Blog Posts

How much time does my child need to study chess?

9/29/2017

It's up to your child and up to you.

As long as s/he likes to learn chess and likes to play chess, 1, 2, or 3 hours are all fine. If s/he does not like to play chess, then 0 hour. Of course, the more time s/he puts in, the more s/he could achieve.

There is no genius in this world. All chess kids are smart. If you expect your child spends 10 minutes a day on chess and wins the national, you are dreaming. You can either find excuses for your child (and yourself) or help your child find time. There is no third way.

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What is one-hundred loss challenge?

9/26/2017

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When I first taught chess, I had a student who couldn't stand losing to his classmates. He was so afraid of losing that he could not play in classroom at all. If he didn't play, of course he would not improve. Then he could never win.

So I gave him a challenge, playing on chesskid.com against other kids. I told him: "You don't know them, so don't worry, losing was not that bad. I don't care about results, winning or losing. In fact, I want you to lose. I want you lose 100 games first. I will give you a prize when you reach the goal".

Initially he still played very few games. Every week I reminded him the 100-loss goal. Slowly he got into the habit, losing more games every week. After couple of weeks, after losing 40-some games, he began to have some wins. He could no longer continue his loss stream. Winning games shown up more and more, and he became more confident to play. In half a year, he started to play in tournaments.

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Why fall is the best season to start chess?

9/25/2017

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Because school year starts at fall, a lot of parents consider chess as a new activity for their kids. In fact, this is the best approach.

We all know chess is not a short term activity. You can't expect anything by just signing up for a few weeks. In fact, each of my Steps lasts for a school year. We start with basic workbook, more exercises with extra workbook, and additional topics with plus workbook. After one school year, students will finish at least 1000 problems. We can consider to move them to the next step. Some students may continue with more chess classes in summer.

Many students will continue their chess study for the whole school year. If you try to get in in winter and if you are lucky to get in, you will have missed the lessons for basic theory and one-third of material. If you try to get in in spring, most likely I will suggest you wait for next year, or go to lower step. The additional topics would be too difficult if you never had earlier lessons.

Of course, any time to start chess is good and not late. But to reap the greatest benefit, please consider chess in fall, maybe even begin to think about it in late summer. When the fall quarter starts, most seats are already gone. More than half of my classes are full before we kick off the first lesson.

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What's the difference between after school chess clubs and classes at chess schools?

9/24/2017

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It's same one hour exposure to chess. Is there any difference?

As a coach, I teach at both after-school clubs and at my own chess school. As a parent, I send my children to both after-school clubs and some classes outside school. I can tell you there are big difference between the two.

First, different student groups. At after-school clubs, the students are (in)volunteering to attend the clubs. The parents have difficulty to pick the children, so they just want to find some interesting or meaningful activity for their children. The children may or may not like chess. They have very little motivation to improve. For classes at chess school, it's the opposite. The students are self-selected. They want to learn and they want to improve. If your child wants to learn chess, which environment you want him/her in?

Second, most after-school clubs are just one quarter or at most one year. The teachers know their assignments are just 6, 8, or 10 weeks. They don't have long term vision. It's just a short term assignment. So they don't have any plan. Every quarter, they just repeat the material. They don't and can't care much about students' progress.

Third, when everyone has very low target, students have little motivation, and teachers are just fulfilling the contract, what can we expect? Most after-school clubs will always have beginners. Anyone who gets better will leave the club, because they don't want to waste any time anymore. This is a reality we have to face. Until the school is treating chess as part of curriculum, our children have to move on their chess study to outside chess schools.

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Why do we encourage girls to play chess?

7/17/2017

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Every fall, my daughter organizes a free NJ All-Girls Chess Camp to promote chess among girls. The 50-people camp has been always fully booked in two days.

In any culture, girls are not considered to be good at chess, or any mind-blowing activities. Why do we encourage girls to play chess?

I won't discuss those orthodox reasons here. I will show you some reverse thinking why you want to let your daughter play chess.

Comparing to boys, with fewer participants, girls can easily excel at chess. They can achieve very good results quickly. Good results of course provide positive feedback, and will motivate them to get better. For a boy to feel achivement, he needs reach 2200. For a girl, 2000 will make her outstanding.

Smart girls are not nerdy. They are actually very popular. Chess not only trains them how to think, but also helps them learn how to make friends and how to handle all kinds of social activities. Unlike math or science, chess is hard work combined with play, so chess girls can have a lot of fun.

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Why do you want to start chess lesson as early as possible?

6/26/2017

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When some parents visited me for evaluation, they would naturally ask for class time. I mentioned one time, they would say "that's not good for us, because our kid has another activity", or "we will travel for a month." They will look for a perfect time to start the chess lesson for their child. But sometimes this perfect time never comes.

How many times do you see a child does his homework without taking a lesson? Almost none. If you don't let him take a lesson, he will not do any related work, unless it's purely play. Chess is not pure play. Chess is play and work.

If he doesn't take lesson, doesn't do homework, will he go to tournaments? I can bet he doesn't even know where to find a tournament.

If he doesn't play in tournaments, how long can his interest last? From my experience, the longest might be 2 to 3 years, while the shortest is just a few months. When his interest is gone, he will slowly stop playing chess. When he grows older, he might realize, what a beautiful activity he has missed.

All these are starting from a chess lesson. So don't procrastinate. You never know your child's potential. He will surprise you again and again. You might have next Magnus at home.

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Why 1000 is an important milestone?

6/5/2017

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If you read the news on my website, I always congratulate my students who have broken through 1000. Why is it important?

First, it's a round number with three 0s. The next round number will be 2000. These are only two round numbers for every chess player. It's also the first 4-digit number a child can achieve.

Second, crossing over to 1000 often means you are no longer a beginner. You may be labelled as an advanced beginner, but you are not a novice beginner anymore. You already know a lot of tactics. You can play some pretty decent games. Often, a student can easily win school championship when s/he is above 1000. S/he could perform well in the lowest section of any major adult tournaments.

Third, from the Step Method point of view, you are more likely having passed Step 3. Your knowledge already includes most tactics, some openings and some endgames. You have played maybe 10-20 tournaments and performed well. It's time for you to further your chess study.

Fourth, most students are becoming more serious about chess after they cross over 1000. They will be more confident about what they can achieve. Sometimes they can zoom up very quickly. Sometimes it takes a few years for them to become an advanced player. But this is the demarcation line that they start working hard on chess.

Therefore, we always celebrate this moment.

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Why homework is important?

5/5/2017

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If you have attended my classes, online or offline, I always assign homework, usually two to three pages, each with 12 problems. We spend one third of the class to go over those homework next time. Why? Why is it important?

First, homework lets the student apply the knowledge in classroom to the problems. They will try it again and again in different setup. It's much easier and cheaper to learn in this way, than to learn from their loss in games.

Second, class is only once a week. On the other 6 days, homework will remind them what they learned in classroom.

Third, a student who does homework is often better than a student who doesn't. I can easily tell who didn't do when we go over homework. If a student finish her/his, s/he usually wants to speak up in class, otherwise s/he just looks down at her/his workbook, pretending that s/he is checking or thinking. Good participation will help her/him learn more, and motivate her/him do better next time.

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Why tournaments are important?

5/3/2017

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If your child is learning chess, sooner or later s/he will go to tournaments. Actually, sooner is better than later.

There are at least 4 benefits of playing tournaments.

Tournaments let your child apply the knowledge they learn in classroom.
Tournaments will motivate child to study chess and work hard.
Tournaments provide a measurement of your child's progress.
Winning tournaments enhances your child's confidence.

It's like tests in school. Scholastic tournaments and club tournaments are like quiz, large adult tournaments like big projects, states like midterms, and nationals like finals. Is her/his study done after finals? No, there will be another final next year. Performing well in tournaments will greatly increase your child's interest in chess.

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