstration board for demonstrating the club championship
final so
that a larger audience can see what is going on.
Worksheets
You could encourage members to bring in cuttings of chess games and articles found in the up‑market papers ‑
e.g., the Independent, Guardian, Times, Financial Times, Telegraph, all carry chess articles, usually on a Saturday;
so do the quality Sunday papers. These can be photocopied, with one copy pinned up in Grandmaster Corner of the
chess club notice‑board, and another stuck in a chess club scrap‑book, which will provide you with future coaching
material for nothing! (But with youngsters avoid artificially‑composed problems ‑ these are of no use to novices,
and most
strong players don't touch them; John Nunn and Jonathan
Mestel are top‑class exceptions.)
The Chessbase programme can be easily used to generate pages of test-positions. Thousands of such positions can
be
downloaded from the Internet and imported straight into Chessbase.
Teaching
Beginners
In every chess club you have to do this sometime. Many experienced coaches these days use mini‑games to teach the
moves. For example, start with the Pawn Game, eight Pawns each side; the winner is the first to reach the other end
with a Pawn. Then Pawn to Queen Game ‑ as above, but the Pawn promotes to Queen, and the winner is the first to
devour all the enemy Pawns with his Queen. Then maybe Kings and Pawns. Then perhaps the concept of checkmate,
using King and Queen. The Knight move, which causes many novices difficulties, can be taught in the context of a
mini‑game, Knight and eight Pawns each; the winner is either the first to capture all the enemy Pawns, or the first to get
a Pawn to
the other end.
You can work many variations on the idea of the mini‑game, and experiment with different sequences, to see which you
find the most effective; however you do it, the main idea is to bring out, in a competitive situation, the particular qualities of
each piece, not just the mechanics of its move. By qualities I mean such facts as: the Bishop, equal in value to a Knight,
has long range power, but on one colour only, whilst the short-stepping Knight, although much slower in covering long
distances,
can operate on both colour squares, and can attack two pieces at once whilst
being safely out of reach of its victims.
Chess
Notation
Ideally, all players should be conversant with both types of chess notation, Descriptive (e.g., 1 P‑K4) and Standard or Algebraic
( e.g., 1 e2‑e4, or just 1 e4). The latter is now standard, and in this country no new books in future will be published in descriptive.
Yet there are so many classic chess books already available (and only available) in descriptive that it seems silly to cut oneself
off from
the rich heritage of the past by knowing only Standard notation.
I think adults tend to underestimate children's ability to cope with notation and chess books. Any child that can play
Battleships can cope with standard notation! After initial difficulties, most children cope adequately; those that don't are
not likely ever to progress beyond the beginner's stage. That's fine, but the more gifted players will be held back if we
just cater for the lowest common denominator. Apparently World Champion Kasparov was an avid reader of chess books
at age 10, although his writing-down of the moves of his own games was atrocious! Worth a look is Nigel Short's biography
written by his father; it gives insights into the way a very strong youngster can develop, although times have changed a
bit since the late seventies when Nigel was just a very promising up‑and‑coming. Michael Adams’s similar book is also
interesting (and more up-to-date of course).
The
promising youngster
Ideally, a promising youngster should be able to keep a chess set permanently set up at home; it should be the sort and
size that is normally used for matches and congresses, not some fancy ornamental set. A pocket set can also be useful,
e.g. for
playing over the variations given in the chess book; use the big set to play
through the actual game.
For promising juniors, a couple of hours per week of sensibly chosen chess homework (but don’t call it homework!) is
a reasonable target in my view. This could include videos or tapes or playing through games on a computer, not just
books or written exercises. The motivation for this sort of extension work has to come from the young player. As with
everything else, a sense of proportion is needed; I have seen young players turn off completely when put under too much
pressure, particularly by over‑enthusiastic parents; their children then do the minimum to stay out of bother, and drop
out of the game completely when they feel old enough to assert themselves. I am sure that with some players, a good
working relationship with a coach can go some way towards making up for the lack of personal study. But there is
absolutely no doubt that most of the great players did read and study chess books (mainly endings, tactics and games collections)
independently when young. Many young players find it helpful to have a chess hero, whose games they collect and
study, and whose opening preferences they can imitate. This
should be encouraged.
Computers
and the Internet
Many children seem to enjoy playing chess against a computer, and I know of some children whose progress has been
considerably accelerated by the strong competition offered by a computer set at a level just above the ability of the child.
The programmes I am most familar are the Fritz family of programmes produced by the Chessbase company, and I can
recommend these. These programmes can also be used to store, file and even analyse your own games. They can also
be used to access databases of games, either commercial ones such as Megabase, or free ones downloaded from the
Internet.
For more database features, the more expensive programme Chessbase is the
market-leader.
In recent years, the biggest change for chess-players has been the huge expansion of playing on the Internet. There are
now many websites, some free, which offer a “virtual chess club”; you log on and pair yourself off with an opponent sat
at a PC somewhere else in the world. You can choose different time limits and different strengths of opponents. Many
players seem to find this more interesting than playing against a computer programme. Some useful Internet resources:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~dregis/DR/coaching.html
http://www.chesskids.com/csmenu.shtml
http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/~gossimit/c/chess.htm
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html
http://www.chessdirect.co.uk/
http://www.chessclub.com/
The Chess Clock
These can be used for fun (5 minutes, 10 minutes or half‑an‑hour each on the clock) but are standard in serious chess. Strong
players would not dream of playing a serious game without one. Every club, even a junior club, should be equipped with
some clocks, and the juniors should be allowed to use them. The essential rules to emphasise are: don't bang the clock, don't
over-wind it, and use the same hand to operate the clock that you use for moving the pieces. Black normally has choice of
which
side to put the clock on.
Juniors on your teams
Juniors should be given chances to play for a club's teams as soon as they seem ready. What do I mean by ready? This basic
check list constitutes what all novices at your club should be taught by the more experienced members:
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Also they should have been toughened up by lots of hard practice
in the club against various strengths of players and should be scoring well
against your usual bottom board players. Finally, they must be keen to play ‑ if
the junior shows little enthusiasm, don't waste your time!
Whatever
the result, try to ensure that a strongish player from
your club (not just the opponent) goes over the game afterwards with the junior,
emphasising basic principles, tactical points, etc. - just concentrate on the
main points, do not overwhelm the novice with too much detail. Remember how much
losing can hurt, and give encouragement.
The
recommended policy with a promising junior, tried and tested many times in many
different places, is always to play him or her somewhat higher than their
present strength would seem to warrant, and higher than you would play an adult
of the same strength, because the junior is probably improving, whereas the
adult is probably not!
Draft