New junior chess club in Harrogate

[Andrew Zigmond]

One of my frustrations is that all the interest locally is in the 8-9 age bracket where children are likely to be less receptive to coaching. As the club organiser told me their minds are not as advanced as an 11-12 year old and I understand where she is coming from when she says she wants a fun club rather than a competitive one (I should add that she takes a very firm line on behaviour and chess ettiquette). If some 11 year olds join the club then they could be set some slightly more structured activity but at present none are coming forward.

Secondary school activity locally is another massive frustration. Over the years I've written repeatedly to the schools trying to make contact without any success. Even more exasperatingly; going back about six years ago we had two six formers join before dropping out just as quickly due to pressures of schoolwork. Both were capable players so they must have got some tuition from somewhere.

[Michael Flatt]

You can't really force coaching onto young players. The most important thing is for them to get some games under their belt. Playing experience is an important prerequisite to formal coaching.

Given that children spend all day in school being told what to do, they need the freedom to discover and work things out for themselves. Some school teachers I've encountered, who don't play themselves, try to tell me that chess is a quiet game that can be played in the library. When they enter the room they insist on absolute silence which destroys any enjoyment the children have in playing and discussing their moves.

There comes a time when the children become receptive to advice and that's the time to think about serious coaching. It is a difficult balance.

[Alison Bexfield]

I have been running a junior club for a little over two years. In my experience the juniors really want to play other juniors. This is what makes it fun for them. While most of them welcome some competition, at the early stages they want this to be with other juniors and preferably those at the same skill level as themselves. I agree the Delancey chess challenge is great in this respect. The club heat fosters competitive play and those making it through to the next stage do not find it too daunting. There can be a big step up from that to other junior events such as London Chess qualifiers. This step becomes much bigger for those in senior school where I find it harder to identify suitable events for those fairly new to the game. There is nothing more off putting then going to your first tournament and losing all your games because as an U12 you are playing against people who have been playing in junior events for several years already.
My original members are now progressing through their respective senior schools, none of which have established chess clubs, so they welcome the chance to continue to play at our club. Some of them will be candidates for the adult chess club- they are now gaining that maturity where they can play in the adult environment. And the adult club is offering them a taster session. But I think they have to really love chess to make that transition as the adult club environment is very different.

Alison

[Leonard Barden]

Reading this thread takes my mind back to 1974 and 1975. James Howell joined Harrogate CC (the adult club, not a junior section) at seven, at a time when we had just launched junior invitation tournaments in London. Brian Eley recommended I include Andrew Dyson of Leeds and James Howell, and the pair travelled down together. They were in an U10 section which Dyson won with Howell high up, and they exchanged views on the games with a witty repartee beyond their years.
In early 1975 the Prestige Hotel group engaged GM Lajos Portisch to give a nationwide tour, playing simuls of 25 boards or so at each hotel. I persuaded them to allow seclected juniors free invitations, and James played against Portisch in Harrogate while Nigel Short, then 9, did so in Chester. When Portisch gave his final display in London (where his opponents included Julian Hodgson and William Watson) he told me how impressed he was by James's opening knowledge, playing Black in a Nimzo-Indian. Short had made a draw, but Portisch did not remember that and had not even realised that he was playing a nine-year-old.
The Yorkshire Post then ran a full page article about James, headlined "The Wizard of Harrogate" with a large photo and a comment by the Harrogate club secretary that he had never seen a boy so talented so young. There was no really strong coach available locally, so John Nunn agreed to coach him via audio tapes, which conteinued for several years.
In 1984 Kasparov gave his first simul as world champion to the England junior squad, organised at Uppingham by Peter Barton, who had moved there from Barnham in Sussex where Karpov had given two displays. Kasparov played for free when we persuaded his manager that it would be good advertising for his future tours. I was surprised at the start when Kasparov asked for a team list and an hour to prepare, but at the end he was specially pleased by his win against Howell, who was by then an IM and No 1 for the juniors, and I gathered that he had used part of his hour to prepare specially for James.
Later James had some near misses with GM norms and took longer than expected to reach the GM title, after which he abandoned chess for accountancy rather quickly.
Times change.

[Andrew Zigmond]

Reading this thread takes my mind back to 1974 and 1975. James Howell joined Harrogate CC (the adult club, not a junior section) at seven, at a time when we had just launched junior invitation tournaments in London. Brian Eley recommended I include Andrew Dyson of Leeds and James Howell, and the pair travelled down together. They were in an U10 section which Dyson won with Howell high up, and they exchanged views on the games with a witty repartee beyond their years.
In early 1975 the Prestige Hotel group engaged GM Lajos Portisch to give a nationwide tour, playing simuls of 25 boards or so at each hotel. I persuaded them to allow seclected juniors free invitations, and James played against Portisch in Harrogate while Nigel Short, then 9, did so in Chester. When Portisch gave his final display in London (where his opponents included Julian Hodgson and William Watson) he told me how impressed he was by James's opening knowledge, playing Black in a Nimzo-Indian. Short had made a draw, but Portisch did not remember that and had not even realised that he was playing a nine-year-old.
The Yorkshire Post then ran a full page article about James, headlined "The Wizard of Harrogate" with a large photo and a comment by the Harrogate club secretary that he had never seen a boy so talented so young. There was no really strong coach available locally, so John Nunn agreed to coach him via audio tapes, which conteinued for several years.
In 1984 Kasparov gave his first simul as world champion to the England junior squad, organised at Uppingham by Peter Barton, who had moved there from Barnham in Sussex where Karpov had given two displays. Kasparov played for free when we persuaded his manager that it would be good advertising for his future tours. I was surprised at the start when Kasparov asked for a team list and an hour to prepare, but at the end he was specially pleased by his win against Howell, who was by then an IM and No 1 for the juniors, and I gathered that he had used part of his hour to prepare specially for James.
Later James had some near misses with GM norms and took longer than expected to reach the GM title, after which he abandoned chess for accountancy rather quickly.
Times change.

James Howell is well remembered by many members of Harrogate Chess Club of which he is an honorary life member. This was unfortunately before my time (I wasn't born until 1981) but I suspect the secretary at the time of the article may have been Margaret Rowley who took James to his first ever tournament and remains active locally. The club did have a good track record for turning out strong junior players although this declined in the late nineties, mainly because of dwindling activity in local schools although Rob Murray did win the club minor tournament several times as a teenager in the 90s and nine year old Mate Ther has recently become arguably our strongest junior since James Howell himself.

As Alison Bexfield says young children will generally just want to play among themselves and that is where the new club is at for the time being. However if there is a future James Howell or indeed an A Team strength player there I want to ensure they are not lost to the game as too many young players have been over the years.

[David Blower]

I'm not quite sure what the history of James Howell in chess has to do with the modern day running of Harrogate Junior Chess Club, or how it is relevant to the topic in anyway.

[Andrew Zigmond]

I'm not quite sure what the history of James Howell in chess has to do with the modern day running of Harrogate Junior Chess Club, or how it is relevant to the topic in anyway.

Perhaps not immediately relevant but I enjoyed reading Leonard Barden's memories (particularly as I never knew James Howell personally although many of the longer standing members remember him fondly) and it also served as a reminder of what young players can achieve if they are supported within a chess scene that allows them to develop their talent.

[David Blower]

I suppose the question is though, is how much of it is down to raw natural talent, and how much to do with the support structure a child may be in.

Clearly James Howell had to get transport to tournaments etc.

But no one could help James Howell whilst he was actually at the board, in matches.

Clearly if we get a grandmaster from one of the current crop at Brewood, I would be delighted.

But what realistically can we do. The current aim is just to ensure that any new member (adult or junior) that goes to Brewood, enjoys themselves. The club have a structure that means that children are not excluded from teams, (although I am not going to discuss specific team selections issues on the ECF forum.) I am happy enough with that current aim.

To me, enjoyment is key. Others may disagree.

[Mike Truran]

Lee Howell - a talent previously unknown to English chess.