Two Junior-Related Questions

[robertmitchell]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to the forum, and our club (Meltham Chess Club in West Yorkshire) is still only 9 months old, so I wondered if I could tap your collective expertise to help with two junior queries please:

1) We have a beginner, aged 7, who prioritises trying to promote his pawns over anything else in the game (it could be the thrill of having multiple queens on the board), but is throwing away games because of this, as all his attention is on his pawn moves, with his back rank often still full of pieces. His dad is a keen chess player, but advice from him and us is falling on deaf ears currently. Any advice would be greatly received!

2) We have another player aged 12, doing really well and spotting 2 (and sometimes 3) move combinations, has a good grasp of the rules of chess, but falls apart as soon as he plays with a clock. Has burst into tears over this at the club, and now asks, as soon as he arrives, "are we using clocks tonight?" HIs attendance, however, is excellent - he's only missed about 3 club nights since last April. We run a lot of friendly, unrated tournaments with our juniors, and are trying to modify his games as clock-free, but ultimately we'd love him representing us in rated games within a couple of years, and want to overcome this hurdle. I've spoken with parents, and they have said he has indicators of autism and can become overwhelmed. Any advice on how to make timed games appear less threatening?

Thanks for taking the time to read this guys

[Thomas Rendle]

No specific advice for dealing with 1) - I would expect him to lose some games and grow out of it. Sometimes juniors need to come to the conclusion on their own. You could try showing him some mate puzzles and see if you can get him interested in those.

For 2) I would suggest introducing clocks in low-stakes situations, with plenty of time on the clock - if necessary enough time for it to be virtually impossible for him to lose on time before having to go home. Then he can get used to playing with the clocks without it being such a scary thing. Ideally at the end of the game he has plenty of time on the clock and you can discuss how it wasn't really a problem.

Ultimately there is a limit to how much you can do, and playing chess can be very stressful. Is he OK with playing online with clocks (as he doesn't have to worry about the mechanics of it)?

[robertmitchell]

Thanks very much Thomas - that sounds great. I've shared this with the two parents in question, and we'll give these suggestions a whirl!

[Tim Spanton]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

[John Upham]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

Something like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E

[Tim Spanton]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

Something like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E

Long time, no see

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

Something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E

When I read Tim's comment I immediately thought of the incident involving poor Nigel Pomeroy of Stocksfield, Northumberland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWNmWRSEds4

[Tim Spanton]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

Something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E

When I read Tim's comment I immediately thought of the incident involving poor Nigel Pomeroy of Stocksfield, Northumberland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWNmWRSEds4

Yes, that's more-or-less nails it on the head, although I have not seen that clip before

[J T Melsom]

As my mother would have said, I'm sure both issues could be sorted with a good slap.

Your mother was wrong.