Written by guest author Greg Delaney for Wholesale Chess.
One thing I have come to learn about chess is that every game, first and foremost, provides each player a series of problems to solve. In the broadest sense, every single position during a game is a problem solving opportunity. The winner of the game is the player who more successfully deals with the difficulties created during the contest. Challenges during a chess game range from general (“how can I get my queenside pieces out?”) to very specific (“How can I prevent my opponent from placing his knight at d5?”). There may be great urgency (“she threatens mate in one – what should I do?”) or a lull in the action (“no threats in his last move – how can I better my position?”). I think that chess is like life in this regard. Each day brings a new set of challenges and problems to overcome, with some being minor, some major, and some needing immediate attention.
It makes sense, I think, to look at how we solve problems in “real life” as a way Read more �
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
Chess Bags
This brings us to chess bags. I’ll be honest; I just roll up the chess boards and store the chess pieces in plastic freezer bags. They’re cheap, and the kids don’t really care. If you’re looking for something a little better, the Perfect-Fit Chess Bags are exactly as they’re named. They fit exactly one full set of chess pieces in a sturdy nylon bag. Because the chess pieces are snug in the chess bags, they aren’t banged up as much and therefore chip less.
Carryall Tournament Chess Bag
The Starter Chess Bag w/Handle and Loop is another option that keeps board and pieces together. However, my guys didn’t like carrying these around because they felt like they were carrying purses. If you don’t tell them, they might not make the connection, but I’d hate to Read more �
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
When beginning a chess team, every coach needs to make purchases of equipment. The redeeming feature of chess is, once you have the right chess supplies, you won’t need to replace them. The key is getting the best quality you can afford. I made the mistake of buying cheaply up front. Two years after having a team, many of my sets needed repair or replacement. The upside is that when I bought, I bought a lot. Therefore, as pieces broke, we kind of combined sets and now we’ve lost a couple of complete chess sets, but I’ve got a giant bag of miscellaneous chess pieces to choose from when the inevitable broken piece occurs. And it does happen. No matter how much you tell the kids to be careful with the chess pieces, they aren’t. After all, they’re kids. At first I got heated about it, but I soon realized there was nothing to do about it. Hopefully, the following guide will help you select just the right Read more �
Part 2: Taking Your Chess Team to the Next Level Written by guest author Robert N. Bernard for Wholesale Chess.
Hold a Practice Tournament
After a month of meeting or so, organize a practice tournament among members of the team. You should make this as close as possible to a real chess tournament; each game should have a chess clock, touch-move, notation, and superb sportsmanship. Watch the games carefully, and note any problems. Invariably, many games of the games in the practice tournament will end quickly, with more than 80% of the clock time remaining on each side. Emphasize that for most moves of the game, you should take at least 30 seconds to decide on a move. One exercise that worked for me is to tell the kids that I want them to sit in silence with their eyes closed, and guess how long a minute is; when they think a minute is up, they should raise their hand. Then I say “Go!” and start timing a minute. You should then acknowledge who is closest, and who guessed too short or too long. The key is to tell the kids that in (many) tournaments, they have 30 minutes to make all their moves, and that most games between kids last about 30 moves, so they should be spending about one minute per move. This is a revelation to Read more �
This video introduces the Wholesale Chess Basic Club Chess Pieces with 3 3/4 inch King. We’ll show you everything you need to know about the pieces and what goes great with them in this short 2 minute Wholesale Chess Video:
Part 1: Setting Up Your Chess Team Written by guest author Robert N. Bernard for Wholesale Chess.
Your daughter or son has an interest in chess and may already play in tournaments, but he or she wants to have other kids in their school play with them on the same team. There’s no one to organize this so you, gulp, volunteer to be the chess coach. My experience was similar – my son had played in tournaments for a little over two years, and when he entered a new school for third grade, he wondered whether there would be other kids at the school who even played chess, and wanted to enter tournaments with him. I told him that if he wanted, I could coach a chess team for other kids that might want to play competitively. He jumped at the idea.
Chess Coach vs. Chess Teacher
Being a coach for your child’s team may not necessarily mean that you are also giving chess lessons. At my son’s school, there are after school chess lessons that are completely separate from the chess team. Not to step on anyone’s toes, I Read more �
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
So you’ve been named Chess Team Coach. Awesome! Right?! Or was that a dubious move? It seemed like such a great idea at first, but now what? When I first started a chess club at the school, it was easy. All I had to do was ask, and I was allowed to let a bunch of kids hang out, play chess, and listen to bad techno. We had fun that first year; I never knew that 90s techno could strike such a chord with such a diverse group of kids. Then again, there were only ten of them. And we weren’t a team; we were just a bunch of guys hanging out.
And just when I started thinking this was a nice, easy way to end each Tuesday and Thursday, my principal tells me that next year they want me to make it competitive, and that we should go to the state tournament! Woops. Me and my big Polish mouth. You’d think I would’ve learned over the last several years of teaching to hunker down and shut up…
Of course, not every chess coach has the same experience getting started. Some scenarios are far worse. Some coaches have never played chess in their lives and they get the position forced on them by less than fortunate circumstances. No one wants to coach a team they know nothing about. Of course, I’d had a similar experience before when I was told to coach basketball. Ha! Me, coach basketball? But I guess I faked my way through that one all right. No one got killed anyway. And we did win 3 games. Out of 25. But who’s counting?
I had no idea where to begin. All I knew was that I had to start somewhere, and Read more �
