![]() Chess groups on Facebook and forums on several chess sites are inundated with requests for advice for those starting out. ![]() Others are taking it up for the first time. Some adults are returning to the game after many years away. Chess is enjoying growth in popularity at the present. Not all beginners are children, of course. Both " Cutting Off" (2015) and " Playing with Rooks" (2016) offer additional examples as they document lessons as I use them in after school clubs. Both Pandolfini and Lewis are mentioned in " Teaching Elementary Checkmates" (2014). Several posts here on Chess Skills have outlined how I teach elementary checkmates with few pieces to children. Last month's post " Elementary" shows one that I find useful. It contains very few diagrams, so it is not always easy to appreciate at a glance the sorts of positions he offers for training new players. William Lewis, Elements of Chess (1819) is a neglected gem. I have added to Pandolfini's basic positions a great many others, some composed, some from games where a player executed a checkmate well, or where someone failed. The first eleven endgames in Bruce Pandolfini, Pandolfini's Endgame Course (1988) became a valuable resource for teaching. I have spent hundreds of hours teaching checkmate with queen and rook, or coordinating one of them with the king against a lone king. Having observed such scenes several times in my first few youth events as a coach more than twenty years ago, I made it a point to teach elementary checkmates to my students. When the stronger side has a queen, they know it should be a win, but often cannot find it. Often one of them tells the other, "I think this is a draw." Sometimes they look at me for confirmation. In countless youth events, I have watched children playing out rook and king vs. ![]() Youth chess has had a profound impact on my thinking about the game.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |