5:50 PM 3/13/99
REGIONAL COACHING CONVENTION, 6th March 1999, Bristol
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Present:
1. Gary Kenworthy (BCF director for coaching) - e-mail:
gkenworthy@cwcom.co.uk, 17 Buttermere Close, Bletchley, Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire, MK2 3DG, evenings 01908 -833096, weekends
01908-646763.
2. Steve Boniface, 11 Henrietta Street, Lower Easton, Bristol.
BS5 6HU. Tel. 01179 - 393262 (answerphone)
3. Jerry Humphreys, 9 Ernestville Road, Fishponds, Bristol.
BS16 3DB. Tel. 0117 - 965 - 0097 (with answering service).
4. Monica Vann, e-mail mvann@marlow.demon.co.uk. 1 Kennedy Close,
Marlow, Bucks. SL7 3JA. Tel: 01628 - 486676
5. Dave Regis, e-mail dregis@exeter.ac.uk, 2 Bagshot Avenue, Exeter,
Devon EX2 4RN. Tel. 01392 - 431785 (answerphone)
APOLOGIES:
Chris Baker (Regional Coach), Neville Belinfante,
John Dunleavy, John Richards, Vic Cross.
1. THE STATE OF PLAY (Gary K)
a. Gary emphasised that he did not see coaching as relevant only for
promising juniors. Moreover, a good coach needs to understand both
chess and teaching, and courses should recognise these two dimensions.
b. The history of coaching in the BCF is poorly understood, and all
sorts of good work has gone on outside any BCF. Record-keeping and
communication have been patchy at best and many important documents
are not readily available e.g.:
-- the old BCF coaching manual
-- the revised BCF Certificate of Merit scheme
-- the revised BCF coaching framework (titles [National. Master,
Regional and Club coaches] , course summaries, criteria, who attended
courses, who passed, etc.)
There is a general lack of circulation of these documents, and those
that Gary knows about are often in need of revision. Gary appealed
for:
-- All courses past and present to be properly documented and copies
sent to him
-- Any other interesting materials or documents also to be sent to
him.
-- Volunteers for revising and composing documents please make
themselves known (Dave R will happily review material).
c. Developments in Child Protection legislation mean that the BCF
needs to be a lot more attentive to this area
d. Technology has opened up many new possibilities for coaching e.g.
coaching on the Internet, game commentary on cassette tape or
telephone, video presentations etc. Probably they all have advantages
and disadvantages.
e. The BCF receives a substantial grant from the Government for
education -- the better we are and doing and recording our educational
work the more likely we are to retain and enhance that income.
2. COACHING AND THE INTERNET (Dave R)
a. Dave gave an account of chess coaching at Exeter emphasising:
-- it is principally an adult-to-adult, self-help group without
'master' input
-- we have tried hard to accompany all the sessions with handouts,
which, thanks to advances in computing, are now very easy and cheap to
produce
-- all the handouts are available free on the Internet,
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~dregis/DR/chess.html
-- Exeter's web site has been designed as a place to post and
exchange good ideas about coaching, and Dave would be pleased to host
any outcomes of the conventions on the site.
b. John Richards of Bristol has composed a helpful and nicely-laid-out
summary of key ideas and locations of chess-related materials on the
Internet. Gary K took a copy and will circulate it.
c. Dave R has also written an article as a guide to the internet for
beginners, published in Westward Ho! (WECU journal, edited by Bob
Jones). Gary K took copy and may circulate.
3. TIPS AND TECHNIQUES (Gary K)
Gary discussed:
a. Demo. Boards -- see appendix
b. Pairs chess (tandem chess) -- where master and apprentice play
alternate moves (without consultation) against moderate opposition.
Useful for making you think!
c. Sparring partners and the developing effects of healthy rivalries
d. Use of video -- see appendix
4. THE LAWS OF CHESS AND COACHING (Steve B)
a. Steve gave an entertaining quiz on the laws, emphasising the
special differences between normal play, quickplay, rapidplay and
blitz.
b. Points can and are won and lost through players' knowledge of the
laws. Coaches should make sure players can conduct themselves
properly during the game and do things like claim draws, keep score,
and react appropriately to opponent's transgressions, all according to
the proper procedures.
c. Steve would *discourage*:
(i) Replying to opponent's moves without writing them down (as is
permitted by the current laws), and
(ii) Writing your move down and then thinking for ages -- this
is not bad practice when used to briefly check for blunders, but
when all or most moves are changed, or the checking takes a long time,
it looks like written analysis and can be penalised accordingly.
d. Dave would discourage young players insisting on a rook move when
castling was intended, if the opponent's rook was moved first
(although he would object if it happened *twice* in the same game).
However, as a claim for ...Rh8-f8 is perfectly correct, do also
encourage everyone to use the correct sequence. Steve also would
encourage young players to remind their opponents to press their
clock after moving, at least as a general rule. Although, after
several failures by the opponent, you may be forgiven for
forgetting...
e. Touch-move, however, should never be overlooked.
e. Jerry also mentioned that he does not encourage claims for draws
in the last two minutes with new players, although mention of the
rule is probably necessary since opponents may claim.
f. When talking about the laws there are two wonderful distraction
techniques used by audiences: (1) "what if...?" No set of laws can
cover all contrived 'what if' circumstances, the point is to cover
normal play. (2) "I heard a story that...". These interruptions are
more forgivable, but are of more interest to arbiters and perhaps
match captains than practical players and coaches. Although probably
players do not discuss the laws enough, so if these stories attract
interest...
5. COACHING AND THE BRAIN (Gary K)
a. Mednis in 'How to be a Complete Tournament Player' (Cadogan, p.
110) is one of the few authors to touch on the subject of mental and
physical fitness.
b. Tiredness, nerves and stress all detract from good play and should
not be neglected when coaching.
6. CHESS ASSISTANT (Monica V)
a. Chess Assistant is a relatively inexpensive but complete and
comprehensive chess database, flagship of a suite of chess
training programmes offered by Convekta.
b. It enables many facilities coaches could want -- analysis of games,
setting-up of test positions, test-yourself programmes, imported
comments from openings trees. It obviously offers many other
facilities e.g. production of encyclopaedia-style trees, which are not
directly relevant to coaching.
c. CA emphasises compatibility and reads in several other
database formats; it can export information as PGN, RTF or MS
Word files. It also links to many popular playing engines sold by
third parties (CA has its own analysis engine included).
d. Versions for older machines and operating systems, and cut-down
versions for viewing only, are all still available. Test yourself
programmes are separate to CA, but CA can be used to test
yourself in conjunction with a playing program such as Hiarcs, Rebel
or Genius. It may be nice to mention that a trainer or coach with CA
could set up training problems or instruction that could be used by
the pupil (who does not have the complete CA program) on their computer
by means of a free cut-down version of the program.
e. There are pieces of public domain (free) software around, says
Dave, but the advantages of having everything in one package, with
a wide range of compatibility and support, requiring less computing
expertise are not denied.
7. A.O.B.
a. RECOMMENDED BOOKS
i. The Chess Teacher -- Alan Phillips (Oxford UP) -- a series of
lessons covering many different aspects of the game in a sequential
and cyclical manner -- written for coaches rather than students (Gary K)
ii. Chess Coaching -- John Littlewood (Crowood) -- a brisk review of
coaching, bung-full of useful examples. Some of the tactical examples
are flawed (poor editing and checking rather than the intended line
being wrong) and some of the chapters feel rushed, but otherwise an
excellent book with no real competitiors (Dave R).
iii. Chess for Tigers -- Simon Webb (Maxwell Macmillan) -- an
excellent and amusing practical guide to making the most of your style
(Dave R)
iv. Many BCF materials exist and whatever state of revision they are
in are worth a look (Gary K/Dave R):
-- "Chess Skills" pamphlet sets (1 & 2) for tactics training -- now
issued in algebraic with answers
-- Pamphlet "How to run a school chess club "
-- Pamphlet "Advice for juniors"
-- Pamphlet "Advice for juniors about clubs"
-- Pamphlet "Advice for parents of junior chess players"
b. other materials and resources AVAILABLE
GK issued a revision of the Calendar (BCF 1999) but also strongly
recommended consulting Neville Belinfante's calendar of events updated
regularly on the Web. (URL??)
c. other materials and resources DESIRABLE:
(i) COACHING GUIDANCE NOTES from the BCF (1-2 sides of A4) on: use of
demo. boards, use of video, list of recommended books and other
materials, 'de-coaching' lessons (i.e. repairing commonly held
misunderstandings).
(ii) Some sense of priority or sequence for the many rules and maxims
players are offered. Gary suggested as an outline: (1) King safety
(2) dynamic activity - quantity and quality of material (3) capacity
to exchange key pieces (4) static and structural features (pawn
formation).
APPENDIX ONE: Checklist for use of demonstration boards
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1. Choice of board: many types exist in all sizes, not all are
suitable for every occasion.
Cost? Design, Wearability (worn slots, adhesion, de-magnetise)
Supply?
Transport? (collapsable)
Storage?
Construction: frames or ladders required? Health and Safety issues?
Visibility from a distance? Contrast of pieces? Reflective when lit?
Removal and departure?
2. Training of operators (and runners at tournaments): perhaps, like
demo. boards, many types exist in all sizes, not all are suitable
for every occasion!
3. When demonstrating, engage your audience:
- Don't look at the board, don't look at your feet, do look at the
audience.
- React to the audience -- see if someone's puzzled or bursting with a
question.
- Get them to participate -- ask them questions, ask what they know
already, ask what they think is the best move and why, ask them what
they think will happen later in the game.
APPENDIX TWO: Checklist for use of videos.
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1. Don't turn it on then leave the room. The video needs a minder.
2. Stop regularly and check to see how your audience is doing: see if
someone's puzzled or bursting with a question.
3. The ideal condition is to have a demo. board alongside the TV so
that when points arise they can be dealt with collectively before
moving on.
APPENDIX THREE: Suggested contents of coaching pack
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1. Current BCF materials: Certificate of Merit
Coaching Scheme criteria
Notes for Juniors/Parents
2. BCF Materials in need of review/development
3. John Richards' Internet Notes
4. Steve Boniface's Legal Quiz
APPENDIX FOUR: Steve's legal quiz (and, thankfully, answers)
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(to follow separately)