Teaching Chess as Life, Part 1
August 16, 2010
Tags: Teaching Chess Articles
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 pull students into a crazed state of obsession.
First, we must recognize that chess does, in fact, have the ability to destabilize one’s mental state if pursued too aggressively. Chess, after all, is an intensely personal competition. Once one passes a certain point of knowledge, the struggle to improve is unmistakably a struggle to master one’s own mental state at every turn of emotion. Sitting across a chess board, the real battle is against oneself, not against the opponent. Studying chess can be a very lonely endeavor spent in libraries and in dusty basements reading books and staring at positions for hours on end, the real study occurring entirely within the student’s mind. Any attempt to connect with someone who does not understand chess can become terribly tricky after these sessions of study. Indeed, considering all this might lead someone to simply avoid study of chess altogether!
Teaching Chess as Life
On the other hand, as chess coaches, we must recognize this very personal side of the game if we want our students to find success in competition. After the first several months of teaching my students the basics of chess (chess board, chess pieces, tactics, endgames, openings, pawn structures, etc.), I hold a practice where I blatantly point this out to the team. My assistant coach and I will spend hours together deciding on nicknames for each new team member. We analyze both their personalities and their playing styles, and we produce a nickname centered on the common tragic flaw of the student. As an example, we named one of our first teammates Bonehead. Bonehead came from his total failure to play the game on the chess board; he always blundered when he only played the game in his head. He knew where he wanted his chess pieces to go and ignored all evidence that told him to put off his plans because of the opponent’s motions. In life, he had this same problem. He would often become tremendously emotional over situations that had not even developed yet. He would become angry and lash out about the thought of moving away when his parents simply mentioned that it might be a possibility.
We named another player Lurch for his consistent desire to rush ahead with plans. He lurched along in his games just as he lurched along in life. He rushed into relationships with girls that would drag him into negative situations. He lurched ahead with ideas, whether or not he had thought them through. This nicknaming session has become a revered tradition on our team, a kind of rite of passage that only experienced team members have in their memories. Once in the club, they feel like a family.
This is Part One of Teaching Chess as Life. Continue by Reading: Part 2: A Network of Support.
Erik Czerwin is a self-taught chess player and also a self-taught chess coach. He founded the current Marengo Community High School Chess team, founded the Marengo Chess Club, plays at the Rockford Chess Club, and occasionally volunteers as a chess teacher at the Rockford Public Library, all in Northern Illinois. In his spare time, he’s also a full-time high school language arts teacher, part-time graduate student, part-time tutor, and full-time father of two and husband to a very understanding wife.
