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Part 4-2: Teacher & Student Presentations!

by John Bain

Short Lectures/Discussion-Student Presentations (10-15 minutes). The chess teacher models and presents “simple” tactics, checkmate attacks and master games--and students present their own games--that demonstrate the “Principles For Stronger Chess” found in the Chess Tactics For Students and Checkmate! Ideas For Students workbooks. The teacher and students highlight 3-4 winning principles, middle-game tactics, endgame checkmate tactics, and/or long-term strategies for winning a chess game! Students LOVE this! Proceed with caution...


Principles For Stronger Chess

Principles for Stronger Chess


IMPORTANT: PROCEED WITH CAUTION - CHESS IS COMPLICATED! 

In the first 2 moves in a chess game, approximately 250,000 unique sequences are possible! That's a "quarter-of-a-million" unique sequences for the first 2 moves!

For this activity--Teacher and Students' Presentations--to be successful, a few guidelines are essential:

1) Students must rehearse 3-4 times, and time their presentations.

2) Presentations are short--10-15 minutes.

3) Presentations highlight only 3-4 key ideas, tactics or strategies; i.e., a Knight Fork; a Skewer; a Sacrifice attacking the castled King; promoting a passed pawn to a Queen.

4) All questions and discussions are postponed until after the presentation.

5) The teacher will set the tone, modeling 10-15 minutes presentations, presenting only 3-4 key ideas, and postponing questions.

Teacher Lectures-Presentations. Before a teacher presentation of a tactic, a checkmate or “simple” master game, the teacher displays the 3-4 ideas to be highlighted with the corresponding moves on a dry-eraser board or overhead projector. The teacher moves quickly through the game, spending no more than 10-15 minutes, highlighting no more than 3-4 ideas. 

Student Presentations. After students understand chess notation, and can identify principles, tactics, and long-term strategies in their own chess games, invite them to present their own games. Students LOVE this! To begin, students might want to limit their presentations to part of a game, maybe only 3-6 moves, demonstrating a tactic that wins material or a checkmating attack.


IMPORTANT: For this activity to be successful, students must understand algebraic chess notation, covered in worksheet format in Chess Rules For Students. Students must rehearse 3-4 times, checking their notation for accuracy--and the length of their presentations.


What Makes "Chess Clubs For Students" Work?

Parts 1-6

by John Bain

Intro: What Makes "Chess Clubs For Students" Work? outlines practices for building a well-attended, successful chess club.

Part 1 - Basic Chess Skills and Psychology For Students emphasizes how learning the Chess Rules and Three Psychological Practices enable students to become stronger players.

Part 2 - Basic Endgame Checkmate Patterns For Students covers Four Basic Endgame Checkmate Patterns that will yield collateral benefits to all aspects of a student's games.

Part 3  - Choosing Location, Meeting Times & Equipment demonstrates that the right location, the right meeting times, and quality chess equipment will foster enthusiastic student chess club participation.

Part 4 - Chess Club Activities For Students shows that activities that are fun--and that improve chess knowledge and skills--are the lifeblood of a well-run, great chess club!

Part 5 - How to Promote Chess Clubs in Schools presents the very best, promising practices for promoting school chess clubs.

Part 6 - What Chess Teaches Kids About Life notes the virtues, lessons and life skills that chess teaches!


NEXT> Part 4-3: Chess Club Ladder Competition - Blitz & Standard will introduce intense competition into the chess club, and attract more students to the club than any other activity!