Children at the chess club who need basic lessons

[David Shepherd]

Then showed no respect and asked me how to spell my name

Surely taking the trouble to double check how you spell your name is showing respect and not the reverse?

half way through the game the kid interrupted me twice when it was my move to inform me he was going out to "get some water" (with the inference that I should wait until he returned before I should make my move) I replied ...do what you like

another interpretation of this is the "kid" is at school most of the week and has been taught to ask before leaving the classroom and is merely doing what he has been taught. Also children are for example taught to ask before they leave the dinner table - he probably thought what he was doing was polite and maybe it was. Maybe some would consider the response "do what you like as bad manners". Why infer that he was expecting you not to move?

It has been some time since I have come across such a bad apple in junior chess.

I really don't see the justification for this comment from what you have described - I suspect you had some prior impression of this player and were anticipating bad behaviour and so interpreted his behaviour accordingly. It is also important to remember juniors are just that juniors and are still learning.

[Martin Crichton]

David Shepherd....
suspect what you like. Never seen any of those kids before. I call a spade a spade. good to nip these things in the bud.

[David Shepherd]

Ok Martin fair enough, you were there so are in the best position to judge, particularly in regard to the manner in which things were done. From a personal point of view though I would much sooner that someone asks we how to spell my name rather than just spells it wrongly - Shepherd being spelt in various ways

[Colin S Crouch]

Getting back towards the original thread, Martin Crichton asked what happened to the old Pinner Chess Club. A fair enough question, since by googling, the only still active Pinner Chess Club happen to be in Nairobi.
The quick answer is the Pinner Chess Club folded. I suffered a stroke at the end of 2004 (I am amazed that I am still alive!), and after just couple of months in hospital, I returned, and saw the club in complete disintegration. There were no new club members, the adult members, some graded over 200, and often previous Pinner juniors, decided that this was the best time to bow out. Chris Stone, one of the main originators of the club, and father of Andrew, had died a few years previously, and I found it extremely difficult to bounce back new ideas with the new chairman and secretary. The Pinner club tried to carry on, but it was just a shell. At the start of the following season, there were three Pinner teams in the Hillingdon League season, and as far as I can tell, there were more teams than players.
Meanwhile, I went back to my old club Harrow, and stated a new junior section, with the help of Alan Marshall, and of course several parents.
So one "shrinking club" expired, but the neighbouring club has expanded sharply. A gain overall from the local area.
Of the other comment that Martin makes, all I can say is that I find the juniors are friendly and well-behaved, and genuinely enjoy their chess. If only it was true at adult level! I can think of one man in particular, aged about 70 – but no, it's best not to continue on this line just now...

[David Blower]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am now on the club committee at Brewood, and with this in mind I have sent this email to the rest of our club committee. Post in italics purely to make it easier to read on this forum:


Brewood Junior/Beginners Chess Club

What do you all think about this. The idea would be to run it from 6:00pm-7:15pm on Tuesdays evenings at the club, allowing children/beginners to learn the game, completely separate to the competitive league play that takes place later on in the evening. This would be open to any age, but I would suspect that it would mainly be aimed at children, and contacting Brewood Middle School would be a good place to start.

With the two children that came in September noise was an issue, and it wasn't really fair on anyone, including the existing club members and especially the children themselves! It was difficult to keep the noise down, whilst trying to teach them something. After two weeks they left the club, and we have not heard from them since. I am a bit disappointed with this, whilst acknowledging that a chess club isn't for everyone, but these are the type of members we should be encouraging to join the club.

The current set up we have is good for players who want to experience competitive league chess, but I do feel it can perhaps be a bit off putting for new members especially those just starting out. In time this will also be a good way to increase the long term membership of the club. I should point out that it wasn't just the two new children coming and then leaving that has led me to this conclusion, its being a thing I have had nagging thoughts for a long time.

If we have two or three adults helping out (which can also include parents) a junior chess club could be successful.

If such a club was started the aim would eventually be to enter our club members in the UK Chess Challenge.

I am aware that this email is a lot to take in, and will be willing to discuss the points raised at the club.

[J T Melsom]

David

Good luck with this. I think it is really important to get buy-in from the rest of the club. It protects you as a committee member , but also may ease the burden on you to help the juniors, and do all the teaching/ coaching - which is hard /impossible in a mixed ability group. The trick which we've not mastered yet at my club is to persuade adult members that they have some experience/advice that they can usefully impart through informal feedback, even if they dont regard themselves as experts. And for those kids who have leart the basics and just want to play, then playing adults who may not be much stronger but are somehow more deliberate/slower has always seemed to me an important step in learning, perhaps more so than bashing up their peers.