Chess Parents FAQs - Blog

Why did I choose Steps as my textbook? (1)

8/31/2022

In 2014, I decided to start teaching chess after accompanying my daughter playing in chess tournaments for 8 years. I know that textbooks are needed, but many introductory books only have lecture notes, no exercises. And many puzzle books don't explain at all. If there is no outside suggestion, I might choose the following two books as teaching materials.

Soon after I started to advertise, Jairo found me because he needed someone to teach after school. He gave me a hint to check out Steps. I immediately went to the USCF Shop to search and found a set of workbooks and manuals. When I received the books, I really felt good, and I made my decision right away. THIS IS IT!

First impression:
1. Rich in content, clear knowledge points, and step by step
2. A lot of practice, save the trouble of finding exercises for students
3. Not in a hurry

I used some Step 1 content in the after-school class, taught a Step 2 class, and prepared the initial teaching material for my daughter's All-girls Camp in November.
(To be continued)

The difference between online and in-person classes

8/31/2022

Some parents asked about the difference between online classes and in-person classes. I will write a few words. The difference discussed here is about the online and in-person classes I am teaching. Not necessarily be able to cover other teachers'.

The first is the length of class time. The online class is 75 minutes, and the in-person class is one hour. The online class is basically a half-hour homework discussion, a 15-minute new lesson, and a half-hour commentary on students' games. Online class students do not play games in class. Parents make an appointment after chess class, according to the pairing I give for the week. The in-person class is 20 minutes of homework discussion, 10 minutes of new lesson, and half an hour of game playing. Playing chess is a feature of the in-person class. Parents who are willing to sign up in-person class are also interested in this opportunity to play against their classmates. But the disadvantage is that the chess games in in-person class cannot be commented, because almost no one records it (clearly and correctly), and even if it is recorded (my advanced class is required to write notation, for preparing for tournaments), there is no guarantee that I will be able to play the game out again with the score sheets.

From this point of view, the teaching time of online courses is obviously more than that of in-person courses.

In terms of curriculum design, online classes are about one academic year, with thirty-four lessons, one step in a year. The in-person classes are a quarter and a section, 10-12 lessons, and there are about 30 lessons in a year. However, many students only sign up for one or two quarters, so it is difficult to ensure the continuity and the final teaching quality. It is difficult to guarantee. There are new students every quarter, so taking care of them is another task. Teaching content will be discounted.

Online classes are video recordings of the entire course, while in-person classes are only videotaped for computer teaching part.

Whether it is online or in-person, my teaching is always of a question-and-answer mode. The teacher is responsible for asking questions and the students are responsible for answering. All are fast-paced. In online classes, we cover at least 36 homework questions and about 10 positions for new lessons. We can only do our best in in-person classes, and the goal is the more the better. Thirty questions should be fine. Therefore, we will see almost 1,500 positions a year in online courses, 350 positions in in-person courses a quarter and about 1,000 positions a year. Therefore, we will solve many more problems in a year than many other classes.

Book: Simple Chess

7/13/2022

Book: Simple Chess

Is chess simple? All big bang theory starts from some simple assumptions and after accumulating for millions of years, now here is the world.

Book: 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations

7/11/2022

Book: 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations

240 pages, 21 chapters, and 1001 problems.
This is the sister book of yesterday's recommendation. It's more difficult. Most problems are not just simple tactics, though they are categorized like simple tactics. In fact, they are close to combination.

Our "Tactics 365” program has 2 problems from this book everyday. If you want to know more, check out chesssteps.us/365.

Book: 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate

7/10/2022

Book: 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate

224 pages, 8 chapters, and 1001 problems.
The first chapter is queen sacrifice, about 47 pages, one-fourth of the book. If you can sacrifice your queen, what else can't you sacrifice?

Our "Tactics 365” program has 2 problems from this book everyday. If you want to know more, check out chesssteps.us/365.

Why we want our kids to learn chess？

7/10/2022

I've been thinking about why we want our kids to learn chess. From a utilitarian point of view, whether it is for a good university, a good job, or a good income, learning chess is not worth it. Many other hobbies have a brighter future than it. Such as Math Olympiad, such as programming. So why spend so much effort learning chess? And the growth of a chess boy is often accompanied by his primary and secondary school studies, that is, 12 years of experience.

Carissa's dad gave us an answer two days ago: "I just want my kid to reach his full potential."

Ye Shuai's "developing one's potential" hits the spot. Everyone has the limit of everyone's ability, including potential. If you can explore it as much as possible, then this chess is worth playing. A lot of kids just waste their innate abilities and years, including two of my own. As a parent, it is worth thinking about how to guide children to develop their abilities, what conditions to provide, what kind of environment to create, and what opportunities to seize.

Book：Judit Polgar - A Game of Queens

7/9/2022

Book：Judit Polgar - A Game of Queens

12 chapters，380 pages，a lot of photos, stories, and short games.
Stories about the World Champions and other giants she has played.
A nice read!

Book：From GM to Top Ten: Judit Polgar Teaches Chess 2

7/8/2022

Book：From GM to Top Ten: Judit Polgar Teaches Chess 2

12 chapters，380 pages，a lot of photos, stories, and short games.
A nice read!

Book: Learn Chess the Right Way: Book 5: Finding Winning Moves!

7/7/2022

Book: Learn Chess the Right Way: Book 5: Finding Winning Moves!

Published in 2017. 500 Problems, in 3 parts:
1. Quite move to checkmate
2. Quite move to win pieces
3. Zugzwang

Difficulty level: Step 2 - Step 4

Book: Learn Chess the Right Way: Book 4: Sacrifice to Win!

7/6/2022

The 4th book focuses on sacrifice. The difficult level: Step 2 to Step 4. 500 Puzzles.