Part 4-2: Teacher & Student Presentations!
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
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
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!
