The FIDE Elo rating system began in 1971. Elo did a bit of study trying to work the ratings backwards, but the chief scholar in this regard is Jeff Sonas http://chessmetrics.com/cm/. Jeff devised his own rating system, however -- using an 'absentee' penalty for periods of non-playing. This leads to odd-looking results like Lasker's repeated plummets and recoveries here:
I started coaching adults at the Exeter club in 1993, about the same time as Alan Maynard started up the current incarnation of Exeter Junior Chess Club. I went looking for some useful resources for teaching, and there were some, but mostly I became a magpie, picking shiny bits out of various good books. I did find it irksome that so many books repeated familiar examples, and I thought I could at least pull those out for my colleagues, and that became the core of the Canon. I found particularly useful:
* Tony Gillam - Simple Chess Tactics and Simple Checkmates
Some more time at home recently has meant I have been able to do something I've been meaning to do for ages, which is tidy up my database of teaching games, which I call the Canon.
Sorry if you have an earlier version and have had to tidy it yourself.
With just one room available these days, I have offered group coaching
sessions only during the Summer when no matches or individual
competitions will be going on.
This year, as usual, we discussed a series of topics suggested by
members, including an Opening Workshop, Creating and Exchanging strong
pieces, Making and Meeting Threats, and Endgame Elements. New material
on the London System, Caro-Kann and Budapest Gambit was posted on the
website.
In order to get a bit of material to think about a future training event, Devon U9 Team co-Manager, Ben Sturt, took on the might of the U9 entry in a 7-board mini-simul.
