Blog Archives - Chess Parents FAQs

What should be my child's third rating goal after 1000?

5/26/2015

S/he can use 1200 as his/her next rating goal. This is a minor one, comparing to the previous two: 800 and 1000. It only shows that your child has stabilized as an intermediate player. Kids normally will fluctuate around this level for a while, so don't pay too much attention to the hard number. Of course 1200 means s/he is a class D player now.

At 1200, he should already be familiar with all basic tactics, and know a few openings. When a tactic opportunity arises in his/her game, half times s/he can spot it and use it. S/he still can't think deeply, but 3-5 moves should not be a problem for him/her. S/he still makes blunders, but much less than beginners.

At this level, you have to be patient, waiting for him/her becoming more mature in his/her games. Keep encouraging him/her play in tournaments. Don't over-emphasize any single game or tournament. It's a time ripe for breakout. S/he can stay in the plateau for a while and make huge jump in surprise.

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What should be my child's second rating target?

5/21/2015

This would be a whooping round number: 1000.

This is a 4-digit number, which symbolizes that the player is no longer a beginner. S/he is a "Class E" player now. This is significant. I suggest a small celebration.

After crossing over 1000, s/he becomes much more confident in him/herself. S/he could not wait to attack the next target. It's a time when the self-motivation is strongest, and faster progress are expected. Rating jumps are very common. S/he will start gathering trophies here and there. This is the happiest period of his/her chess career.

Normally this milestone is hit soon after the first target 800, maybe after a couple of months. Overall you should expect it in one to two years since his/her first rated tournament.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

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I already have a chess set from toy store at home, do I need to buy a standard set?

5/20/2015

This is a quite out of line question. Does the set matter?

Yes, believe it or not, the set does matter.

First, winning a chess game does not only depend on one's chess knowledge and skill, but also depend on his/her psychological strength. It's hard to measure or tell, but it's there. Like in any sports, competing in a familiar environment makes one feel more comfortable and confident. That's why there are home game and away game, to be fair. For chess, other than playing venue, the set is a critical part because you look at it during the entire game. USCF rule actually stipulates that black player has the right to pick a set.

Second, similar to the first point, touching the piece is also important, and sometimes it gives you inconscious confidence boost. In fact, GO (Weiqi) players love to touch their pieces all the time, even when they are not working on any critical position, same are poker players, maybe also the basketball players and other ball players.

Third, not all chess pieces are made same, just like printing fonts. Most chess sets sold in toy stores are not manufactured precisely according to any standard. Some pieces are difficult to distinguish because of their smaller sizes, such as Bishop vs Pawn, and Queen vs King. It creates unnecessary difficulty for studying and playing.

Fourth, a standard set will make your child feel more formal, and take his/her games more serious, then s/he can learn better. Chess is not a toy for little baby anymore. This is the first step s/he makes for maturity.

A funny tidbit, the formal World Champion Anand doesn't have any set at his home. When a reporter wanted to play a game against Anand, he was told to bring in a set. Anand is very good with computer since its early age, and he mostly use his computer and more importantly his brain. He can see and feel everything in his brain.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

What should be my child's first rating target?

5/19/2015

I suggest 800. This is the point where kids become serious with chess. Their rating progress are starting to show stability. They begin to have confidence in themselves with chess playing. They know if they work hard, they will achieve more, getting above 1000, and a bright future ahead.

They are still beginners, but are more sophisticated beginners. They already have a lot of chess knowledge, and can play decently against anyone. They are real chess players now.

Most kids should reach this level in 6 months to a year after they begin to play in rated tournaments. If not, there are two possibilities: they are not trained correctly, or they have no interest in studying chess. For the first reason, you should consider changing coach. See my article. For the second, there is no cure until they grow up more.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

Why should my child have some rating target?

5/18/2015

Setting goals is important for anyone, including little kids. If your child doesn't have any goals, s/he can stay in the same beginner classes for years without progressing to anywhere. In the meantime, you might be fooled to think that s/he has been having very useful actitivies in chess. Of course, if killing some of his/her idle time with chess is your goal, then you have achieved your goal. But most won't. We want to see that our child become a better person after these extra-curriculum actitivies, including the betterment in chess skill.

How can we tell s/he has been making progress?

Rating is the only objective criteria. Your teacher's comments are definitely subjective and can't compare. Judging by seeing your child winning or losing games can be misleading because we can't track them personally. We may have bias and only remember what we want to remember. Only rating is a cold number. It's not absolutely accurate, but it draws a rough picture.

You child need such an objective target to motivate him working hard. Achieving goals also provides satisfaction and positive feedback. S/he targets higher next time.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

Is rating everything?

5/14/2015

Of course not. This is one reason people provide when they claim that rating is not important. They try to use one extreme to undermine another extreme. Going to extreme is almost never good in any endeavor.

Let me repeat: rating is important (see my last blog), but rating is not everything.

If you replace rating with money, grade, career success, and etc., you will see similar clichÃ©.

Rating should motivate you work hard, not paralyze you from taking actions. You should never think about rating during your games. Not your past rating, not your future rating, or not even your opponent's rating. You only think about it during your long term planning. Fearing possible rating drop is one reason people take easy draws.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

Is rating important?

5/13/2015

Of course rating is important. Is grade in school important?

Rating helps in the following ways:

1. provide a way to measure progress

Rating is not just a number, it is also a objective number that tells us some truth. There is nothing subjective, such as strong, weak, good, beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc. You can look at a child's rating history to see how s/he have been making progress, is it fast or slow, is it stagating. Then you can diagosis if the training or coaching is effective, and decide if anything needs to be changed.

2. help set up a goal that a student can work on

Without a goal, a child will not fully develop to his/her potential.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

3. rating jump always provides positive feedback and extra motivation

For a developing junior, rating jumps are common. When it happens, it makes the kid happy and also motivates him/her work harder.

4. determine the qualification at important tournaments

Most invitational only, closed tournaments, or international tournaments such as World Youth are choosing participants basing on rating cutoff. If you can't reach the cutoff, you won't be qualified.

5. rating is one criteria for FIDE or USCF awarding titles

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

What is FIDE?

5/12/2015

Copied from Wikipedia:
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE (/ˈfiːdeɪ/, fee-day), its French acronym.

Its website: www.fide.com

FIDE is responsibe for organizing World Championship, Olympiad, World Youth and other international tournaments. GM, IM and other titles are awarded by FIDE.

USCF is a member of FIDE.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

http://onemovecheckmate.blogspot.com/

My child has been stuck under 500 for a year, what should I do?

5/11/2015

Let me say it bluntly, you should change his/her coach or change his/her lessons.

No child should be stuck at low beginner level for more than several months. Either s/he is not learning much in his/her lessons, group or private, or s/he is getting incorrect guidance. Either way, s/he needs a fresh restart.

If s/he has done all his/her homework, practices diligently as instructed, but still no progress, then the coach's instructions may be wrong. Switching a coach is necessary.

If s/he doesn't like the coach, then of course say bye-bye with no hesitation. The rapport between the student and the coach is critical for the coaching to be effective.

If s/he doesn't do his/her homework, rarely play, and not show any interest, then re-direct his/her energy to other interesting activities. Chess can be put on back-burner. Life is full of interesting things.

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

What is ICC?

5/8/2015

ICC stands for Internet Chess Club. This is one of the servers where people play chess, including many GMs and IMs.

It's website: www.chessclub.com

Other than playing chess, you can also watch chess videos and take chess lessons.

Other popular chess servers are:

Chess.com: http://www.chess.com
ChessKid.com: http://www.chesskid.com
Free Internet Chess Server (FICS): http://www.freechess.org/
Playchess.com: http://play.chessbase.com/js/apps/playchess/

http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html

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