Heisman D. - A Parents Guide to Chess - Russell Enterprises 2002

8/19/2019 Heisman D. - A Parents Guide to Chess - Russell Enterprises 2002

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By Dan Heisman


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AParent'sGuide

toChess

Dan Heisman

2oO2Russell Enterprises, lnc.

Milford, CT USA


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A Parent's Guide b Ctcs$@Copyright?/ffi,

DanHeim"

AU Rights Rescrrcn

ISBN: l-888690-12:l

Publishedby:Russell Enterprises, Ir.

234Depot RoadMilfor4 CT 06460USA

hQ ://www. chesscafe.o([email protected]

Cover design by OutExcel Cory., Al Lawrenoe, mE EflccnMerz, Art Director.

Printed in the Unitod StaEs ofArcht


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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Hanon Russell, the publisher ofGhesscafe.com, for bringing this book to market so thatchess parents, and thus the world of chess, can benefit.Special kudos to Taylor Kingston, GhessGafe.com'sthoughtful editor, who made the text more readable andtherefore more helpfu .

Secondly, I would like to thank Brian Karen, who helped

brainstorm the project and lay out the book's structure.Next, I would like to thank Lois Deckelbaum and BarbaraSchoener, who provided Appendix C, Specra/ /ssues forMoms, and Michele White, who originally suggested thisvery helpful feature. I would also like to thank Steve Shutt,chess coach of several times national championMasterman High School, who suggested using thespectator guidelines presented in Appendix B.

I would also like to thank Jeff Coakley of Canada's Chess'nMath Association for providing material specific to hisorganization.

Finally, I would like to thank all the parents, organizers,tournament directors, and everyone else associated withthe growing world of scholastic chess. Most of them performtheir tasks as volunteers. Their efforts seldom receive anyfanfare, but their contributions are extremely helpfu , evennecessary and are appreciated more than they probablywill ever know.

Dan HeismanMarch 2002


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lntroduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of chess The royal game

offers many benefits to players of all ages. This book isintended as a guide to help parents explore this expandingworld and to maximize its benefits for their children. Puttingall this information in one place will, we hope, make yourjourney a lot easier.

The movie Searching for Bobby Fischerwas a phenomenal

success, andserved as a catalyst for the growth of

scholastic chess in North America. n 1990, only about10% of tournament chess players in the US were underage 19; today, over half are So you are one of a largegroup of parents who are "searching for More Guidance"about this wonderfu hobbY.

The US and Ganadian Ghess FederationsMost organized chess is played in tournaments run byaffiliates of nationa chess federations. Part of this book isaimed at helping a parent learn more about thesefederations and how you can use them to maximize yourchild's enjoyment and involvement.

The US Chess Federation (USCF) is a not-for-profit

organization headquartered in Newburgh, New York.It

serves as the official US arm of FIDE, the internationalchess federation. The USCF performs many of the normalfunctions of any organization: it coordinates its members,provides a periodic mag azine, sells equipment, formulatesrules, establishes affiliates, certifies directors, holdsnational championships, and promotes the game. lt alsorates the performance of its members in a very scientificmanner. Scholastic players usually become keenlyinterested in the rating system, os it enables themaccurately to measure their progress. Chapter 4 includesmore information on the rating system.


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The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) is a CanadianCharitable organization headquartered in Ottawa. lt is theofficial Canadian representative to FIDE and has functions

very similar to the USCF, promoting chess for all ages.

The USCF provides a fine booklet titled A Guide toScho/astic Chess. Readers who are involved with schoolprograms should request a free copy of this booklet bycalling 1-800-388-KING or via www.uschess.org. Thisbooklet is primarily aimed at administrators and teachers.Therefore this book, A Parent's Guide to Chess, intendsto filla scholastic void by helping parents with theirindividual concerns; it should also be very helpfu to anyoneinvolved with scholastic chess.

What is Scholastic Chess?Scholastic chess is usually defined to include school-agestudents from grades K-12. Even pre-kindergarten childrensometimes compete in scholastic events, and pre-collegestudents below age 19 who are not affiliated with a schoolmay also be eligible for scholastic events.

Scholastic chess encompasses a number of activities, suchas school clubs, school team matches, and Iocal, state,national, and even international tournaments and titles.

There are many private clubs devotedexclusively to scholastic play, althoughmost clubs and tournaments are "open"with regard to age; that is, they allowplayers of all ages to participate. t is notunusual at a chess tournament to see a1O-year-old playing someone who is 65

-and maybe the 10-year-old is the big favorite

Besides its monthly adultmagazine Chess Life, the USCFhas a periodical devoted exclusively to its youngermembers: SchoolMates. The CFC's magazine is En


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Passanf, which is published bi-monthly. There are manychess books, web-sites, and software titles aimed primarilyor exclusively at young players; these subjects are

discussed in several sections of this book.Besides the official state organizations, there are otherorganizations devoted to scholastic chess, for example theChess-rn-Schoo/s program (formerly the American ChessFoundation), The Chess Education Association, ohindependent US chess program, and Chessh Math, aCanadian organization which has its own magazine,Scholar's Mate.

The Parent's RoleChess provides an excellent opportunity for a parent tostrengthen the relationship with his or her child. While someparents are busy and cannot actively get involved, thosewho do often find it both rewarding and interesting. Waysin which a parent can become involved might include oneor more of the following:

t Learn about the world of chess - This helps the parentguide his child to the maximum benefits and pleasures ofplaying and interacting in this arena.

ri. Learn about the game of chess - Learn to play (better)yourself. This will enable you to play with your child andunderstand the games they play withother children. For example, you mn ,"purchase a chess book like G-;Grandmaster Patrick Wolff's lexcellent beginner's work The ",,Complete ldiot's Guide fo Chess or "*the author's Everyone's Second 6)- i Or O lrChess Book, and read out loud orreview what you have learned with your child.


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* Provide encouragement - Chess, like any other activityrich in content, is filled with highs and lows. Parents areoften rewarded by teaching their children that while winningis a positive goal, losing is not "bad" - it provides a learningopportunity, and that even the best players have lost manygames but always learned from them. Parents shouldencourage their children to study and play their best; likemany other activities, you get out what you put in - andchess is attractive in that it is ultimately fair: those who putin more effort derive more benefits.

.?. Take the student to chess activities - Visit a Iocal clubor two and attend tournaments. Tournaments vary greatlyin size and type. Parents of serious chess students oftentravel with them to out-of-town tournaments for addedinterest and enjoyment.

* Provide local publicity and sponsorship - Local papersand media outlets usually don't know about the chess worldunless someone notifies them. lf you are a good writer,you can write media releases, or maybe visitor ca the paper. You can also help findsponsors, who provide for bettertournaments and prizes. One selling pointis that chess sponsorships require lessfunding than most other scholastic sports

* Communicate with other parents and people involvedin chess. Parents can take turns carpooling students toevents, and often form a network that keeps them up-to-date on the activities of the chess world and helps them tofind the best tournaments, books, instructors, web-sites,and clubs for their students.

* Work with schools and scholastic clubs - Help yourlocal schools and clubs support scholastic chess. Visit with


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different contexts. We hope the repetition will make it easierto locate, and provide different perspectives on thisworthwhile i nformation.

GenderWhile most of the chess world is male,there is a growing interest in chessamong females of all ages. This bookwas written for all sons and daughters,so please forgive my use of "he"

instead of"he/she"

-my pronouns are

meant to apply to all

OpinionIt is impossible to serve the reader without occasionallyoffering opinions, such as which books I feel are mosthelpful, or which type of chess clock appears to be themost popular. The opinions are solely those of the author,and do not represent those of the publisher or anyone else.The reader is encouraged to do further research and toseek out other opinions to help form his own.

ln addition, it would also be impossible to include referencesto all the myriad books and web-sites that may be of useto the reader. An interested parent should referenceadditional recommendations, like those at my web-site, ordo web searches to augment my limited lists.

Contact the AuthorAny comments or questions are welcome and can bedirected to the author:

e-mail : danheisman@comcast. netweb : http ://mywebpages. comcast. neUd a n heisma n/chess. htm

Dan HeismanMarch 2002


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During the 1995-96 school year, two classrooms wereselected in each of five schools. Students (N=112)were given instruction in chess and reasoning in one

classroom in each school. Pupils in the chess programscored significantly higher reading scores at the endof the year ... Why does chess have this impact?

Briefly, there appear to be at Ieast seven significantfactors:

1. Chess accommodates all modality strengths.2. Chess provides a far greater quantity of problemsfor practice.

3. Chess offers immediate punishments and rewardsfor problem solving.

4. Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that,when used faithfully, breeds success. The chessplaying students had become accustomed to looking

for more and different alternatives, whichresulted in higher scores in fluency andoriginality.

5. Competition. Competition fostersinterest, promotes menta alertness, challenges allstudents, and elicits the highest levels of achievement(Stephan, 1988).

6. A Iearning environment organized around gameshas a positive effect on students' attitudes towardlearning. The affective dimension acts as a facilitatorof cognitive achievement (Allen & Main 1976)


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lnstructive gaming is one of the most motivational toolsin the good teacher's repertoire. Children love games.Chess motivates them to become willing problem

solvers and spend hours quietly immersed in logicalthinking. These same young people often cannot sitstill for fifteen minutes in the traditional classroom.

7. Chess supplies a variety and qualityAs Langen (1992) states: "The problemsthat arise in the 70-90 positions of theaverage chess game are, moreover,new. Contexts are familiar, themesrepeat, but game positions never do.This makes chess good grist for theproblem-solving mill."

of problems.

Another article that appeared in Chess Life magazine in1998, "Chess and Standard Test Scores" by James M.

Liptrap, began with this summary:

Regular (non-honors) Elementary studentswho participated in a school chess clubshowed twice the improvement of non-chessplayers in Reading and Mathematicsbetween third and fifth grades on the Texas

Assessment of Academic Skills...

lndirect BenefitsWhile more difficult to prove than academic improvement,the indirect benefits of playing chess are nonetheless real.They can help youngsters in many ways, including:

t Dealing with success and adversity - Whether it bewins and losses, prizes, or just public performance, chessallows students to deal with the highs and lows of

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competition. While most chess activities are low-key, for asmall child even small events may take on significance.

* Teamwork - Many scholastic events have teamawards, and students learn to support others on their teamin a positive manner.

t Socialization - My son views chesstournaments as one big pizza and Chinesefood party.

n Organization - Several studies havenoted positive results in this area. Not only does a studenthave to organize his chess study, but also his game books,pieces, board, clock, schedule, etc. But perhaps most ofall, he needs to Iearn to organize his thoughts to producea logical move, and this carries over to other similaractivities.

t Fair Play and Work Yietding JustRewards - While nothing is perfectly fair,chess is about as good as it gets. Thestudents who study the most and play themost almost always tend to be better players, no matter

who is more talented. Youngsters appreciate this. As acounter-example, if they took up sprinting then almost noamount of work would enable them to win a race againstanother youngster who is appreciably faster. However, inchess you can catch almost anyone whom you areconsistently outworking.

t Dealing with Others - This aspect of the chess worldis so important that it will have its own sub-section furtheron. You meet a types of players in the chess world, youngand old, good players and bad. Being paired against anadult during a chess activity may provide your child his

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first opportunity to deal with an adult on an equalbasis.

It might be a similar experience when playingmuch older or younger children. A youngster alsohas to learn how to deal with the occasional irri-tating opponent, and those lessons are also help-ful outside the chess arena.

, Respect for the Rules - Chess has very well-definedrules, both for playing the game, and for runningtournaments. Not only does the player have to Iearn howto play within these rules, but the better he understandsthem, the more it is to his advantage.

i. Patience - A good chess player knows when to pushhis advantage and how not to try for more than his positiondemands. Also, youngsters tend to play too quickly, solearning to play more slowly (and consequently better) isone of the most important chess lessons he can learn.

* Selflessness - A chess player whothinks his moves are more important thanhis opponent's wil soon find out that heneeds to think of the other's moves as just

as important. Beginners who only considertheir own moves remain beginners untilthey can think about what both sides might be able to do.ln addition, players who do not respect their opponentsand behave poorly soon get a bad reputation in the chesscommunity.

* Playing Quietly-

You would not believe how manyparents think this is their youngster's most incredibleachievement. A chess playing hall is kept quiet by the

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tournament director, so a young player has to learn to playquietly and talk only in certain situations.

There are many other indirect benefits. For example,leadership might come into play if your student joins aclub. Dependability becomes a factor when he has to learnwhen to be ready for the next round. Consrstency isrequired: a child learns to play in the correct manner oneach move or suffer the consequences. Cooperafion withthe other players and the tournament director is required.

You can probably add a few more. The bottom line is clear:chess is a disciplined activity with manyside benefits.

Finally, a child who plays chess isparticipating in an organized, fun activityin which they can share their feelings withtheir parents. Anyone who has seenSearching for Bobby Fischer knows that this was a maintheme of the movie and one of its positive messages.

College and ScholarshipsChess can help you get into college and can even be thebasis for a full scholarship Recently both Princeton andthe University of Chicago announced that they are givingmore weight to mental sports, such as chess, in theiradmissions considerations, and two universities give fulland partial chess scholarships ( ):

a'. University of Texas, Dallas (honors) campus(

* University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus(unnnru. umbc.edu/chess/ )At the 2001 National High School Championship, theUniversity of Texas offered my son a ful chess scholarship

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who do well

Chess? No

No one was more surprised (by their offerand the entire situation) than l But thisunexpected offer is great proof that chesscan be much more than a secondary hobby.

Chess and American CultureIt is a profession for some, but a hobby formost. lt is primarily a mental activity. Studiesshow it is good for you. Young participants

are called "prodigies."

Music, of course

But if music and chess are so alike, why does Americanculture embrace and encourage music so much, whilealmost frowning at times on chess? I would like to relate ashort story illustrating this imbalance.

Within the past few years I contacted my son's schooldistrict about hosting chess tournaments. After not returningmy calls over a period of months, the local administrationoffice finally told me, "We are undergoing construction atall the district's schools over the next four years and cannothost any activities." ( )

"At every school at once? All activities? Doesn't that meanall after-school clubs and football games and fund-raisersal have to be cancelled, too? For four years?"

"Well, maybe two.]'This is a true story. I consider myself one of the betterchess instructors in the country and, os the ScholasticCoordinator for Pennsylvania, was not exactly withoutcredentials. But I felt like I was being treated as if hadoffered to host a symposium advocating bad manners

lf the person making the offer had been Van Cliburn orElton John, I don't think that would have been the response.ln that case, the mayor and a large crowd would have beenpart of the welcoming committee. The school districtspends tens of thousands of dollars on band, orchestra,

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and choir at all levels of the district. But chess? "Don't callus; we'll cal you."

ln Europe the respect for chess is much greater. ln Russiachess players receive strong respect and occasionally wintheir "Professiona Athlete of the Year" award. ln NorthAmerica chess is often viewed as a hobby for "nerds," andthat is not cool. Secondly, chess players are quiet whenplaying, so the activity is looked upon by some as anti-social. But most of all, chess cannot easily be appreciatedby non-players.

Almost everyone likes listening to music of one form orthe other. Music evokes emotions, and good music can beappreciated even if the person next door has a differentidea of what good music is.

Not so with chess. Non-players cannot follow it, so thespectator aspect is diminished.

Finally, chess is competitive. We see that as good inphysical sports, but somehow it earns a mental sport alower rung on the cultural ladder than music. I don't seeNorth American cultural attitudes toward chess changingvery quickly. Nonetheless, as more studies prove thebenefits of chess, and movies such as Search ing for Bobby

Fischer show it as a legitimateyouth

activity, attitudes arechanging for the better. Additional support comes from thefact that more young women are playing as scholasticchess grows.

My wife put it succinctly: " wouldn't havegiven chess a thought when I was younger,but now that I am familiar with the chess

scene, if I had to do it all over again, I would have played.The youngsters who play chess are, for the most part,smart, we -mannered, and good role models. ltwould havebeen a great way to meet some attractive guys "

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Chapter 2

Getting Started

2.1 When is a Child Ready to PIay Ghess?There is a difference between when a child is ready tolearn chess rules, and when he is ready to play in a socialsetting, such as a scholastic tournament. At a tournamentor club the child must be able to play quietly, follow standardrules, and publicly tolerate losing.

Most children can learn how to play before age seven,and many can play reasonably before they turn six. ln order

to play a complete game, theY mustunderstand not only how all the pieces move,but also the concepts of taking turns,checkmate, draws (including stalemate),promotion, and other non-move-related

rules. The idea that players take turns isusually learned from simpler games, andlikely will not give beginners much difficulty.

On the other hand, understanding checkmate requires alittle more sophistication, as the idea of "checkmating" aking involves nof its capture, but its inability to avoid captureon the next move, and this concept often gives youngsterssome difficulty.

Ready to Play in TournamentsMany youngsters are able to move the pieces correctly,but are not yet able to sit and play quietly. While this is finefor games against a relative or friend, it is usually nottolerated in formal play. Since chess requires concentration,it is not fair to opponents or players nearby if a player is

attempting conversations. The principal things aplayer

isallowed to say (quietly) during formal competitions arerestricted to comments directly allowed by the rules, such

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as "Do you want a draw?" or "That move is illegal" or "Youtouched my bishop; you have to take it."

Another prerequisite for formal play is to understand rulesthat do not involve moving the pieces. For example, a playermust recognize when something unusual is happening atthe board, and have the presence of mind to stop his gameand get the tournament director, to ask a question or makea claim. Many young players try to resolve conflicts directlywith their opponents and, without adequate knowledge of

the rules, often arrive at unfair or illegal resolutions. t isalso helpful if the student learns how to read a tournamentpairing sheet, which tells him which number board he isplaying on, which color pieces he has, and also learnshow to mark up his result at the end of the game withoutcontinual parental or tournament director aid.

While many students are ready at six or seven to handlethe mental aspects of the game, quite a few are not readyfor the emotional side. Since chess does not outwardlyinvolve luck, many students realize that losses are noteasily blamed on outside factors, and thus take losing verypersonally. This fear of losing does not affect youngstudents only, but they are more likely to react to losses ina manner that indicates they are not ready to play socially,such as crying, blaming the opponent, creating a.physicalproblem such as upsetting the board, etc. We will addressthis issue in more detail in Section 6.3, Dealing with Highsand Lows, but how a child deals with these emotiona issuesis often more important than the mental ones in determiningwhen the child is ready to play chess "with the outsideworld."

There is also a similar question: "What is the best age tolearn and start playing in tournaments ff you are going tobecome a 'good' player ?"

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This is a more difficult question. Bobby Fischer was alreadythe US Champion by age fourteen, and he started at ageseven. Josh Waitzkin , of Searching for Bobby Fischerfame,

was the US Primary (K-3) Champion and later a master at13. On the other hand my student Danny Benjamin, whowas in the same grade as Josh, did not start playing intournaments until he was 11 , but by the time Danny was13 he and Josh were the only 13-year-old masters in theUS. This late start for a young master is unusual, so theanswer to the question about when champions start is "Thesooner the better." Most strong players start playing intournaments well before age eleven, and seven is probablycloser to the average. But some young prodigies start atfour or five and do very well

There is not much difference in being ready to play inscholastic tournaments, and being ready to play in clubsthat allow players of all ages: both require some maturity,knowing the rules, and the ability to play quietly.

However, participating in scho/asfic clubs - clubs thatspecializein young players - is quite different. These clubsare often noisy and a few sniffles are easily tolerated, soplayers of any age are usually welcome. While no onelikes a bully or a sore loser, often these clubs are a great

place to find other players of about the same ability orage, and to learn the kind of discipline and chess etiquettethat will enable them also to play in tournaments.Unfortunately, it is sometimes easier to find scholastictournaments, which are held consistently all over NorthAmerica, than it is to find clubs that specializein scholasticplay, unless you are lucky enough either to live in an areawhere one already exists or have an ongoing one at yourschool.

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2.2 The World of ChessYour child is ready to play someone outside your home -great lt is a big world full of clubs, tournaments, prizes,

titles, and other neat stuff. Let us introduce you to thatworld ...

FIDE and National Ghess FederationsWe have already familiarized you with the US andCanadian Chess Federations in the lntroduction, but thereal place to start is one Ievel above them at the F6d6ration

Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) or, in English, thelnternational Chess Federation (wvrnru.fide.com). This is thegoverning body of world chess, which awards internationaltitles (e.g. "grandmaster") and handles all internationalchess business. There are over 200 countries affiliatedwith FIDE, and each affiliate is a nationa chess federation.

National federations publish their Official Rules of Chess,which tells everyone things like:

How the pieces move

t What is checkmate and stalemate

a'. Touch-move rules (i.e. "lf you touch a piece you haveto move it.")

t Score-keeping (writing down and recording of moves)

, Time controls (clocked games played under a timeIimit)

And much, much more, such as how a tournament directoris allowed to hold and direct a chess tournament.

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National federations do much more than publish the rules,of course. The following provides a sample of the USCFand CFC missions:

The USCF (www.uschess.org).

t Sanctions chess tournaments, including 25 nationalchampionship events.

, Sponsors participation of Ameri€ns in internationalevents and helps them petition for FIDE titles, such as nternational Grandmaster or lntemational Arbiter.

{. Maintains the USCF rating system.

* Publishes magazines. SchoolMafes is quarterly andis designed for members 14 and under; Chess Life ismonthly and is designed for al members older than 14.

i. From the USCF web-site: "As a not-for-profitmembership organization, the USCF applies /fs revenueto seruices and programs benefiting tfs members and chessin America."

The CFC (www.chess,ca):

.} From the CFC web-site: "The Chess Federation ofCanada (C.F.C.) is a charitable organization (10691 2058RR) whose mandate is fo promote and encourage theknowledge, study and play of the game ofchess in Canada.The C.F.C. organizes National Championships (CanadianClosed, Canadian Women's C/osed, Canadian Junior andCanadian Youth Chess Championship), and providesfunding for the winners to go on to the WorldChampionshrps. ln addition, the C.F.C. has senf a team to

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the World Chess Olympiad each time it has been held(every second year) srnce 1964."

I ndependent OrganizationsAs mentioned in the lntroduction, there are many non-federation organizations devoted to scholastic chess. Threeof the largest are the Chess-rn-Schoo/s Program, the ChessEducation Association, and the Canadian Chess'n Math.Membership in these organizations is sometimes free, inwhich case their costs are borne by the tournament or per-

game entry fees.

Chess in the Schoo/s (www.chessintheschools.org), wasformerly known as the American Chess Foundation. Theirweb-site states their mission: "Chess-inthe-Schools (ClS)is a non-profit organization that teaches chess to New YorkCity public school children as a means of enhancing critical

thinking skills, self-esteem, discipline, andsocialization. Working in close partnershipwith Title 1 elementary and junior highschools, we provide instruction, equipment,and the support necessary to achievedemonstrable student success." I wouldadd that CIS teaches in more than just New

York. I worked for them for three years as an instructor inthe Philadelphia Public School System

The Chess Education Associafion (www.chesslogic.com)is a parallel organization to the USCF, which offers theirScholasfic Chess Webzine to its members and hasseparate tournaments and ratings. Their mission: "1) Morechess in more schools for more children, and 2) Adedication to teach children positive Iife values throughthe chess experience."

The Canadian Chessh Math Assocration (www.chess-math.org) is Canada's national scholastic chess

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organazation. t was established in 1985 as a non-profitorganization and is dedicated to promoting youth chess inCanada. They currently have offices in Toronto, Montreal,

andHul , with 15 full-time employees and 60 qualified chess

instructors. Chess'n Math runs monthly scholastictournaments, conducts regular chessclasses and camps, provides instructors forschoo chess programs, and operateschess shops in Canada's two largest cities.Numerous affiliates across Canada run

local Chess'n Math tournaments. lt has its own scholastic

magazine, Scholar's Mate, which is published 5 times peryear.

Overview of Glubs and TournamentsNationa federations also certify Tournament Directors(TDs) to run tournamenfs, and they affiliate and help orga-nized chess clubs throughout their countries.

The following illustrates the difference between a chessclub and a chess tournament. More information about clubscan be found in Section 2.6, Where Does One Play?, andabout tournaments in Chapter 5, Tournament Participation.

A club is group of people, usually incorporated as not-for-profit, who meet periodically to play chess. The meeting

period is often weekly, but some large metropolitan clubsare open daily. One can walk into a chess club and findpeople ready and willing to play chess. Some chess clubsare just for young players, but most allow members of anyage ("open"). Some clubs play "rated," formal games, whileothers have little or no organized activities other thanproviding a place for its members to play - it is up to eachclub to decide how it wants to organize its activities. Clubsusually charge a nominal fee for annual dues to cover thecosts of the meeting room, correspondence, snacks, etc.

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On the other hand, a tournament is a one-time event,usually with an entry fee and prizes. When a player is readyto play in rated tournaments, he will join his nationalfederation, as is usually required to play in a rated eventand receive a rating. US tournaments and their associatedinformation are isted at www.uschess.org/tla and in theback of Chess Life and School Mates magazines.

The tournament information in US magazines is called theTournament Life Announcements (TLAs). TLAs allow

members to find out where the tournaments are, whenthey are held, entry fees, prizes, eligibility, contactinformation, etc. Almost all listed tournaments are "rated"by the USCF, which is to say that after the tournament theTD will send in a "Rating Report" to the USCF and allparticipants will receive new or updated ratings." ln addition,the USCF requires that al participants of rated tournaments

must be members of the USCF(you

can alwaysjoin your

national federation during registration at the tournament ifyou are not a member),

Once the tournament has been rated by the federation, allformerly unrated participants will be given a rating. Theratings of players who already are rated will be affected bythe outcome of their games. When they win their ratinggoes up and when they lose their rating goes down. Thehigher the player you beat, the more your rating goes up,etc. More on ratings in Section 4.2.5, Ratings and Prizes.The CFC ratings operate in a similar manner.

Most tournaments are "open" - you do not have to live in aparticular place, or be of any specific age, to play. You justwalk in, pay the entry fee, and play. Others are restrictedin some way - the most usual restriction is a scholastictournament, which is only open to those in grades 12 andbelow.


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Most scholastic tournaments are run by the "Swiss" system.That means that no one is eliminated and in each round aplayer is paired with someone who is doing as well as he

is. So if your child isplaying

in his first tournament andloses his first three games, he will be paired in the fourthround against another weak player who has also lost hisfirst three games. ln this way each participant gets to "findhis level" as the tournament progresses. So in the longrun, players generally find most games competitive andfun under the Swiss system.

2.3 Typical Progression Through ChessNow that you know some of the major pieces of the chessworld, here is a typical youngster's progression throughchess:

First he will learn how to play chess from a parent, friend,beginner's book, or even a couple of Iessons from a localchess instructor. A parent should make sure he gets allthe common rules correct, especially promotion (multiplequeens allowed), castling (the king moves 2 squares nomatter which side you castle), en passant, the differentkinds of draws (3-fold repetition of position, 50-move rule,stalemate, lack of mating material, etc.). These are bestlearned from an experienced player, a good book, or alesson. lt is not a good idea to start playing with the wrong

rules

Next he should play at least few dozen games in a fairlyshort period of time to get to recognize the pieces, howthey move, and the basic rules. This can be done with arelative, neighbor, computer, or friend. Much of theinformation that is picked up during this time, such as "boardvision" and basic playing guidelines, is covered inEveryone's 2nd Chess Book.

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lf your child really likes the game and wants to continue toimprove, he might:

{. Learn how to keep score in algebraic notation (coveredin most beginners books and at my web-site);

, Purchase a decent set, clock, and scorebook (seeSection 2.1);

t Join the national federation and start playing inscholastic chess tournaments;

{. Join a chess club to play periodically against bettercompetition; and/or

{. Play on the lnternet with selvers like the lnternet

Chess Club(lCC

atwww.chessclub.com). For more

information, see Chapter 3.

As a child progresses, he will continue to play in clubs andtournaments, with the computer, and with friends. lf yousee that your child is serious and wants to work to getbetter, then by all means consider taking Iessons from aprofessional chess instructor. Lessons will help identify boththings your child is doing that can be improved, and amethod for doing so efficiently, so improvement will begreatly facilitated. All really good players have had steadycoaches when they were learning, just as a good musi-cian learns from someone who plays the same instrument.

Do Kids Play Without a Break?Parents sometimes ask me: "My child is losing interest inchess and wants to stop playing right now - do you thinkthis is normal?" Answer: yes. Many children start in chess,stop for a while, decide they miss it, then start again. nfact, in my experience it's relatively rare for child, especially

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a younger one, to stick with chess as a hobby continuouslyinto his college years, adulthood, or throughout life.Generally the younger a child starts, the more likely he is

to have one or more periods when he loses interest inchess. The table below shows some educated estimatesof the trend, based on my experience. On the left is theage at which the child starts chess, on the right thepercentage of that group that take a break from chess, atleast temporarily, at some point before they reach collegeage:

6: 90%7: 85o/o8:75o/o9: 670/o

10:60%11:50%12:40%13: 25o/o

14+: 2Oo/o

ln other words, only one child in ten who starts playingchess at age 6 will maintain his interest continuouslythrough age 18. But this does not mean these youngstersquit chess permanently. lt appears that common scenariosare for a child to stop around age 7-9 and start again at

10-12, or to stop around age 9-12 and start again as aadult. So if your child drops chess for a while, do not beconcerned. He'l come back to it when he's ready.

2.4 ln Loco parentis lssuesIt is important for parents to understand which chessactivities are in loco parentis (in lieu of a parent - that is,situations where someone wi watch your children for you)and which are not. However, nothing written in this sectionis guaranteed - if your child is at an age where this is

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important to you, then you MUST check with the organizeror director of each activity to make sure and, when in doubt,do NOT drop off a young child without supervision.

Here are sample events and a guide to whether they mightnormally serve in loco parentis:

{. After-school activity: usually (that is, usually wil be inloco parentis - will not require parental supervision)

i. Scholastic chess club: maybe..'. Adult chess club: usually not

* Scholastic chess tournament: usually not

tOpen chess tournament: almost always not

How to handle this issue varies widely with the age andresponsibility of the child, and the locale of the chess event.For example, a child of 10 who can be dropped off at thelocal chess club for a couple of hours cannot as easily beleft alone at a big-city open tournament. An immature 12-year-old might be more likely to get into trouble than amature 10-year-old. So it is worth repeating: When in doubt,do not leave a child without superuision and never assu/nethat just because the tournament is "organized" and invitesscho/astic players that someone will automatically beresponsible for watching your child

2.5 The Role of a National Federation in ScholasticChess


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All national federations promote scholastic chess. Section4.6 addresses National Championships, but a federation'sinvolvement is much deeper than just running tournaments.

The USCF and CFC do all the things for their scholasticmembers that they do for adult members, such as promotechess, provide ratings, publish amagazine, sell equipment,etc. However, a federation has an increased focus on itsfuture members, as it should, for two reasons:

1) The health of any organization is fortified by promotingits future, and

2) The percentage of scholastic toumament players hasgrown enormously in the past few years, again partly dueto the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. For example, inthe USCF:

{. ln 1991 there were fewer than 10,000 members age18 or below from a total of about 55,000 (about 18Yo)

i. By 2001 over 47,000 of the 90,000 members werebelow age 18 (about 52o/ol). An ongoing graph of USCFmembership is provided at detroitchess.com/memgraph.htm.

lf any other large organization had gone from 18% to 52o/oyouth membership, I am sure that would attract growingattention, too How has this grovttth been met?

, The USCF has established both a Director ofScholastic Programs and a National Scholastic AdvisoryCouncil.

, The USCF now directly oversees its large nationalscholastic championships, which are the biggest chesstournaments in the US every year. 4,700 played at the

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SuperNationals in Kansas City in 2001. The CFC runs theCanadian Youth Chess Championships; these nationaevents are discussed in Section 4.6, lmportant Scholastic

Tournament and Titles.

{. More emphasis is being placed on chess training,both in manpower and materials.

* Special rules for scholastic tournaments are nowbeing created and considered, since many young players

have special concerns (e.9. inability to keep score) thatare unusual in adults. For example, intimidation andcheating are easier because in beginners' scholastictournaments the spectators are more likely to be largerand more knowledgeable than the players, so rules toensure fairness are even more important than with adults.

2.6 Where Does One Play?The first place young players play is at home with parentsand friends. This is a great way to start because thesurroundings are familiar, it is easy to get there, and thecompetition is friendly. However, there are potentialdrawbacks:

{. Dad or Mom may be a better player than Junior (orDad/Mom doesn't want to play Junior), so Dad sometimesthinks he should throw games to keep Junior happy (thisis not usually a good idea unless the child is very small

and takes losing far too seriously).

{. lt gets boring playing the sameopponents game after game.

The neighbor's son or daughter mayoften, so when your son becomeslay much less

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fascinated with chess, he quickly improves, and playingthe neighbor results in a large percentage of wins andpossibly some hard feelings.

N. A young player can get into bad habits by playing onlyweaker players. For example, in Everyone's 7d Chess BookI discuss how players learn to make bad threats becausetheir weak opponents often don't see them, and when thesesucceed they come to believe that making bad threats is agood idea, and thus develop the bad habit of doing soregularly.

* Games at home are often played without a clock. nthe long run this is less fun, and in the short run playingwithout a clock can lead to bad time-management habits.Usually playing with clocks helps a child slow down hisplay and think more correctly. lronically, when a child firstplays with a clock he may think it is now a "time race" and

play even faster, with disastrous results. A little experiencewith clock play will go a long way toward developing bettertime-management habits.

i. Everyone might be playing by the wrong rules. Forexample, many young players don't know en passant orerroneously believe that when promoting a pawn they canonly get back a piece that was captured.

Eventually most parents search for outside for places toplay. Usually a phone book does not list "Chess CIubs," sowhat can you do?

Look in the local paper under "Calenda/' or "Activities."

Check with a library or your child's school.

Look in a book like A Parent's Guide fo Chess

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.t Ask neighbors if they know of any places that haveperiodic, organized chess.

* Search for chess places on the World Wide Web. often get phone calls from local people who searched onthe web and found my national federation, which in turnrecommended the state affiliate, which then referred themto me.

GlubsIt is only natural for a parent to seek out a chess club forthe child to join and play. The main problem is that outsideof schools, there are relatively few clubs thatare exclusively for young players, so theclosest one may not be nearby. Theavailability of nearby "scholastic-only" clubs

varies greatly from community tocommunity.

Here in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh has some large youthclubs, while Philadelphia scholastic chess is more school-oriented. Therefore, your child may not be able to find ascholastic-only club close enough for your driving comfort,

and you may have to settle for a club open to all ages, but,which may or may not encourage young players to attend.

Clubs that are primarily for adults are not only not rn locoparentis (young children have to be supervised), but also

do not tolerate noise or distracting behaviornearly as well as some scholastic clubs. So

in many cases when aparent

asks meif

their child is "good enough" for clubs ortournaments, the question is really about

maturity and the ability to play quietly, not necessarily abouthow well their child plays chess. At our local Main Line

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Chess Club anyone who can play quietly and remain quietwhen his game is finished, is more than welcome no matterwhat his age.

The USCF lists their affiliated clubs at www.uschess.org/directories/. The CFC Iists theirs at www.chess.calchess clubs. htm .

While many American chess clubs - and most of the bestones - are affiliated with the USCF, there are certainlyothers not listed. These can, for the most part, be found

by the methods described in the previous section.

What else does a parent need to know about a chess club?Some of the most important points are:

.:. Dues are usually assessed on an annual basis.

* Activities varygreatly from club to club

-some clubs

feature slow, rated games, while others prefer informal,quicker games. Since federation membership is usuallyrequired to get a rating, clubs that feature rated gamesusually require members to join the nationa federation aswell as the club if they are to participate in these activities.

* Most clubs do not offer formal instruction, but candirect you to someone who can. Others, especially somescholastic clubs, are strongly built around instruction.

* Some clubs supply sets and clocks; others do not.Bringing a pencil for keeping score - and your ownscorebook, if you have one, is a good idea. Most clubs willsupply scoresheets for their members who know how to

keep score (it is a rule in tournament play that those whoknow how to keep score must do so).

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t Many clubs witl pair their players for the evening asthe players would be paired for a tournament. Others have"open" play, where you find yourself an opponent eachweek.

Some clubs have formal activities which start near thebeginning of each club's meeting. Members and guestswho come later are welcome to play, but may have troublejoining the activity once it is in progress. Some activitiesare much easier to join in progress than others. Our club

plays rated Swiss tournaments each month, which meansthat if a club member does not show up on a particularnight, that causes no problems - we expect only some ofour members to be there, and so design events for whichconstant attendance is not required.

Tournaments

Other than informal after-school get-togethers, chesstournaments are the primary places where youngstersparticipate in scholastic chess. ln accordance with this loftystatus, I have devoted the entire Chapter 4, TournamentParticipation, to this subject.

Team Tournaments, Leagues, and MatchesSometimes chess can be played as a team game. By thatI don't mean that more than one person plays a side, butthat multiple games count toward one goal, like winning a"match." This type of team chess can be done in severalways:

ai' Team Tournaments - tournaments where each school(or whatever constitutes a team) sends a certain numberof players, and designates a Board 1, Board 2, etc., andeach team is paired against another team, its Board 1against the other team's Board 1, and so on. The teamthat wins the most games wins the match. There areseveral matches in a team tournament. Teams are paired


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against each other by match score in a Swiss system similarto individual tournaments (See Section 4.2).

il lndividual Match - A schoo challenges another school.There are acertain number of boards and they play againsteach other as in a team tournament, but there are onlytwo schools involved and usually one or two gamesbetween each board.

* League - Several schools form a league andperiodically, for example each week, a school plays a matchagainst one of the other schools. The school that doesbest in these matches wins the league title. Scoring isusually by matches won and lost, not the total of theindividual games. For example, if a team wins 8 of their 10matches of four boards each and 27 of the 40 games inthose matches, they finish ahead of another school thatwon 7 of their 10 matches but won 28 of their 40 games.

CampsChess camps are held periodically, often annually in thesummer. The better camps feature instruction from severalwell-known masters (up to Grandmaster), and usually

include some athletic opportunities likeswimming or tennis. These camps can lastfrom a few days up to a couple of weeks.At larger camps the campers are put intogroups according to age and ability, and

they get a concentrated dose of chess for the duration.Camps are usually advertised in federation and state/province magazines. Among the better known camps herein the Eastern US are:

, Castle Chess Camp (www.amchess.org/camp/index.html) The oldest chess camp of them all - located inBradford, PA.

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t Kopec's Chess Camp (wvrnrv.kopecchess.com) - NewYork and Lawrenceville, NJ. ln 2001 they also had asegment at the World Open in Philadelphia.

2.7 EquipmentStandard equipment for a chess tournamentfollowing:

t Pieces (All the pieces together can be considered a"set"; sometimes "set" can also refer to the pieces plus aboard.)

t Board.|. Clockt Scorebook or scoresheett Writing instrument (sharpened pencil preferred)t Carrying case (optional)With the exception of some national events, mosttournaments do NOT supply sets and almost none supplyclocks, but most do make scoresheets available. So it is agood idea to purchase this equipment if your child is goingto play in tournaments with any regularity. Equipment canbe purchased from your nationa chess federation or anychess store. There are many chess stores, and most haveweb pages. The following are a sample: ChessCafe.com,Chess Digest, ChessCo, American Chess Equipment andChess Central.

Since a chess game is played by two people, not everyoneneeds to have a set and clock. However, you would besurprised how many scholastic games are played betweentwo players neither of whom brought sets, and especiallybetween those who both lack clocks.


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_-

Therefore, it is a good idea to purchase all of the aboveequipment and bring it to every tournament. lf you purchasean analog (non-digital) clock and use an inexpensive

carrying case, the total cost can be lessthan

$100.

While there is no standard requiring a particular set ofpieces, there is a standard for set design, and this is called"Staunton." This is the design you see in most setsthroughout the world, with a cross on top of the king, acrown on the queen, rooks that look like castle turrets,knights that look like horse heads, etc.

The most popular set for scholastic tournament play is a"single-weighted" plastic setwith a33/a-inch king and rollupboard, available from almost any chess store.

In general, the heavier (more "weighted") thepieces, the more stable and desirable, andthe more expensive. There are double- andtriple-weighted plastic sets, but they cost

considerably more than a single-weighted set. Theunweighted sets you can buy for a few dollars at your localtoy store are not recommended: they usually cost almostas much as a single-weighted set (since toy stores do notbuy chess sets in the volume a chess seller does), andthey are smaller and very easy to knock over, and thus

much harder to play with. Some players choose to playwith the older, more expensive, wood sets. As a guideline,a set with a king smaller than 2yo" is much too small.Along with the better plastic sets, players usually purchaseinexpensive roll-up boards that are easy to carry. The mostcommon colors are buff and green, or buff and brown.Bright colors such as red are hard on the eyes, and redand black boards are considered checkerboards. Boards

should be coordinated with the size of the pieces; a pieceshould take up most, but not all of a square. The standard

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3y4" king sets usually have boards that have 2-2y4" squares,and2" is probably a little too small. That is why most sellersrecommend a particular board or group of boards for each

set. Also, it would not make sense to match an inexpensiveset with an expensive board or vice versa.

Clocks are mainly analog (a traditional clock with two facesand hands) or digital. Today digita clocks are about twiceas expensive as analog (roughly $t 00 vs. $SO;, but I expectdigita clocks gradually to become less expensive. Most

analog clocks need to be wound, and need to be checkedbefore each game; digital clocks usually run on batteries.A good analog clock is the Rolland rM clock,and the BHBrM clocks are also popular.Currently the most popular digital clock is aChronosrM clock, which has large, easy-to-read features, but retails a little higher than

other digital clocks.

Using the ClockA chess clock has two faces (or on a digital clock, two timedisplays counting down). Each face shows the thinking timeof that player. While a player is thinking, his clock is running.When a player moves, he then presses the button on hisside of the clock, thus stopping his time from running andstarting his opponent's time.

A player runs out of time when: (1) With an analog clock,the "flag" on his side of the clock falls after the minutehand passes 12:00, or, (2) with a digital clock, his sidecounts down to zero time.

If a player runs out of time and his opponent then "calls" it,the player loses (a "time forfeit") if his opponent has matingmaterial, and draws if the opponent does not. Only aparticipant in the game (or under certain circumstances a


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TD) can claim that time has run out. A player may have tomake a given number of moves or possibly all his moveswithln the prescribed time period. ln scholastic chess

making all the moves is usually required; this is called a"sudden death" time contro .

On most analog clocks, a mechanical flag is raised by theminute hand as the top of the hour approaches, and thenfalls when the hour is reached. On analog clocks the ruleis that the first time control always ends at 6:00, so when aplayer's flag falls at 6:00, he has used all his time and if

his opponent calls attention to this, then the player whohas used all his time loses just as if he had beencheckmated.

Other Equipment: Writing Utensils, Scorebooks, andGarrying CasesI suggest bringing at Ieast two sharpened pencils to eachgame. Since I advise writing down a move before it is playedso that the planned move can be erased if a further "sanitycheck" shows it to be faulty, using a pen can get a littlemessy

Scorebooks are bound scoresheets; they are inexpensiveand allow for easy safekeeping of game scores. Gamescores are important because:

f you know how to keep score, rules require you to doso, to aid in case either player makes a claim (such astime forfeit, illegal move, threefold repetition of positiondraw, etc.)

{. They provide historical documents for publishinggames in bulletins, magazines, books etc. Many of thechess books your child purchases would not be possibleunless someone had recorded the games

*

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t They allow for later analysis. As a chess instructor,the main focus of many of my lessons are my students'games, so having their scorebooks available is aprerequisite for a session.

I prefer scorebooks that have additional columns forrecording how much time is left after each move, since Ifind this extra information very helpful, but any commercialscorebook is adequate.

Carrying cases vary greatly in price and style. Some onlyhold the pieces (a "bag"), while others have specialcompartments not only for pieces, set, clock, board, andscorebook, but also for additional books. So before youpurchase a carrying case, compare a few to see whichone best meets your child's needs.

Once you have purchased these few items, your child willbe as prepared as any chess veteran


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Chapter 3

Chess and Computers

It is impossible to discuss the world of chesswithout mentioning computers. Computersand chess is such a big subject that several

books have been devoted exclusively to different aspectsof their relationship. The subjects presented below arelimited to items of interest to new chess parents. As always,I have supplied additional references for further exploration.

3.1 The World-Wide Web

PlayingThere are many chess "servers" on the web, where anyonecan play against all levels of players from all around theworld. Some of these servers are free and others requirean annual fee. The best ones require you todownload specia interface programs toallow easy participation, while others(usually the ones for the masses) do not.The best known chess server in the chess community isthe lnternet Chess Club (lCC; wr,ryr,ry.chessclub.com), a fee-based and professionally run service. You can also playfor free on the ICC as a guest, with reduced side benefits.

Other popular servers include the USCF's own server (USChess Live ), and those at ChessNet, Yahoo, MicrosoftNetwork, etc.

Learning About GhessThere are many sites, large and small, that provide chessinformation and instruction. Many of these, like my web-site ( myweb pages. comcast. neUdan hei sma n/chess. htm )and the excellent on-line chess magazine ChessCafe.com(www.chesscafe.com) are free, while others charge a

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For parents more interested in this large subject area, thereis a recent book devoted entirely to it: Chess on the Net,by Mark Crowther.

Using a Federation Web-siteThe USCF website (www.uschess.org) is a very large sitewith a tremendous amount of chess information. Navigatingthis site can sometimes be difficult (for example, stateorganizations are currently listed under "Clubs"), but evenbrowsing around can be exceptionally educational. At thetop of many pages are links to the main sub-pages("Tournaments", "Contact Us", etc.), while the left sideusually has sub-links of the browsed page.

Some of the principal pages I use are:

i. Ratings - Current ratings of individuals are posted atwww. 64. com/uscf/rati n gs/

* Upcoming tournaments - www.uschess.org/tla

* Club Listings -i. State Affiliates - www.uschess.org/directories/states.html

* State Scholastic Coordinators - www.uschess.org/

{. lnstructional information for scholastic players -www. uschess. org/scholastic/

aNews

-www.uschess.org/clife/currenU

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The CFC website is Iocated at www.chess.cal.ltis availablein both French and English and has many sub-pages similarto the USCF website, but of course with different specificinformation.

3.2 Computer Software

Chess-Playi n g ProgramsThis section discusses a few of the majorplaying programs for the PC. The mostpopular commercial program, Mindscape'sChessMasferrM (Version 8000 is the Iatest),

also has a Macintosh version, as do some of the otherproducts listed below.

Overview of the Most Popular ProgramsFor the past few years there have been many good chess-

playing programs on the market. The latest versions ofthese programs cost about $50, and previous versions areusually available for much less. These previous versionsmay be just as helpful for your child, so they are usuallyexcellent bargains. Many of these have chess "engines"(the part that calculates the moves) based upon non-commercial programs that have competed for the World

Microprocessor Championships. Set on thelr strongestlevel, these high-rated programs, including ChessMaster(CM and Ertreme ChessrM, can play close to Grandmasterstrength on modern PCs.

It is also interesting to note that while CM can play muchbetter than a "fun" program like lnterplay's BattlechessrM

(BC), it has many settings that BC does not have whichalso allow it play much worse than even the lowest BCsetting. Therefore, many of the best programs can be "fine-tuned" to play at almost any level, from beginner to master.


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Recently, a few companies have been packaging multiplechess CDs in one package. These might include one ortwo of the older versions of chess-playing programs along

with a few chess teachingprograms

(as describedin

section 3.2.2). These packages are usually a bargain, asthe older versions are usually just as good for almost allstudents any'way, so you get much more for your money.

Most professional players use a program such as Fritz 7rM(available at www.chessbaseusa.com). While Fritz'senginemight be only marginally better than CM, it does havecompatibility with chess-oriented database programs,notably ChessBaseru, and also has some nice featuresspecifically designed for strong players. These professionalprograms formerly cost about $150, but in the past fewyears they also have come down to about $50.

Using the Programs for Maximum BenefitLearn how to change the settings on the computer to playdifferent strengths. Be aware that setting an inexpensivecomputer (such as the older table-top ones available fromRadio Shack) on a lower "level" usually means it just playsfaster - but it is still playing the best it can, just not thinkingas long. A very good program like CM, even its very fastestmode, wil beat a beginning student virtually 100o/o of thetime on its default setting.

Here are various ways to make CM play worse:

t Set its level to Newcomer or Novice (Under Menu,"Play", the first item)

* Set it to a weak "personality"such as Novice orWoodpusher (under Menu "Play" item "Set up game details"

- the names scroll over the picture of the board on theright)

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{' Change its thinking depth to one or two ply (half-moves) or only a few seconds (Menu "Play" "Set up GameDetails" use "Different Time Controls" and set them to alow value)

t Don't let the computer think on your move (Under"Play" item "Set up a Personality" click off "Deep Thinking")

, Alter the value of its parameters (Under "Play" item"Set up a Personality" change parameters). For example,you can make CMthink a queen is worth less than a pawn

I suggest setting a chess computer's "level" so that it willwin aboutTSo/o of the games against whomever it is playing(about 200 USCF points above its opponent). This is closeto optimum: if set any stronger the games will not be closeand your child wil learn ess; any weaker and the computerwill not be taking advantage of your child's mistakes, andwi not push him to play above his average playing strength.

Be aware that computers "don't play like humans."Therefore, don't play exclusively with the computer. Playinghumans helps one learn not only how to deal with human-type mistakes, but also how to deal with human-typebehavior. The computer does not care how your child acts,but playing against a human encourages him to practicegood chess etiquette, with the resulting social benefits.

Computer chess programs, while playing objectively"worse" on fast speeds, do comparatively a lot betteragainst humans if the human is forced to play at thosesame speeds. This is because a computer can calculatemillions of possibilities in a second and can play areasonable move in a time period that to a human seemsinstant; even the best speed-chess-playing humans do nothave this capacity, and thus humans gain comparatively


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*t{.

more playing strength than a computer when given moretime. So while the best software programs play aboutGrandmaster strength in slow (two-hour) play, they are

definitely World Championship caliber when set to play agame in five minutes - provided the human they are playinghas to play the entire game in five minutes, also.

lnstructional SoftwareAlthough today most instruction is done through books andinteractive web-sites, there ls still a market for individuallypackaged chess instruction software for all ages. Someparents swear by these products. Among the commerciallyavailable ones that readily come to mind are:

Chess Mentor 2.0rMMauice Ashley Teaches ChessrMConvekta Products:

CHESS SCHOOL FOR BEGINNERSTMADVANCED CHESS SCHOOL TMCHESS TACTICS FOR BEGINNERSTM

Ghess Mentor (www.chess.com0 is one of the oldestprograms. To quote their website:

Using our patented Learning Enginf environment,Chess Mentorpresenfs you with challenges craftedby internationally respected chess teachers. Youactively participate with the Learning Engine to solvefhese challenges with as much - or as little - helpas you want. The Learning Engine continuouslymonitors your efforts, giving you immediatefeedback, automatically providing you with review

of material you have not yet mastered, andpresenting you with new material only when youare ready. You learn with confidence and at yourown pace.

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I have used Chess Mentor and can verify that it is designedfor players of many different Ievels. You can start at anylevel, and the program will automatically go back toproblems that you missed or did too slowly (problems aretimed to get that extra dimension of learning). Their e-mailand phone support for problems, technical and othenruise,also seems fairly solid.

Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess has been a popular CD-ROM available at stores for many years, but apparently is

now no longer being published. However, it is sometimespackaged with other inexpensive chess CDs and in thisform is a real bargain. This CD does have some playingcapabilities, but the emphasis is on fun-oriented instruction.Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess is probably notrecommended for a teenager, since the instruction seemsto be aimed at a slightly younger audience.

The three Convekta products listed above are aimed atyounger audiences and are described at their website,wurw.chessassistant.com. ln addition to these fine learn-ing tools, Convekta (www.chessassistant.com) also has amuch more advanced program, Chess Assisfanf ChessTactics Art 3.0, which is highly recommended by several

of my students.

Many, if not most, of the commercially available softwareplaying programs discussed above also includeinstructional software. While not strictly instructionaprograms, ChessBaserM and BookuprM are database-oriented products that are used by many strong players,

so if your child ever becomes really proficient, he shouldbe aware of these more advanced support tools.

Finally, a program suite that does not fit neatly into any ofthe above categories: The Think Like A King@ School


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Chess Software System has become USCF's OfficialScholastic Software. Designed as a comprehensivesolution for schoo chess programs, the software is aimed

at a parent, coach, or teacher who is running a chess clubor class, and includes management, motivation, andteaching functions. The foundation program, Chess ClubManager@ (CCM) contains dozens of time saving andcreative toots. For example, CCM lets you maintain up-to-the-minute club ratings. lt is designed to be easy enoughfor students to use (and do most of the actual work ). Otherfeatures include the ability to award bonus points, or toprint any of the following: award certificates, clubmanagement forms, and chess puzzle handouts. Thepuzzles come from the Chess Workouts@ Series, theteaching arm of the Think Like A King@ System. Furtherinformation is available at www.schoolchess.com.

The computer is one of the best tools a chess player can

imagine. Learning to use it to enhance both your student'splaying ability and his enjoyment is both beneficial and, insome instances, educational

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Chapter 4

Tournament Participation

4.1 Finding Out About TournamentsFinding about tournaments is easy. Basically, there aretwo ways to make contact:

t Passive: The tournament org anizer contacts youthrough an e-mail or a mailing, or

.... Active: You find a tournament by looking in a maga-zine or web-site.

A tournament organizer can contact you only if he hasyour e-mail or home mailing address in his database, or ifyou have contacted him to let you know about future events.There are many ways of finding out about local tourna-ment organizers, but the easiest way is by attending a tour-nament you discovered via method#2 and asking the Tour-nament Director (TD) if there is a mailing list. ln the US,state scholastic coordinators are isted at rnnrtnrv.uschess.org/d i rectories/coord i nators. htm I .

Once you join an organization such as the USCF, you willreceive information from them about their events. As dis-cussed earlier, the USCF sends the monthly Chess LifeMagazine to its older members and the quarterly SchoolMates to its younger scholastic members. Each magazinehas a section called "Tournament Life Announcements",or "TLAs." These sections contain listings of tournaments.Different levels of tournaments might include:

{. Nationals - Nationa championship events, such asthe scholastic tournaments discussed in Section 4.6, oradult events, such as the US or Canadian Open.


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i.

t Grand Prix - Large open US events which offer fairlyhigh cash prizes.

State/Province - Local events, listed by each state orprovince. States are presented alphabetically.

t CFC{CC - The CFC (Chess Federation of Canada)has teamed with the ICC to have joint events on the lntemet.

There is sometimes a separate section at the end for "un-

rated" tournaments - ones that don't count towarda

player's rating (advertising these nationally is relativelyrare).

US TLAs are also listed on-line at www.uschess.org/tlaand Canadian ones at www.chess.caltournaments.htm.

Once you find a TLA, it will tell you the pertinent informa-

tion you need to decide to attend. The TLA section usesabbreviations to save space, but there is a legend on thefirst page to help newcomers decipher the text, e.g. "EF"is "Entry Fee" and "HR" is "Hote Rates."

The TLA will say where the tournament is, how much isthe entry fee, whether it is restricted to certain ages orgrades, times of the rounds, the time limit for each game,etc. Finally, there is "further contact" information. This maybe an address, phone number, web-site, and/or e-mailaddress. These are usually excellent places to contact ifyou want to get on a Iocal mailing list, or find out aboutlocal clubs and tournaments.

4.2 A Typical Tournament

This section describes a typical rated chess tournament.First we will present a fictional, humorous walkthrough ofa student's first tournament day. The remainder of this

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section describes supplemental information, includingSwiss system pairings, byes, ratings, etc.

4,2.1 A Day in the Life (Tournament Version)Time to get up Today is little Hoobley's first tournament

Last night you double-checked the web atumnv. u sch ess. org/t a o r \ /ww. ch ess. calto u rna ments. htm tofind the time for registration. The tournament is beingplayed at a local hotel, and Hoobley needs to join his na-

tional federation, so you want to leave a little early.Hoobley's friend, Doobley, was initially not going to gobecause her parents thought that she needed to be amember already to play, but you assured them that any-one could join the federation during registration. MaybeDoobley, who seemed like a pretty good player, would havea chance at an unrated prize. You had been told that ex-

perienced kids have a chess "rating" while those in theirfirst tournament enter as "unrateds" and get a rating afterthe tournament results are sent to the national federation.

Upon arrival at the tournament, you see a line for registra-tion. The good-looking TD is helping people sign up. Whenyou get to the front of the line, he gives a federation mem-

bership form to Hoobley, who chooses to get a scholasticmembership. The TD explains to you that this is a once-a-year cost and that Hoobley will get a nice magazine aspart of his membership privileges. He also tells you to holdon to your receipt, which will act as your proof of member-ship until Hoobley's membership card arrives in the mail ina few weeks. So if Hoobley wants to play in next week's

Midnight Madness tournament, that receipt wilprove

tothe TD that he is a member. You ask the TD what youshould do until the first round starts, and he says thatHoobley can play some fun, warm-up games in the skittlesroom until the TD can post the first-round pairings.


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ln the skittles room you find Doobley, who is playing blind-fold against the loca chess master. She is giggling as themaster tries to find a way out of her letha trap. You notice

they are playing with a chess clock.

Hoobley does not own a clock, but he has brought his newboard and set (they told him not to get the one with redsquares). Hoobley is now wonied - will he have to playwith a clock? Yes, the friendly chess master says, it is atournament rule that you have to play with a clock, but ifyou don't have one, your opponent probably will. You can

also start your game without a clock and, if your gamestarts to run too long, the TD will assign a clock to you.The chess master also tells Hoobley to relax, os he willhave plenty of time to play his game, and young playersoften play too fast in their first tournament.

After Doobley announces mate in 17, the TD says that thefirst-round pairings are up. There are 2 sections, one pri-marily for adults, and the other for scholastic. The chessmaster is playing in the adult section, and is glad not to bein the same section with Doobley, who is playing in thescholastic section.

You find Hoobley's name on the pairing chart. lt has hisname on the right and the line says:

17 C. Brown (13) H. Baskerville (33)What does this mean? Someone explains that this meansthat Hoobley is Black on board 17 against little Charlie,and that Hoobley has pairing number 33, which just meansthat he is ranked 33'd among the 40 scholastic players.Doobley is number 37, and is paired with another younggirl.

Hoobley goes to board 17, and finds that his opponent

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has set up the board with some very small plastic pieces.You ask the TD if Hoobley has to play with that set, or canhe use his new set. The TD explains that Black has his

choice of equipment, and besides Hoobley's set is morestandard (he also tells you to put Hoobley's initials on thebottom of each piece, so that you wil know they are his).Therefore, the TD tells Charlie that they should useHoobley's set, and Charlie puts his sma set away in itscardboard box.

Charlie does have an analog clock, so they set the clockwith both faces at 5:30 so that Charlie and Hoobley willeach have 30 minutes to make all their moves (tourna-ment rules require that the clocks be set so that the firsttime control always expires at 6:00 on analog clocks).Charlie has a scoresheet to keep score, but Hoobley doesnot know how to write algebraic notation, so he is not keep-

ing score. The TD explains that in some tournaments aTD has the option to make a player who cannot keep scoretake five minutes off his clock, but that he chooses not dothis.

The TD says that he will not start the first round unti all theparents are out of the room. You wish Hoobley - andCharlie - good luck and go to the skittles room.About 10 minutes later Hoobley comes out with a big lower ip. Uh-oh

"What happened?"

"He checkmated me."

"That was aMully fast."

"Well, he played fast, so I played fast, too. But he kept


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taking all my pieces until his Queen and Bishop got in aline and checkmated me."

"Maybe that will be a good lesson. You haveplenty

of timeand all the other kids are still playing, so maybe you shouldplay a little slower, too."

You ask the TD if Hoobley will play his next game soon, butthe TD says, "No, in a Swiss system you pair a player againstsomeone who is doing as well as he is, so we have to waituntil all the playerc are done so that we can use the com-puter to make the next round's pairings. lt should be about 11o'clock. Did your son and his opponent mark down the re-sults of his game on the pairing sheet?"

They hadn't, so he reminds them to do so as soon as eachgame is over. At the TD's suggestion, you also check tomake sure Hoobley has put all of his pieces back into hisbag and that Charlie remembers his set and clock. lt isonly 10:15. So Hoobley and Charlie play another game inthe skittles room, and Hoobley plays slower in the skittlesgame that didn't count than he did in the one that just fin-ished, which did count

By 10:30 Doobley also comes out. She says she won withsomething called "Philidor's Legacy." You ask what that

is, but her answer about "smothered mate" does not ring abell.

By 11 , all the scholastic players are done and the newpairings posted. Hoobley' is given White on board 16against a slightly older boy who had also lost. You helpHoobley set up his pieces, set the clock, and then leavethe room.

Someone has entered the tournament late, and has missedthe first round. So there are now an odd number of players

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in Hoobley's section. When you saw Hoobley's pairing, atthe bottom of the pairing sheet one of the rated playerswho lost in the first round is given a "bye." You ask the TDwhat that is. The TD explains that with an odd number ofplayers, one of the players cannot be paired, and any timesomeone cannot play for any reason that is called a "bye."In this case it is not the player's fault, so he gets a "full-point bye," which is worth the same as a win.

This time, Hoobley does not come out right

away. n fact, one other game finishes firstbefore Hoobley comes out. Uh-oh Biglower lip again

"l played slower, but I still lost "

"That's OK - as long as you try your best, that's all you cando."

"l didn't see that he could take my queen."

"Did you mark the result of your game?"

"No - he is marking it.""The TD said you should both mark it, so why don't you gocheck?"

Hoobley checks to see that indeed, he has been recordedas lost, and then you take him to lunch, as the next rounddoes not start until 12:30. There will be one more round

after that, for a total of four. You should be home by3.

When you return at 12:20, the pairings are already up, buta note on them says that you cannot start your opponent'sclock until 12:30. You also see Doobley, who is chewingon her favorite spinach sandwich, which she brought to


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the tournament. Apparently she won pretty quickly using avariation on "Legall's Mate" against someone who playsfor the local high school. She is now the only unrated with

two points.

At 12:30 you help Hoobley set up his pieces (initials undereach piece, as you had been told) to play a very younggirl, also in her first toumament. lt doesn't take too longafter you leave for a sheepish looking Hoobley to emergefrom the playing room.

"What happened?"

"She didn't know how to get out of check."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I checked her with my Queen, and

she put a bunch of pieces in the way, whichI took off." Then I checked her again andshe said she didn't know how to get out ofcheck any more, so she resigned. I won "

You smile and give Hoobley a big hug. Then you ask him ifhe had posted his result.

"No Will they give me a loss if I forget?"

"l don't think so, but you had better go back and post it.Don't forget to put a'1' by your name and a '0' by hers."Hoobley did, and then went off to play in the skittles room.

Later Doobley also emerges. Her game against a local

elementary champion hadgone down to the wire, but ap-

parently she had won using the "Lucena" or somethinglike that. She is now 3-0, and only one other boy, a loca

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high school junior, had matched her perfect record. Theywill play in the final round.

After winning in the third round, Hoobley is now "pairedup" against an older, higher-rated boy playing in his sec-ond tournament. You remind Hoobley to play slow:"Doobley says, 'When you see a good move, look for abetter one.' Take your time." You dutifully leave the play-ing room and the final round action starts.

Luckily, Hoobley does not emerge with the first pair of play-ers to finish, or even second. But his game is the third.

"l was too tired. I missed that when he moved his bishophis rook was attacking my queen. Oh wel . Can we waituntil Doobley finishes her game?"

"OK, but then we have to go shopping for Aunt Tilly's birth-day."

A while later Doobley comes out. You cannot tell if shehad won or lost, for she is using her best poker face.Hoobley runs up to her and says, "Well??"

"lt was Zugzwang:' she replies."What is'soog-svang'?"

"Tsoog-tsvang," as she corrects our pronunciation, "lt iswhen I win because he has no good moves to make andhas to make a bad one." A smile now grows on Doobley's

face. Somehow I think she has a future in this game ...Before we have a chance to leave, the TD announces thatall the games are over and he is going to award the tro-phies.


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lmagine our surprise when he announced that Hoobley,although finishing with a 1-3 record, had won the "3'd Un-rated" prizel lt is a trophy about a foot high with a chess

king on top. We are all flabbergasted. Good thing we hadn'tleft to get Aunt Tilly's present.

Later that night, with the new trophy on the mantle andAunt Tilly's present in the closet, you tuck Hoobley intobed.

"Did you have a good time at the tournament?"

"Yes But I have one question."

"Sure, honey, what is it?"

"Doobley said that she is going to a bigkids' tournament in New York next week.

Can we go, too?"4.2.2 Pre-Registration and RegistrationThe method by which you sign up with the TD to play in histournament is called "registration." lf you register enoughdays in advance of the tournament (usually by regular mail,unless the TD's web-site can take your entry fee by creditcard), this is usually called "pre-registration" since there is

also almost always a registration periodjust before the tournament, for players thatdid not pre-register.

The general rule is that larger tournamentsencourage pre-registration by offering a

discount for early entry (or else later entries are "penal-

ized"). The reasons f

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Heisman D. - A Parents Guide to Chess - Russell Enterprises 2002

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