COACHING STUDENTS

I like to share some tips for coaching primary (under-12 category) or secondary (under-15 and under-18) school students. There are several fun ways to coach them. Many of these training devices I revise from what I took from this interesting website.

1. Use time odds.
I give them 10 minutes to my 1 minute. There are many times where I lose on time, but mostly, I manage to survive. Nevertheless, some of them really use the given time wisely and think hard in order to beat me (I used their thinking time also for my replies). The merits of this device - using time wisely and handling the clock correctly.

2. Play pawn games.
I set up all the white and black pawns on their original squares, minus all the other pieces. Using a simple rule of those who manage to get a passed pawn first wins, I let them play against each other. The merits - learn to get passed pawns with correct handling of pawn formations.

3. Checkmate me.
I set up basic checkmate materials such as Queen and King vs lonely King, Rook and King vs lonely King etc. and ask them to checkmate me in only one minute. Of course most of them manage to checkmate me using the Queen, but many stumble when using a Rook. The merits - learn checkmate patterns, and most importantly, learn to think fast.

4. Puzzles.
I give them positions containing certain lessons learned earlier, e.g. pin, double check, double attack, en passant, and ask them to solve it. This device should be done in groups, so that they will try to beat the other groups for the solution. The merits - learn the fundamental tactics in chess.

5. Simuls.
All the students play against me simultaneously. Students must keep score of their game, and must not consult anybody throughout. Touch move only applies to the students, not me. During 2008 centralised training with the Gua Musang team, I played against all 36 students from all the age categories, winning all but 1 when I lost to a form 5 student from Sungai Asap. The merits - use all that have been learned in a competitive game.

CONTROVERSY.. CONTROVERSY...

Chess=life, and life=controversy, so chess=controversy. And the recently concluded MSSM chess tournament in Jeli is not free from it. Especially on the last day, where tension was at its fullest; where everybody wants to win his game; where every coach wants his charges to succeed; controversies were bound to happen. Actually, one particular controversial accident happened before the last round in the girl under-15 category between team A player and team B girl where the team B player accused her opponent of getting the advantage by pushing the button of the clock with different hands. It became worse when the team B coach intervened as the arbiter of the category, who is from team A district, only gave a warning when the coach insisted there should be a time-deduction penalty. The arbiter walked away from the table, leaving it for his partner, who is from team C, to resolve to matter. Worst still, he left it to another arbiter, apparently from team A also, to solve the problem. The arbiter gave another warning and the team B player continued playing and eventually lost the game, refused to shake hands with her opponent, slammed the scoresheet in front of the arbiter, and walked away crying. The coach also refused to shake hands with the arbiter afterwards, still insisting that the result dented his player's chance to be among the winners.

Now, we take a step back. Let's think how the controversy happened, or should have been avoided. The team A girl had actually used both her hands from the start of the game, mainly due to her ignorance of the rule, but the team B girl did not say anything. When her queen was removed from the board, she started blaming the team A girl of using both hands. Is this because she was taught to play 'dirty' like this by her coach? One could only speculate. Surely sportsmanships are not highly regarded today, as what matters most is winning the game.