News & Updates
Part 2: Notation and Game Strategy
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
Basic Endgames
Next, I teach basic endgames. This seems an abnormal place to begin, but it is critical to begin here. I begin with a three-move rook mate (king v king & rook) to demonstrate the concept of stealing space. Once students grasp that a checkmate is stealing an opponent’s space, they are then ready to begin studying the rest of the game. Of course, this is also the point when I demonstrate draws and stalemates.
Notation
Then I teach notation. This seems an odd point to teach notation, but this is the point when all moves have been learned, including the unusual ones like castling, en passant, check, and checkmate. This becomes a critical lesson, and I make sure that each student masters notation before moving on. Without records of their own games, students will never progress.
Basic Middlegames
At this point, I teach
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Part 2: A Network of Support
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
. . . Once in the club, they feel like a family.
That family bond comes from the second part of that session. After naming each new teammate, I get rather preachy and explain that each teammate is now a part of a unique group. This group must always point out to their comrade when the tragic flaw presents itself. Every time Bonehead makes a bonehead move, in life or in chess, it is the responsibility of the witness to point out the bonehead mistake. Every time Lurch lurches ahead without thinking, his teammates must pull him back. They discover that, in order to improve their chess game, they must first improve themselves. Only by being self-aware can they hope to master Read more �
Part 1: The Personal Side of Chess
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
Chess is a metaphor for life. How cliché. How awkward. And, may I ask, really?! Those of us who devote aspects of our lives to the study of this game often develop a sort of passion that borders on obsession. History abounds with stories of famous chess players who went beyond the boundaries of eccentric and into the realm of insanity. And it’s quite true, intense study of chess can become quite unhinging. As a coach, one of our jobs is to both inspire a deep fervor for the game while at the same time reminding our students that there is more to life than chess. Depending on our own level of passion, this can be difficult. There is a benefit to relating chess and life for our students, but one must be careful not to Read more �
Part 2: Raising Interest and Promoting
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
While you’re building that rapport with the kids, you’ve got to raise interest. It’s hard to recruit kids when they don’t know you exist. Have chess events as often as you can stand them. My first year, I attempted a tournament. The tournament didn’t go very smoothly (we didn’t even have a chess clock), but at the end, we had a life-size chess game. The two finalists competed using a real people chess set. I asked some popular seniors to create a massive paper chessboard in the school foyer. They recruited a 32 of their friends and parents to play the pieces. They made hats for bishops, crosses for kings, and had little toy horse-head things for the knights. As each piece was captured, the person slapped a whipped cream pie into the captured person’s face. Of course, the two finalists didn’t care about quality chess, they just captured a piece every turn they could. By the end, there was only one person who hadn’t been pied, and the others chased him around spraying him with whipped cream.
Though we didn’t play quality chess, that event made a big Read more �
Part 1: Creating the Right Atmosphere
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
At first, I was just a teacher with a few kids playing chess in my classroom while rocking-out to some music. Then, we had to get serious and compete. All of a sudden, interest dried up. I couldn’t figure it out. Where did they go? Competing was just going to be more rocking out with other groups like us…
Middle and High school kids can be finicky, and getting them to play chess is hard enough. How do you get the right kids to the team? How do you keep the nerdy kids while also recruiting and retaining the ones that will draw others to the team? How do you get the kids that need to be on the team?
Which is the Chess Player?
When I first started out as a competitive coach, I was pleased to see that not all chess players are stereotypical dorks. In fact, very few have taped glasses and whiny voices. Each kid and each team has its own unique style and flair. Unlike Read more �
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
The Great Recession. Economic Downturn. Financial Slump. It’s everywhere, and it’s got it’s fingers in every aspect of everything. Especially in funding educational programs. As states, counties, towns, and districts cut back on everything, programs get cut left and right. Chess, unfortunately, is often on the chopping block. As coaches of a sport many people misunderstand, we find ourselves constantly seeking new ways to fund our chess team, and often, it has nothing to do with cutbacks. Chess just isn’t a priority in most places.
If you’re a chess coach in a district that funds your team readily, magnificent. Keep your head low and don’t ask for more than you need. Once you have chess supplies, just sit back and run your team. For the rest of us, there’s work to be done with two main tips in mind: 1) be frugal, and 2) ask nicely.
First up: Read more �
Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess.
Once you’ve become a chess coach, you’ll need a few things to get the chess team going. After purchasing chess sets, chess clocks, and storage for all the team chess supplies, you’ll want to consider some things to use while teaching chess, love of the game, and more. The good news is you don’t really need anything beyond a single chess set. If you have heart and knowledge, you already have everything you need to get started. I began with literally no more than a couple cheapo plastic chess sets from a department store. My enthusiasm was all I needed. As the team grew and got more competitive, I found needs for other things to help me be a better coach. All chess coaching supplies boil down to three categories: Demonstration Chess Boards, Chess Books, and Chess 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 �
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