Diary of a new junior chess 'coach'

[Scott Crowther]

Hesitate to call myself a coach as this is completely new to me, but today was my first time teaching a small group of Year 2's (ages 6 and 7) how to play chess. Thought I'd capture brief thoughts here occasionally in the hope it might inform others in the same position in future.

Some basic background: I am an amateur player with basic knowledge of chess, I have never played competitively, I picked Year 2 purely because my son is in that year, I am in Coventry, I took advice from Richard James and Nick Thomas on lesson ideas, I have done no coaching courses (yet).

Today:
- 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys, with intention to stick to the same group of children for remainder of the term (was intended to be 6 but 2 didn't show up and 1 just decided to turn up unannounced).
- 30 mins lunchtime session
- aim was to test children's current knowledge of rank and file naming, piece placement at start, piece names and pawn moves (but not en passant).

- 1 child knew all of above.
- 3 believed they knew it all but actually had about a 50% grasp (no knowledge of rank and file naming, king and queen in wrong places, bishop and knight swapped, knight called horse, bishop called guard, rook called castle).
- 1 had no knowledge at all.

- I planned to do this in 10-15mins and play pawn vs pawn games after that, but in fact it took 25 mins with 5mins playing time. A lot of desire to play a full game from those who 'knew the rules', but this was tempered by the race against the clock games detailed below.

- I explained row and column (1d was used at first which brought great excitement due to this being acronym for boyband One Direction, so corrected this)
- I explained 'white to right', white goes first and white always on ranks 1 and 2.
- we played a race against the clock (twice) to have all of them set up their boards correctly, working as a big team to get them all right. Got it wrong first time (queens and kings on wrong square), but right second time and faster too. Told them next time we would do the same at the start of the session.
- I ran short 'who thinks this is called a castle' type games to test naming and to discuss each piece.
- I then paired off those more confident to play games against each other while starting to explain names in more detail to the novice.
- it was quickly apparent that there is general knowledge gaps on rules such as which way a knight can move and whether you can capture the king. I avoided answering these questions by telling them we will learn that another day, but answering basic questions about pawn moves.
- I ran out of time to explain pawn moves beyond the choice of 2 or 1 square for first move.
- Gave all children a sticker for attending chess club.
- Packed everything away myself.

Rough plan for next week:
- game against the clock to recap setting up the board
- occasional verbal test of square naming convention
- explain chess is a battle between 2 forces
- run through pawn moves and pawn capturing
- play 'capture the flag' game.
- give out handouts and worksheets about piece naming and pawn moves.

Other ideas for future:
- send a letter to parents of the children explaining the general approach to be taken and how they ca support at home.
- arrange to loan chess sets to those who don't have one at home
- stickers, progress cards and certificates to track understanding and provide sense of achievement.

[Nick Thomas]

You're a star Scott, keep up the good work!

[Matthew Turner]

Scott,
Very well done, I like the sound of what you are doing. Getting the parents involved, encouraging the kids to play at home, plenty of stickers - all great stuff. At the age you are talking about the kids will just pick up information from experience, so I think you have to be careful not to spend too much time 'teaching', or get drawn into spending too much time teaching when they ask clever questions you hadn't really thought of
Best of luck.

[Scott Crowther]

Thanks Nick and Matthew.

I am very wary of teaching too much and hope to quickly get to a point where I can spend only 5 mins recapping and introducing a new idea, and leave the rest of the 30 to playing games.

But I decided I needed to do more in this first session to gauge what they knew. In hindsight I should maybe have gone straight to laying out the pieces, piece naming and then into pawn games. But it worked pretty well and I have had good feedback from 2 parents.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Scott.

There is a reward. It comes about 4-5 years later. (maybe sooner!)

When the bunch you teach become good players.
(in a few cases they may even become better than the teacher....OK in my case
the majority are now higher graded than me.)

The bad news is they all hate me for infusing them with the love I have for the game.

No coaching/teaching advice, you are in good hands ( Richard James and Nick Thomas).
You will learn from your teaching mistakes and know what not to do in future.
It's like playing only more fun and much more rewarding.

[Scott Crowther]

Thanks for the positive support Geoff.

[Scott Crowther]

Week 2: Last week's children + 1 more girl (complete novice) = Total 6 children (4 girls, 2 boys).

Started with a quick recap 'race against time' to get pieces in the right place on each board - working as a team (beat last week!)

Explained chess is a battle/war between 2 armies and capturing pieces may help you overpower your enemy and win.
Tried to also explain its a game played in quiet contemplation, but this had no impact on excitement/noise levels

Moved onto explaining pawn's moves and how it captures.
Spent just 5 mins on this, then into pawn games for 20 mins:
1. Straight race against each other, so they realised white has advantage with first move. Checked they understood the way a pawn can advance.
2. 'Capture the flag' games with 2 pawns vs 2 pawns so they get practice of capturing.
3. 'Capture the flag' games with 8 pawns vs 8 pawns.
I think most understood this, although I plan to do the same at start of next week for all, and then beyond to reiterate it.
Encouraged them to shake hands before and after each game, which they found hilarious and quickly progressed onto 'high 5's' instead!

Some common errors:
- thinking that once the first pawn has been moved 2 squares forward, no other pawn can then move 2 squares forward (this is possibly the way I described the way the pawn moves). Tried to correct this by asking whole group to watch while demonstrated how it worked again.
- capturing sideways or diagonally backwards.
- fear of moving a piece if it will be captured, even if they will gain advantage. Great moment of realisation from one girl when she realised she could
- forgetting that to win you can get a pawn to the eighth rank, and instead focussing on capturing. Losing as a result when the other player got a pawn to the eighth rank instead.

Handed out sheets explaining pawn moves, and how to play the pawn vs pawn game. Also a short note to take home to encourage parents to play their kids, and to explain what I was hoping to do this term (teach basic rules and get them playing each other!)
Issued sticker for attendance (one girl had created her own card to collect the attendance stickers on, and had last weeks' sticker in place!).

Something I now wonder: How do teachers keep the noise levels down and concentration across a class of 30 kids!?! Utter respect due.

Next week's rough plan:
- speed game for setting up.
- recap by playing pawn vs pawn game.
- introduce rook's moves, and let more capable players play rook vs rook, and rook+pawn vs rook+pawn.
- handout worksheet and 'progress card' (copying the girl's ideas from above).

That's it - would welcome any input from anyone with thoughts...

[Greg Breed]

Awesome stuff Scott I love this!

[John Foley]

How do teachers keep the noise levels down and concentration across a class of 30 kids!?

One answer is that they get help. It is easier to control a class if there is another adult to supervise.

The number of teaching assistants in schools in England rose from 79,000 in 2000 to 220,000 two years ago. This was largely due to the [union] deal in 2003, although some learning assistants help children with special needs. Evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. Most primary classes, and many in secondary schools, now have a teacher plus at least one learning assistant. Many may face redundancy as schools seek to save money.

The Chess in Schools project brings a tutor into a class which already has a teacher.

[Neill Cooper]

How do teachers keep the noise levels down and concentration across a class of 30 kids!?! Utter respect due.

My school chess club is rarely quiet, I save silence for the maths lessons and chess matches.

[Andrew Varney]

My experience in running a primary school chess club (admittedly only over about 5 years - a very limited time compared to many on this forum) was varied, but silence was very unusual except for inter-school matches which we held in a separate room and (with effort) internal competition games such as the UKCC. I got better at controlling the class over a few years, but even so when the numbers got above 10 with a few particularly boisterous characters, or above 20 with any mix, I typically found it impossible to maintain order for the full hour without any extra help. I've handed it over now, but I see a very familiar "frazzled" look when I turn up to help with the "extra" chess for the more advanced players at the end of that hour.

[Scott Crowther]

Thanks for the comments and encouragement!
Good to know it's not just my ineptness that causes noise

John Foley: I just signed up for the Chess in Schools tutors' course in Birmingham at the end of June.
I'm led to believe you may be involved with that, so I guess I might see you then!

[Scott Crowther]

Week 3: Total 6 children (3 girls, 3 boys). Just 1 missing from regular group.
I turned up 10 mins early to set up, to find 3 of them already there waiting for me.
4 of the 6 told me they'd been playing against their parents during the week.

Started with the same 'race against time' to get pieces in the right place on each board - working as a team (beat last week's time by 10 seconds!)

Recapped on names/numbers used in ranks and files, and the legal moves that a pawn can make.
Impressed that most remembered numbering properly, and they ALL got the legal pawn moves correct including the novice of 2 weeks.

Played 10 mins of 8 pawns vs 8 pawns 'capture the flag' games.
Impressed here that there was generally more concentration and focus than last week. I felt less out of countrol!!! This was very good, as I now got to demonstrate the occasional additional element like sacrificing pieces to gain advantage, and protecting an exposed piece. Also they remembered to shake hands before and after each game with no prompting.

Then introduced the Rook and its legal moves. They all got this immediately.
Let them play out 'Capture the Flag' for the remaining time with 1 white rook vs 5 black pawns, swapping sides after each game. They really enjoyed this. I had a little problem explaining that even when a black pawn got to rank 1, it could still be captured on the next move and black wouldn't win. Need to revisit that next week.

Handed out worksheets on identifying ranks, files and diagonals, and naming individual squares for them to try at home.
Issued sticker for attendance.
Got told off by 1 girl for not yet creating the 'progress charts' for each of them. I take that as a good sign!!!

One negative thing happening is the 'backpedalling' of a move. If they move a pawn then realise its a bad move they hastily move it back - sometimes whilst still holding onto the piece, sometimes after letting go. Whilst I'm currently being liberal and letting them do it, it causes confusion because they then forget who's turn it is next. Not yet decided how to handle this issue... I'd welcome input from experienced coaches on this.

Just one common error this week:
- forgetting that to win you can get a pawn to the eighth rank, and instead focussing on capturing. Losing as a result when the other player got a pawn to the eighth rank instead.

Next week's rough plan:
- speed game for setting up.
- recap rook's moves, and play rook vs rook+pawn, and rooks+pawn vs rooks+pawn.
- handout Rook moves factsheet and 'progress cards'.

[Scott Crowther]

Week 4: Full group of 7 children (4 girls, 3 boys).

Got the children to set up the boards and pieces to check they were all there.
Started with the same 'race against time' setup.

Recapped on pawn and rook's legal moves (5mins) and paired them up according to general knowledge of the pieces. Set 6 of them off playing capture the flag with 8pawns+2 rooks against the same. I spent whole class teaching the girl who missed last week how the rook works. The rest were happy to play that game and ask questions incessantly!

As a consequence I spent very little time guiding the rest of the group, but they seemed happy.

Finished early and got the children to pack away their pieces this week. Handed out a new 'progress sheet' I created with 1 sticker for each attendance and a box for each piece where I will place a stamp when I'm happy they understand it. Also a box for castling and en passant. Aim for this year is to get the all close to knowing all of those.

'backpeddalling' a move is still happening as last week. I'd REALLY value some input from someone experienced on how to handle this.

Next week's rough plan (last one before half term):
- speed game for setting up.
- play rooks+pawn vs rooks+pawn.
- introduce bishop's moves.
- handout Rook moves factsheet and rook games handout.
- handout bishops fact sheet and set use of bishop as their challenge for half term.

This week I also signed up for the Birmingham tutor training course as part of the Chess in Schools and Communities scheme.

[geoffgammon]

Hi Scott, full marks for your enthusiasm and effort.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 'backpedalling' as such, rather you can view it as evidence that the player is thinking about the consequences of the move. You could introduce the 'touch move' rule and emphasise the importance of thinking without moving the hands but I wouldn't get too stressed about it at this stage.

I teach years 4 & 5 and get the same situations. You need patience!