Chess Software (Part 01)

Visual Instruction

There is a wide range of electronic aids available to the chess coach and the chess learner. The coach/parent/teachers and players will benefit provided the CDs, DVDs or playing programs are used for the purpose it was designed. 

Players (especially the lazy ones) will look for “quick fixes” to help him to “win” a tournament or make the team. It is doubtful that such a “magic wand” exists – if chess was that easy why does it have such an extensive literature? To try and find short cuts is a (very) short sighted approach and though some initial success against other low level players may be inspiring, such an approach will not produce a good higher level player.

 The coach, when using a particular visual training aid must, when planning how to apply it, first decide what he wants to achieve by using it. Every student learns in a different way, some learn well by going over their games, others not. Some like to go over problems, but for others this may be pure drudgery. A good coach should find out which form of media the player(s) get the most value: books, CD’s, DVDs, audio tapes, flash cards, rhymes, etc. In a class with mixed levels of playing skill the coach, with the help of the chess teacher/supervisor may need to differentiate extensively and having a variety in chess training aids may help.

 For teachers starting out with chess at a school and a small budget to start off the large beginner classes, a video to introduce players to chess and in which all the basic chess moves are explained and illustrated may be very suitable. Remember that such visual lessons can be viewed over and over again by younger or older players, be used for retraining and also viewed by several classes at various stages. GM Susan Polgar produced a number of videos for the beginner chess player which can be a good substitute for a coach if the school cannot afford a professional coach every week. However, the teacher (in charge of organizing chess) should review the material beforehand and when planning the chess classes apply the principle of giving a little time for theory and a lot of time for practice. An hour long instruction video (or DVD) must be broken up into smaller sections (simply pause the CD/DVD if no logical stop was put in). The teacher must give time to practice the moves (which were illustrated on the video) on the real chess board. The video instruction certainly does not mean that the chess teacher can sit back and relax – quite the opposite - it should be merely an illustration of the planned lesson for the day. 

  Many good videos feature grandmasters, or seasoned instructors as presenters, they explain opening theory or endgame theory which might be fairly advanced in content and above the ability of lower level players. Typically, the coach that introduces an electronic aid will have to study the DVD first on his own and make an assessment of the content, the time required and the level of player that will benefit by it. An instructional video is not a “movie” that players view with popcorn and soda. The coach will prepare the students in advance and perhaps produce a paper with questions which can be answered only if the player paid close attention to the instructor on the video. The coach will probably play only a part of the video to highlight a specific discussion; further parts will be covered in further lessons, with the proper preparation.

 The greatest advantage of network software or visual instruction is when it supports learner participation. Loading, for instance, a tactics program on a school’s network can allow users in a class to log in with their respective IDs and complete a course over weeks or even months. Having students capture their games in electronic format is likewise a very effective way of distributing and working with information.