Coaching

Three results

29th_June_2010: Three results

Holiday Homework

No chess club for three weeks?!

You can play chess online at the Free Internet Chess Server

If you want to improve for free:

Openings: see yesterday's post!

Tactics: try the Chess Tactics Server

Chess and Psychology

Introduction
Analysis vs. judgement
Memory: the touchstone of talent?
Towards a general model
Further reading

Introduction

Many people use the word "psychology" to refer to 'gamesmanship', or perhaps to the familiar failings of attention or attitude during play. For example, I have written and collected material elsewhere

Mini Chess games

Exeter Chess Club: Mini Chess Games for Beginning Chess Players

See also some great active chess games for juniors from Sverre.

[cool blue cat says:]

How should we first learn the game of chess?

Junior Club Posters

The Basics
Winning a won game...
- ...not as hard as winning a lost one.
1. If you are ahead:
2. If you are behind:

Free e-books for coaches and players

A course in chess tactics: [PDF] [PGN]

Tactical ideas illustrated with short games in the Italian Game and related openings.

A First Chess Opening Repertoire: [PDF] [PGN]

Some suggestions to get you through your first chess games.

Your Chess Profile

pIsh has been kind enough to give me his copy of Igor Khmelnizky's Chess Exam and Training Guide. You remember me banging on a couple of years ago about knowing your chess profile, having an idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are? Well, this book does what I was telling you to do: it gives you a rating for a set of diverse features.nbsp; So, if your study of your own games gives you no clues, or you'd like a second opinion, I think you can't do better than this book.

Dealing with Complexity

21st July 09. Dealing with complexity

[I'll tidy up the examples soon, but the advice stands alone I think]

I don't think I've got enough for a whole session on this, and the Sicilian is a good setting to talk about it. To warm up, have a go at this one:

Fridrik Olafsson
Svetozar Gligoric

Los Angeles (1)
1963

Chess and Maths

Our esteemed colleague Dan Frean asked me recently about teaching chess in Maths lessons. In the spirit of BBC's Any Answers, I don't think ignorance should be any barrier to trumpeting my ideas... I'll just dump the e-mail here, and add the links and the examples in later when I've got a bit more time.

I'm anxious not to use chess in a way that emphasises existing differences
in chess ability...