Basics of teaching chess
Teaching chess is just like teaching any other discipline.However, a chess teacher has two goals:
-To teach children the correct skills n chess and thereby enhance there local and critical reasoning skills.
-To make the children appreciate chess so that there interest and enjoyment of the game will increase.
It is critical that interest be stirred in the children in the early stages so as to implore on their creativity. The first chess games are usually the most difficult and this is where maximum concentration for the child will be needed. By imploring on the children’s interest in chess their appreciation of the game will be increased and they will indeed be savor on the opportunity.
Learning chess is similar to learning just about anything else. The rules don’t change. In chess, you want to educate students and improve their analytical skills which will be important for future learning of other disciplines. You should start from the known to the unknown. This means that you should move from simple techniques to more complex ones, maintain a good balance between theory and practice and a good relationship between the teachers and students. You should repeatedly present chess problems to students in a personalized form. Known problems are even made more complex by the addition of new ideas. For instance, the idea of double attack can be used by chess players of all abilities.
As the chess teacher you should gradually move from simple ideas to more difficult ones. You should introduce new topics and ideas only after the student has mastered the previous ones. This will help the student broaden his mind and help him to assimilate the matter which he has studied previously in a sound manner.
New concepts and ideas must be explained to the student before assigning them homework. The dividing of homework and class work for the student is the discretion of the coach. Though it is important to follow the rules of the game, it must be remembered that children like to compete against one another and therefore the practical part should be emphasized.
As a coach you should ensure that the students have a firm mastery of the subject before you go on to the next topic. You should never skip a lesson so that you rush in taking the child through the lessons. Remember that the lessons act like a jig-saw puzzle and skipping any one of them will lead to the collapse of the puzzle.
The length of the lesson will depend on the child’s concentration. As soon as the child begins to show weariness then the chess lessons should be stopped. It is better to learn a small amount of material than grasping large quantities only to discover that the student never actually learnt a thing. The child should be encouraged to play as many games as possible with players of differing abilities. By playing with players of different abilities the child’s imagination will be stretched and in this way the child will learn the game faster.
On the other hand, you should not remove too much subject matter as this will make the child to lose interest in the game.
Chess is Life and Life is Chess
Is Chess just a mere sport played for fun and relaxation? or does it have anything more to offer to the person playing the game?
Well, it offers both the things and that too in loads.
Chess is one of the most ancient and most popular games being played since the 6th Century A.D. The game, said to have been originated in India, had spread over to many countries across the world, and since getting popularized since 1475 and developed as a professional game in 1900s, the game is now played worldwide by many players.
The advent of Internet has made it possible to take the game a bit more to the masses through the concept of online chess. By playing chess online, one can satisfy his need to play the game whenever he wants, without waiting any further to go in search for a partner or ideal time.
What is life? – It is a sport meant to be enjoyed and played with spirit and passion. In life, sometimes you make the right moves and win and sometimes you end up miscalculating and lose. In order that you increase your success percentage and minimize the losses, you should be alert and stay one step ahead. You should have a plan in place, strategy to achieve that coveted plan and the alertness to stay on top of the plan and ensure that you do not make a mistake. For example, if your intention is to become a doctor
In chess, a player has to do a lot of thinking and deploy a number of tactics and strategies in his effort to gain advantage over the opponent. But, unfortunately all the tactics or strategies need not end up in success for the player. Some might yield the desired result, while many may not yield the desired result. Just because, the opponent also sees the same board and the pieces, and he can visualize the plan behind your tactics and nullify the plan by a defensive move or a counter attacking move.
When your attempts fail in life, one does not get dejected, lose heart and kill himself. He consoles for a while, and then gets along with another plan or strategy. In chess, if the opponent nullifies a tactic or strategy to occupy the central square, then the chess player need not or will not lose heart and resign the game. He regroups his forces and starts looking for other viable options.
This is yet another vindication that there are some things that are common between the two things – the game of chess and the Life.
Now comes the interesting part in the game of chess. By playing chess games on a regular basis, which is now possible with online chess as well, one can exercise his mind and stimulate it adequately to cultivate the virtues of attention, concentration, planning, staying alert and visualization.
Not only will he be developing these important traits, but will also improve his intelligence. When faced with a critical situation in life, he will be matured enough to look at the problem in different angles, assess the options, think more than once about the possible repercussions and then take a wise decision. He will not be bound by his passion, haste or anger that occasionally leads to wrong decisions in life.
Playing chess frequently and playing chess online now frequently will definitely refine the thinking capabilities of a person and helps him lead a quality life.
Do you lack analytical skills? Play chess online
One of the important traits that every person should have and develop is the capability to analyze the things in the right perspective and take appropriate decisions that will finally yield the desired results.
What is analytical skill?
In the strict sense, analytical skill refers to the capability of a person to visualize or foresee complex problems and concepts, understand clearly those problems, assess alternative solutions to solve those complex problems and take informed decisions based on the information available.
In simple words, a person should take into consideration all the aspects of a situation before taking any decision. Logical thinking is one of the aspects of analytical skills that comes into picture while visualizing the possible alternatives and also in devising plans.
This is all about the concept analytical skills in simple terms. Without dwelling more on the intricacies of this trait, let us try to exploit what connection this analytical skill has, if any, with the game of chess and how playing chess online can help in developing analytical skills.
Chess is a mind game or a thinking game that requires a player to concentrate on the game, think deeply before making any move and devise a series of tactics and strategies to corner the opponent’s King and say checkmate.
The game, having been played since the 6th Century, is quite popular even today and will continue to challenge the brains of many people in the years to come, simply because it is the ideal means to exercise a person’s brain and stimulate his mind.
The game is a fair one in that there is no room for chance or luck for any one of the players against the other player. So, it is the player who decides the fate of the game himself. If he makes a wrong move, or makes a move without applying his mind, then he will be punished for the same by the opponent. Some mistakes can be rectified while some blunders cannot be rectified and the person who committed the mistake may have to lose the game as a result of a mistake or a blunder.
Now, the onus lies on the chess player to make moves after deep thinking. He has to take stock of the situation, visualize the opportunities and threats, chalk out a plan in his mind, play out the same mentally under different combinations, and then finally take a decision to make a move.
Let me just give you an example. The dark colored bishop and the rook are stationed in their usual positions at “a1” and “c1” respectively. Pawns are guarding all the three pieces, including the Knight at “b1” from the second rank. If a player wants to open up the bishop, he has the option of moving be pawn at “b2” a couple of squares, which will then provide the option of moving the bishop at “c” to either “b2” or “a3”. Here, by opening up the pawn at “b2”, the rook at “a1” gets exposed to the “a1-h8” diagonal. AS such, before deciding to move the pawn from “b2” to “b4”, the player has to pause for a while and ensure that there is no threat to the rook at “a1”, and also have a plan to defend the rook if the opponent tries to exploit this weakness.
This is not just a particular instance. For each and every move, a chess player has to do all these things, calculate the possibilities and visualize them before making a move. He has to do a lot of thinking, which can be categorized as creative thinking, logical thinking or critical thinking. The player does not know all these things. He is only rooted to the game and thinking about the moves. Indirectly his brain is involved in serious exercise and stimulates the mind.
This exercise of logical, creative and critical thinking, which a chess player does, is all that we call it analytical skill in management parlance. By playing chess regularly, a person can master these skills and train his brain to foresee, analyze and take informed decisions.
Now, with the help of Internet, any person, fond of playing chess, can do so by just visiting the online chess site, register for free, and start playing the game with any of the players available on the Internet or with the computer. This online chess not provides the much needed relaxation and fun, it stimulates and exercises your mind and rejuvenates you for fresh challenge.
Chess Links
Killer Chess Tips
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 10, 11 and 12
- Endgame Lessons From Game Twelve of the 2010
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 9
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 8
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 7