Chess is fun!

[Neill Cooper]

If we want to promote chess to teenagers we should make it fun for them.
Then they might do it as well as all the other activities they are interested in.

[Peter Sowray]

Neill,

Absolutely right! If you make chess an enjoyable activity for young people of secondary school age, you'll find plenty who want to play.

Best of luck with all your efforts to promote chess.

Peter

[NickFaulks]

Neill,

Peter clearly knows about your efforts in popularising junior chess. I don't, so please accept my comments in the spirit in which they are intended.

Chess should be fun. Well, yes, I'm sure we all support that, and I have not seen the opposing campaign for chess to be tedious. Indeed, I have always assumed that, for those teenagers who play the game, chess must be fun, because it is a voluntary activity and otherwise they wouldn't do it. The question is why more do not choose to participate.

FIDE encourages junior chess through Chess In Schools. Have you looked at http://sm.fide.com/site ? If so, do you find it

a) promising
b) embarrassing, or
c) irrelevant

I'm asking for no other reason than that I would really like to know the answer. I have mixed feelings myself, particularly about the "rating system", but Kevin is unquestionably well intentioned and capable of putting together something of value.

[Mike Truran]

Well, having a high profile picture and signature on the home page of an alleged kleptocrat who has also allegedly ordered the assassination of political opponents maybe isn't the best of starts.

So probably b), in the absence of stronger available adjectives.

[Matthew Turner]

Well having a fascist dictator committed to spending $1m on restricting funds to chess in the developing world might not be best option either?

[Neill Cooper]

Neill,

Peter clearly knows about your efforts in popularising junior chess. I don't, so please accept my comments in the spirit in which they are intended.

Chess should be fun. Well, yes, I'm sure we all support that, and I have not seen the opposing campaign for chess to be tedious. Indeed, I have always assumed that, for those teenagers who play the game, chess must be fun, because it is a voluntary activity and otherwise they wouldn't do it. The question is why more do not choose to participate.

FIDE encourages junior chess through Chess In Schools. Have you looked at http://sm.fide.com/site ? If so, do you find it

a) promising
b) embarrassing, or
c) irrelevant

I'm asking for no other reason than that I would really like to know the answer. I have mixed feelings myself, particularly about the "rating system", but Kevin is unquestionably well intentioned and capable of putting together something of value.

Nick

Thanks for the pointer - it is something that I should look into (probably I will get my pupils to look into, particularly since they are the ones who can register). Interesting to see that it also says "Above all, playing chess is fun."

A bit of background - I'm a maths teacher and chess player who runs a very popular secondary school chess club - 150 members from a school of 1050 with typically about 60 on any lunchtime. I think one reason that it is popular is because the pupils enjoy it. It is by no means quiet and there is a wide range of abilities and all ages from 11 to 18.

I am also the ECF National Secondary Schools Co-ordinator - see newsletters at http://englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/scho ... hool-news/

[Jonathan Bryant]

I'm a maths teacher and chess player who runs a very popular secondary school chess club - 150 members from a school of 1050 with typically about 60 on any lunchtime.

These are astonishing numbers and I can only tip my hat to you Neil. I reckon the key variable here - over and above even 'making chess fun' - is the presence of a teacher who’s keen on bringing chess to his students and his willing to put his back into doing so on a systematic and long term basis.

[Matthew Turner]

I think what Neill is doing is incredibly important because he is really identifying a niche that chess can have within modern education. The success of the various UKMT Maths Challenges and more recently the Science and General Knowledge quizzes demonstrate that there is a place for what one might call 'intellectual extension activities'. I think Neill has provided some pointers to the lessons that can be learnt from the successes of these other events (shorter games, events not always at the weekend, his newsletter). I hope his initiatives will continue to prosper and Neill and others will continue to develop this incredibly important, yet oft neglected area of English Chess.

[Neill Cooper]

I'm a maths teacher and chess player who runs a very popular secondary school chess club - 150 members from a school of 1050 with typically about 60 on any lunchtime.

These are astonishing numbers and I can only tip my hat to you Neil. I reckon the key variable here - over and above even 'making chess fun' - is the presence of a teacher who’s keen on bringing chess to his students and his willing to put his back into doing so on a systematic and long term basis.

Thanks Jonathan. I certainly have the properties you refer to. Even so, I think the most important lesson for people running secondary school chess clubs is that they realise that chess clubs can be very popular.

An important part of my approach is that all members are important, not just the stronger players. I try to avoid anyone feeling inferior, or criticised for their play. I also avoid it being boring by just having chess being played with no coaching.

[Roger de Coverly]

An important part of my approach is that all members are important, not just the stronger players. I try to avoid anyone feeling inferior, or criticised for their play. I also avoid it being boring by just having chess being played with no coaching.

To what extent would you encourage players fed up with losing to do their own research? Public libraries, bookshops and perhaps school libraries as well are wastelands for chess material compared with the past. Against that, there's an abundance of on-line material of varying quality and by signing up to chess-servers an enthusiast could play 24/7.

[Neill Cooper]

An important part of my approach is that all members are important, not just the stronger players. I try to avoid anyone feeling inferior, or criticised for their play. I also avoid it being boring by just having chess being played with no coaching.

To what extent would you encourage players fed up with losing to do their own research? Public libraries, bookshops and perhaps school libraries as well are wastelands for chess material compared with the past. Against that, there's an abundance of on-line material of varying quality and by signing up to chess-servers an enthusiast could play 24/7.

Very few get fed up with losing as it does not happen to them very often - there are always some similar standard plays to play against. They are as unlikely to read any chess books as they would a computer manual. Some get keen and play and research chess on line. Most just want to play chess in a friendly environment, which is what is provided. They also enjoy playing competitive chess for the school.

[Jonathan Bryant]

They also enjoy playing competitive chess for the school.

So obviously there is no conflict between 'no coaching' and getting involved in 'competitive' chess.

What do you do about those who either can’t play at all or can but don’t really play 'to the rules'. i.e. don’t known en passant/are hazy about castling/leave kings in check etc?

Or in practice does this problem not arise for you?

[Neill Cooper]

They also enjoy playing competitive chess for the school.

So obviously there is no conflict between 'no coaching' and getting involved in 'competitive' chess.

They don't need coaching to play competitive chess. That was my experience at school, where we had not coaching. I have brought that approach to running chess at Wilson's. So whether it is first team or the sixth team, they predominantly learn by playing at school, at events and on the internet. A limited number of pupils use coaches but that is for one-one tuition not group coaching.

An advantage of not coaching them is that they learn to rely on their own resources and abilities. This develops their resilience, and important life skill. They often get in to bad positions and then recover by out-playing their opponents.

There are times at chess matches when I will help a pupil learn one thing from a game, normally one they have lost. But that is normally the extent of any post-match analysis that I do. Pupils are also good at saying something, normally helpful and positive.

What do you do about those who either can’t play at all or can but don’t really play 'to the rules'. i.e. don’t known en passant/are hazy about castling/leave kings in check etc?

Or in practice does this problem not arise for you?

All these arise regularly as issues. But whether I have 8 or 80 at chess club, there is always another pupil who will help out with any such problem. My pupils much prefer getting the input when they need to know, and normally from another pupil rather than a teacher. Occasionally they will ask me to help resolve a dispute, but I normally delegate that to others.

What they don't seem to want is another lesson from me in lunchbreak where I tell them in advance of possible problems they might face when playing chess. They much prefer to learn by experience. That way 'chess is fun' not another academic subject.

[Michael Flatt]

Neill,

I very much endorse your approach it matches my own experience in Primary Schools.

Some teachers, who are not chess players, do not understand. They tell the children that chess club because it as run on school premises is a school lesson and should be played in silence. It kills the fun stone dead.

The children have given up their free time to play and their parents pay so the children should be allowed to enjoy playing, providing the fun does not lapse into too much silliness and bad behaviour.

The children need the opportunity to experiment with their own ideas and by degrees they begin to accept advice from the club leader. I have a group of Year 3, mostly girls, and they have recently taken part in a friendly local schools competition. They absolutely loved it despite never having had a formal chess lesson.

There are a lot of experts outside the classroom but it pays to listen to the children and provide them with the necessary opportunities to play competitively.

You have to accept that children don't like to be told what to do by adults all the time; they have enough of that in their normal school lessons!