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.
September 1st, 2010 at 6:50 pm
I am a chess teacher and promoter and have done so for over 30 years.
Besides my expertise in teaching I also served as the editir of Michigan Chess Magazine and a free lance writer for Chess Life.
As mentioned above, I’ve been teaching chess from ages 6 yrs to 80 yrs old and am currently teaching at the Grand Blanc Senior Activity Center in Michigan. I have written abd teach a “Chess Mimics Life Series” in which I have been able to explain many things in life that were not understood by the vast majority of people.
However, I cringe at your article that you give your players nicknames beased on their performance or lack of. Doing such a thing is NOT a professional way to open a player’s mind. Nor will it give them the confidence they need to prod forward.
Sincerely,
Don Vandivier
September 8th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Dear Don Vandivier,
Please read Part 2: A Network of Support of this article and tell me what you think! I’m always looking for ways to improve my instruction… If you think it’s all that bad, let me know, and could you offer some suggestions to help me better help the kids make the connection?
September 8th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Also, Mr. Vandivier, though I appreciate your critique, please allow me to point out that every coach has his own style and what works for someone may not work for another… My students DO respond very favorably. We work to reveal the flaw AND how to overcome that flaw. In fact, it may not be “professional” in your eyes, but my alumni beg to differ…
September 8th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
@ Don Vandivier
I am impressed with your experience, i hope maybe one day I’ll be able to say the same….
I am a chess teacher and promoter and have done so for over 3 years.
Besides my expertise in teaching, I run a local chess club in my town, mostly attended by regular chess team members of the high school, but a new face will appear here and there.
Also, i am the assistant coach aforementioned by Eric Czerwin, in this article and a few others.
With all due respect, I think you grossly misunderstood the purpose for the nicknames, and perhaps your perception of what Erik and i are attempting is slightly skewed…
Let me begin by stating the nicknames aren’t meant to be derogatory, nor are the students made fun of for having their unique nickname. As Erik put it, it brings them together as a family, and blood is thicker than…well…you know the saying.
Now one may ask: “What’s the purpose to this inhumane ritual?”
Everyone has a fault when they play chess. Every game we study, we can see our flaws. This goes with players of all levels. Sometimes blunders are unexplainable, but once you analyze fifty or a hundred games of these wonderful kids, you really get a sense for what they continue to do wrong, and right, over and over. It isn’t small things, like basic tactical mistakes, but rather a character flaw which deep down affects how we play.
I’ll say right now that I’m stubborn, I’m quick to attack, impatient, and, unfortunately, i never really accepted that until my students decided to come up with a nickname for me. It’s only fair right?
What Erik and I do is show our students not to be afraid of our mistakes. Erik and I consistently talk about everything we do wrong when we play, and are rarely caught gloating. We want to show our students that we have characteristics that affects how we play, what the nicknames do is bring them to that reality, to accept our imperfections. To live with those imperfections, and perhaps correcting those flaws down the line. Are the nicknames needed? No. But they are a fun way to help bring our students closer to each other, to build a bond that is unique in both chess and in school.
Personally, i believe helping students accept their mistakes and flaws, instead of ignoring them, is a great way to open their mind to not only chess, but towards life as well.
September 13th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
The nicknames do not serve to stigmatize the player in any shape or form, but instead serve as a focal point from which each player can better understand the weaknesses attributed to their styles of play.