News & Updates
The Heavy Tournament Chess Set Combo is one of our most popular tournament chess set combinations. It comes with Heavy Tournament Weighted Pieces, a Quality Vinyl Rollup Chess Board and a Carryall Tournament Bag. The bag not only holds the board and pieces, but has room for a chess clock and a score book or other chess supplies. It is a favorite chess set combo with both tournament players and students. For this Deal of the Day you are not limited. You can order one as a gift, or several for your club.
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
“What am I going to do about these kids? They just don’t take my advice.”
“Our advice…”
“Yeah, our advice. What can we do to inspire them?”
“Maybe we should get in more tournaments, spark the competition bug. Or maybe we could just beat them over the head with rolled up chess boards.”
“Tournaments are expensive. And I don’t know about beating children. That’s a lot of paperwork.”
Such is a common conversation between my assistant chess coach and me. Coaching chess is a weird, stumbling sort of a job that involves teaching a tremendously complex, yet beautiful, game while at the same time managing a small crowd of awkward, sometimes rambunctious, teenagers. When I think about the success our chess team has had, I can really only contribute the success to one exceedingly important factor: having an assistant coach. Every success of our team hinges on Coach Brian and his voluntary presence, and no other team Read more �
Part 2: Chess Bags & Chess Clocks
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 �
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 �
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 �
BASICS
Chess clubs can be very rewarding for organizers and participants if they are done well. Chess clubs need the following 6 things:
ORGANIZERS
Without good organizers, coaches, parents, or volunteers, chess clubs would not succeed. They need dedicated and patient leaders who provide structure and motivation. If you are an organizer, don’t over-commit. Do what you can, and do what you promise. Make sure you are always having fun!
PARTICIPANTS
Almost anyone can learn chess! Even 2 year-olds can learn how to setup the chess board and move chess pieces around. Try and invite as many eligible participants as possible. Make sure you advertise your club as best you can. Clearly outline the purposes of the club and all of the information. Don’t be afraid to ask for some donations of time and equipment from participants and their parents (if applicable). Also make sure that you clearly outline the many intellectual and social benefits of participating in chess club.
FACILITIES/SCHEDULE
Make sure that you have proper facilities for chess club. You might have a great school, local community center, university, or even home or business willing to donate some space to you. You will need a well-lighted area with enough tables and chairs for all participants. Try and get long picnic-type tables – not round tables! Also try and schedule all club days and activities as far in advance as possible.
EQUIPMENT
One of the worst things that can happen at chess club is to have people standing around waiting for a chess set. Make sure you get enough chess sets for all participants. You don’t need the fanciest sets for everyone. You don’t even need chess clocks!
INSTRUCTION
Chess club should be fun and educational. Clubs that are not balanced are not enjoyable. Too much play without progress can wear thin. And too much instruction without play can be dull. Try one lesson a day (within your participants’ attention span!) and then some play. You might also want to mix in some activities like mini-tournaments, chess mini-games (like trying to put 8 queens on a board without any of them attacking each other!).
MOTIVATION
Set goals for yourself as the coach/organizer and for your students. Maybe your goal might be to attend a local tournament a few months away. Or set your own tournament day or chess party day. That way everybody is looking forward to something and working on their chess for a reason
There’s nothing more enjoyable than sitting down with a good chess set and playing a great game of chess with friends. For the small village of Westfield in New York – the forming of the Westfield Chess Club has just made it easier to enjoy chess with others.
The new chess club met for the fist time not too long ago, shares one of the chess club organizers, Charles Ferraro. “Despite typically horrendous Western NY winter weather, we drew ten players last Wednesday at our initial meeting in a local coffee house/restaurant,” said Ferraro. “A 12-year-old newcomer to the game drew himself a pair of lessons from two good players, one of whom (1700+ rated ) will be bringing what he believes are a few good beginners chess books to this next Wednesday’s get-together for the newbie.”
It’s nice to know that in a time of economic difficulties and struggling business and organizations – chess continues to grow and maintain it’s popularity. Ferraro said it well when he said “What has struck me most during this process of getting a chess club started has been the spirit of the chess people involved: Good-heartedness and generosity have shown through. We’ve had donations of chess sets, chess clocks, chess books, and lessons willingly and thoughtfully given to new players.”
Membership in the Westfield Chess Club is open to anyone over the age of six. The club’s intent is to encourage people to play chess – and to play well, in addition to further chess club members enjoyment of the game. At this time, there are no dues required to be a member of the club.
You can find the Westfield Chess Club and other chess clubs listed in our Chess Club Directory.
Have your own Chess Club story? Tell us about it and we’ll help spread the news!
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