Introduction to Coaching Clinic

[Kerry Stead]

The idea of this forum is to give forum users a chance to get some kind of coaching or feedback about their games and chess in general.

It will also serve as a means (hopefully) for people to learn a few things about the game from looking at the games of others. Also having a record of what has already been done in the past should hopefully allow people to avoid having to go over familiar material again and again, as you might need to do with 'live' coaching - here you can simply re-read the thread and post any subsequent questions you might have.

I think the best way to start this off is to post a game or two of your own on the forum (see Jeo's 'Posting a Game' thread for instructions on how to do this), and I'll have a look at it and try to help you along the road to improvement.

Having said that, I am by no means infallible, so I also encourage others to post comments about games and positions. I'm sure I'll make some mistakes, and I'm sure some of you will pick me up on these when they happen!

I'll get it started (unless it takes off on its own) with a look at some games that others have already posted elsewhere on this forum.

A big thankyou to Jeo for his development of the PGN posting - this type of thing is now a lot easier to do!

[rolly16]

what is a good agenda or program for a coaching clinic for kids? we, in the meralco chess club, experimented last month and concentrated our efforts on opening study covering some of the most popular openings and zeroing in on the most popular of all, the mother of all openings - the sicilian defence and its various variations.

[Fred Leslie]

I am well past the age of consent and have just started playing this wonderful challenging game. I belong to a chess club but often can't go to their meetings. I would like to learn and practice through my computer.

Your assistance will be appreciated

[Rincewind]

I am well past the age of consent and have just started playing this wonderful challenging game. I belong to a chess club but often can't go to their meetings. I would like to learn and practice through my computer.

Your assistance will be appreciated

There are many options depending on your predilection.

You can play chess by email. There are two main groups the International Email Chess Group http://www.iecg.org/ and the International Email Chess Club http://www.chess-iecc.org/

Then there is live online play. Many sites have chess playing as a part of the games they have on offer. However the two biggest seem to be the chess specific servers FICS http://freechess.org/ whichis (as the name suggests) free and the ICC http://www.chessclub.com/ which offers a subscription based service but offers trial memberships. (Be warned though, while longer games are played on the internet live servers most chess is played at fast time controls.)

Then there is getting a chess program for your computer and just playing against that. There are a myriad of programs available on the market and if you are a beginner, all of them will be fine for playing strength. But try some out at a shop if you can and see which interface suits you and look for training/mentoring/coachnig modes. You may get some additional value from these features.

All in all, best of luck, wlecome to chesschat and ask more questions as the need arises.

[Mischa]

Hello Fred....Rowena here
Glad you made it!!!

[anthonyambrose]

hi kerry
i'm from mount isa q 4825 australia and would like to start a chess club with the help of some chess players i personally know.
chess is dead here at the moment. it used to be big before during the early 60's when the mine was growing. i had the chance to play a couple of good players from european countries some of which were woodpushing for money.
i would say they were good players during their days. on one occasion, i was
fortunate to play the former queensland champion and the score was one a piece and two draws. the club where i used to play every sunday closed in 1993 due to financial problems.
i am keen in becoming a chess coach or teach chess in TAFE as a hobby but i haven't got a formal qualification. would you be able to help me with my problem?
i reckon i need that qualification to be able to sell chess in the isa.
any comment would be highly appreciated.
thanks and regards
tony

[ElevatorEscapee]

Hi Tony,

I apologise for not replying to this post earlier, as I haven't visited this part of the site before.

On the off chance that you might still visit here, I will provide my response.

Qualifications vary from state to state, however you should be able to acquire a TAFE equivalent Certificate IV in Workplace Training. This is likely to be the minimum qualification to allow you to officially teach certain subjects at TAFE.

A few years ago, I was paid by the local TAFE to teach chess once a week in a prison as part of the Certificate I in Sports & Recreation being studied by the inmates.

This turned out to be positive, as chess helped to distract at least some of the inmates from their boredom and it also provided them with an outlet to compete against one another in a non-physical/non-violent manner.

I think I wound up donating half a dozen chess books and a chess playing computer program to the prison library.

Tony, I wish you the best of luck with your endeavours, and I hope you get a chance to coach and promote chess in Mount Isa.



PS I remember Bas telling me about playing telechess (games over the phone) against a team from Mt Isa, during the time when the mining company was active.

Apparently the games would start of well, and the people at the Mt Isa end would have a few drinks to help them along.

By the end of the evening however, with some games still in progress, only silence could be heard from the Mt Isa end of the line...

[IMJP]

I recommend avoiding openings with doubled pawns, until a FIDE elo level of 2300 or age 14 has been reached, in the average. On the other hand, I recommend creating doubled pawns in your opponent's pawn structure, whenever possible, without material loss (in most cases), of course. I also advise teaching not to fear having doubled pawns.

[PHAT]

I recommend avoiding openings with doubled pawns, until a FIDE elo level of 2300 or age 14 has been reached, in the average. On the other hand, I recommend creating doubled pawns in your opponent's pawn structrure, whenever possible, without material loss (in most cases), of course. I also advise teaching not to fear having doubled pawns.

Surely this bloke is taking the piss.

[IMJP]

You mean "the toilet variation"? But, I was serious!?

[PHAT]

You mean "the toilet variation"? But, I was serious!?

OK

[IMJP]

No problem.

Take a look at the recent "refutation of openings with double pawns" at http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2932, for example.

Svidler,P (2765) - Topalov,V (2801) [C67] 1-0
XXIII SuperGM Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP (1), 18.02.2006
Commentary by GM Mihail Marin

By the way, I recently recommended using smileys while annotating games (in ChessBase). They show much more than the usual !,!!,!?,?!, etc. I got the idea from prestigious Chess Forums such as this one.

[bergil]

OK

[McTaggart]

I am well past the age of consent and have just started playing this wonderful challenging game. I belong to a chess club but often can't go to their meetings. I would like to learn and practice through my computer.

Your assistance will be appreciated

Fred,if you are isolated from a chess club I suggest some kind of book on general chess theory. Basically any book by Cecil Purdy will do. He was the stand-out chess teacher of all time,no contest. Join a chess site known as Gameknot,there you can meet players of all standards and you can play as quickly or slowly as you like. You will even find me there.. Good luck....

[verikt]

can you post a link to the thread where it explains how to post a game? I searched for it and couldn't find it, thanks.
I wanted to post this game

[Event "rated blitz match"]
[Site "Free Internet Chess Server"]
[Date "2006.10.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "verikt"]
[Black "thankxs"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "1381"]
[BlackElo "1243"]
[ECO "B00"]
[TimeControl "600+5"]

PGN Viewer