Developing Chess Talent

Karel van Delft and Merijn van Delft

Developing Chess Talent

KVDC

© 2010 Karel van Delft, Merijn van Delft

First Dutch edition 2008 First English edition 2010

ISBN 978-90-79760-02-2

'Developing Chess Talent' is a translation of the Dutch book 'Schaaktalent ontwikkelen', a publication by KVDC

KVDC is situated in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, and can be reached via www.kvdc.nl

Cover photo: Training session Youth Meets Masters by grandmaster Artur Yusupov. Photo Fred Lucas: www.fredlucas.eu

Translation: Peter Boel

Layout: Henk Vinkes

Printing: Wbhrmann Print Service, Zutphen

CONTENTS

Foreword by Artur Yusupov

Introduction

A - COACHING

Al Top-class sport Al.1 Educational value Al.2 Time investment Al.3 Performance ability A1.4 Talent Al. 5 Motivation

A2 Social environment A2.1 Psychology A2.2 Personal development A2.3 Coach A2.4 Role of parents

A3 Techniques A3.1 Goal setting A3.2 Training programme A3.3 Chess diary A3.4 Analysis questionnaire A3.5 A cunning plan! A3.6 Experiments A3.7 Insights through games A3.8 Rules of thumb and mnemonics

A4 Skills A4.1 Self-management A4.2 Mental training A4.3 Physical factors A4.4 Chess thinking A4.5 Creativity A4.6 Concentration A4.7 Flow A4.8 Tension A4.9 Time management A4.10 Objectivity A4.11 Psychological tricks A4.12 Development process A4.13 Avoiding blunders A4.14 Non-verbal behaviour

17 17 18 18 18

19 20 20 21

24 25 27 27 28 29 30 31

31 33 34 35 36 39 40 40 41 44 44 45 46 46

3

AS Miscellaneous A5.1 Chess as a subject in primary school A5.2 Youth with adults A5.3 Women's chess A5.4 Biographies and interviews

B - TRAINING

B1 Organizing trainings Bl.l Structure and culture Blo2 Computers and the Internet Blo3 Individual trainer Bl.4 Mentor Bl.5 Guest trainers Blo6 Self-fulfilling prophecy and selection Bl.7 Youth player as a trainer Blo8 Training partners Blo9 Team training

B2 Didactics B2.1 Introduction B2.2 Training group B2.3 Trainer B2.4 Training plan B2.5 Motivation to learn B2.6 Contents B2.7 Methods B2.8 Study environment B2.9 Duration and frequency B2.10 Keeping order B2.11 Supporting activities and tools

B3 Training components B3.1 Tactics B3.2 Strategy B3.3 Opening B3.4 Middlegame B3.5 Endgame B3.6 Annotated games B3.7 Variation calculation B3.8 Endgame studies

B4 Practical play B4.1 Visiting tournaments B4.2 Time-controls B4.3 Supervision during tournaments B4.4 Preparation B4.5 Playing games

4

47 48 48 49

51 51 52 52 52 53 54 54 55

55 56 56 57 57 58 58 60 60 60 60

61 62 64 66 66 67 68 70

71 72 72 73 75

B4.6 Analysis 75 B4.7 Analysis examples 79

85 Training tools B5.1 Computer programs 89 B5.2 Building up databases with own games and positions 89 B5.3 Dangers of computer usage 92 B5.4 Chess magazines 92 B5.5 Chess books 92 B5.6 Browsing 93 B5.7 Chess movies 93 B5.8 Chess CD-ROMs and DVD's 93 B5.9 Internet sites 94 B5.10 Chess on the Internet 94

86 Training procedures

B6.1 Pawn structure 94 B6.2 Seven-column notation 95 B6.3 Correspondence chess 95 B6.4 Visualization of move sequences 96 B6.5 Theme tournament 97 B6.6 Game quiz 97 B6.7 Training decathlon 97 B6.8 Chess puzzles 100 B6.9 Psychological tips 100 B6.10 Simultaneous display 100 B6.11 Tactical exercises contest 102 B6.12 Talent day 102 B6.13 Chess variants 105 B6.14 Fairy tale books 105 B6.15 Winner stays on 105

87 Miscellaneous B7.1 Monday-evening training B7.2 SBSA B7.3 Two- or three-dimensional training B7.4 Training with Dvoretsky B7.5 Chess and autism

C - ORGANIZATION & COMMUNICATION

Cl Organization C1.1 Top-class sport and recreational sport C1.2 Chess club or foundation C1.3 Policy plan C1.4 Costs C1.5 Volunteers C1.6 Calendar C1. 7 Evaluation, second opinion

106 109 111 111 114

121 122 124 124 124 125 125

5

C2 Communication C2.1 The importance of communication C2.2 Inquiry C2.3 Contacts with the media C2.4 Press release C2.5 Email newsletters C2.6 Internet site C2.7 Flyer, poster C2.8 Making a CD-ROM or a DVD C2.9 Club bulletin C2.10 Sponsors C2.11 Live commentary C2.12 Chess newspaper C2.13 Chess stand on a market or a festival

C3 Tournaments and events C3.1 Weekend tournament C3.2 Blitz tournament and rapid tournament C3.3 Tournament scenario C3.4 Chess festival C3.5 Chess party

C4 Youth chess C4.1 School chess club C4.2 School competition C4.3 Youth chess tournaments C4.4 Chess camp

CS Miscellaneous C5.1 Creative Tournament C5.2 The Chess Experience C5.3 Three-day chess event in Apeldoorn C5.4 Youth Meets Masters C5.5 Match of Champions with live commentary C5.6 Lightning Chess Foundation

D - INTERVIEWS

D1 David Bronstein D2 Loek van Wely D3 Artur Yusupov D4 Jan Timman D5 Rob Hartoch

E - APPENDICES

126 127 128 128 128 129 130 130 130 131 131 132 135

136 136 140 140 141

141 142 142 142

143 144 145 149 152 152

155 159 164 167 171

E1 Analysis questionnaire 175 E2 Score form Youth Meets Masters 180 E3 Points of attention for a consultation about (self-)training 182

6

E4 List of psychological tips E5 Keywords tournament planning E6 Scenario weekend tournament E7 Subjects for a parents meeting E8 Study guide SBSA youth training E9 The SBSA Youth Academy project in Apeldoorn E10 Training with diagrams or board positions Ell Tasks of a team captain E12 Inquiry youth section De Schaakmaat

F - GLOSSARY

183 188 189 205 206 211

219 224 225

233

7

Foreword by Artur Yusu pov

The first time I heard about Karel van Delft and his chess activities in Apeldoorn was from my chess mentor Mark Dvoretsky. He recommended me to visit the place. In 1999 I received a phone call from Karel, who invited me to give some chess lessons in Apeldoorn. It would be the first time, but not the last, that I stayed in Karel's house. Of course his son Merijn, now an international master, also attended the workshops. I slept in the so called Bronstein suite, a small bedroom in which David Ionovich Bronstein once spent a few nights.

The chess atmosphere in the house was very impressive. Somehow I had the feeling that there was a chess player in each corner of the house, because many young chess players who attented trainings also stayed in Karel's home. I was very impressed by the chess concept in Apeldoorn: the young players were not only learning some chess ideas from a grandmaster, they were also asked by Karel to give chess lessons to local kids themselves!

I liked the atmosphere so much that I tried to visit Apeldoorn every year. The next opportunity was the so-called 'Chess Experience' week, in which youth teams from Germany and Israel and two teams from the Netherlands played each other and took lessons together from Mark Dvoretsky, Yochanan Afek and me. Later I even started to play for the local team, Schaakstad Apeldoorn.

Recently, after almost ten years of our friendship, we were looking at old pictures in a photo album. I was very pleased to see that many of our students from the first training sessions had become strong players. Some are even strong grandmasters now. Just to mention some names: Jan Gustafsson, Daniel Stellwagen and Sipke Ernst.

In this book you will find a lot of ideas about the development of chess talent and about the creation and stimulation of a local chess culture. Karel and Merijn explain their views and share their experiences in the area of training young talents, coaching pupils, organizing chess events, and communicating and transmitting information to the chess audience.

The reader will find many useful topics and answers to many practical questions: what is the role of the parents, how to stimulate creativity, how to develop selfmanagement, how to analyse your own games, and even: how to organize a weekend tournament ...

Karel has worked with young kids for many years. In this book he gives a lot of tips for coaches. I like the part of the book where Karel interviews several grandmasters and trainers about ways to develop chess talent. Karel and Merijn look not only at technical aspects of the training, they also study the psychological aspects of coaching.

The quite unique thing in the Apeldoorn chess culture is that everbody gets involved in the chess activities: from beginner to grandmaster! This is reflected in the weekly S BSA email messages, which are sent to more than 600 recipients.

9

There are several good traditional events in Apeldoorn, such as Youth Meets Masters, which contribute to the special popularity of chess here. Karel is the motor behind the Apeldoorn chess culture and his practical advice can be very useful for chess organizers.

Being a chess parent himself, Karel knows about all the problems that parents can have in trying to help their talented kids along the difficult road of selfimprovement. This book is strongly recommended for chess trainers, chess parents and chess organizers. And of course for the chess talents themselves!

Grandmaster and FIDE Senior Trainer Artur Yusupov

10

Introduction

How do you develop chess talent, and how do you go about developing a chess culture locally? In this book we discuss subjects in the areas of coaching, training, organization and communication. It is the story of a voyage of discovery, a journey riddled with successes, failures, and, time and again, fascinating encounters with a multitude of chess players. This journey began in 1990, when 11-year-old Merijn van Delft was allowed to join a school team at the school chess championships of Apeldoorn. At the age of 6, he had learned the rules of the game from his father Karel. This took place on Saturdays in a cafe, after a morning of shopping on the market. At the school championship, the battle with Marijn Visschedijk, who was three years younger, was blood-curdling. Merijn managed to draw a rook ending with a pawn less. At that time we could not suspect that both players would become national youth champions later on.

This was an experience worth repeating. Merijn wanted to learn to play better, and Karel broadened his knowledge of sport psychology and the organization of training sessions. Merijn became a member of the club De Schaakmaat ('The Chess Mate') in Apeldoorn, but the club's youth competition, which was held on Saturday mornings, could not be combined with his soccer activities. At home, Merijn exercised tactics from books of the Step-by-Step Method by Dutch 1M Cor van Wijgerden and Rob Brunia. Karel formed a training group, which consisted of Merijn and a couple of friends. One of the first subjects of study was the book 'Judgement and Planning in Chess' by Dr Max Euwe. With multiple Dutch junior champion Marc Jonker, Merijn analysed his own games in one-hour sessions once a week. They kept this up for several years. Merijn also visited many tournaments.

Since there were more young players in Apeldoorn who wanted to be trained, Marc Jonker, Renate Limbach (who, sadly, would later on pass away at a very young age) and Karel van Delft set up a youth training system which would last for about 5 years.

Contacts were established with (grand)masters and other strong players, who gave training sessions in Apeldoorn and often stayed the night. Guests came from Belorussia, China, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Israel, Uzbekistan, England, Germany, Georgia, Poland, and a few other countries. Those contacts were easily made. During a world championship in Groningen, a brief conversation with Mark Dvoretsky led to an exchange of emails, and during the annual Liberation tournament in the nearby town of Wageningen, Baruch Kolthoff had struck up a conversation with David Bronstein. Many top-class chess players turned out to be normal human beings who had a telephone number and an email address.

With, among others, David Bronstein, Loek van Wely, Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yusupov, the development of chess talent was discussed. A number of talks were done in the shape of interviews. Karel had the idea that those interviews might contribute to the development of a multi-faceted chess culture, and that young players would be stimulated by contacts with top-class players. There were many talks with many chess players. For example with Yochanan Afek, who gave many trainings and gladly shared his rich experience with Apeldoorn trainers and organizers. It didn't take long before Merijn achieved his first

11

results. At 16, he became Dutch champion in his age category, and in 2003 he became an International master.

In 1998, Cees Visser, Merijn van Delft and Karel van Delft started the SBSA, which is short for 'Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn' ('Foundation for the Promotion of Chess in Apeldoorn'). This gave rise to numerous initiatives. A number of those activities will be mentioned in this book. The foundation cooperates closely with chess clubs and school chess clubs in Apeldoorn.

SBSA supported the initiatives by the local clubs SVA and ASG to merge into Schaakstad Apeldoorn (i.e. 'Chess City Apeldoorn'). This concentration of forces, together with the attraction of sponsors, resulted in the recruitment of a team that now competes on the highest level in the Dutch national club competition. Karel was the team captain for six years, then Merijn took over for four years. The bottom line is that approximately half of the players must originate from Apeldoorn, and that players 'from outside' should also participate in local tournaments and give youth trainings. Today, a handful of youth players from Apeldoorn have made it to the first or second team of Schaakstad Apeldoorn, and various national youth titles have been won.

In this book, with 'the development of chess talent' we mean: reaching the height of your powers. Performance ability is a resultant of talent, training circumstances, motivation, physical condition and mental skills. This book is aimed at trainers, coaches, organizers, youth players and their parents, and others who may be interested. Many of our readers may be standing at the beginning of a journey that is similar to the one we started all those years ago.

Our coaching philosophy presupposes a considerable sense of responsibility with young players for their own development and results. We believe that good training contributes to a successful personal development. At the board, chess is an individual sport. But in a broader sense, chess is teamwork, and it offers the possibility to meet many people and acquire new insights.

Chess players differ in talent, age, gender, character, motivation, style of learning, available possibilities, experiences, etcetera. The chess player does not exist. Certain pOints of advice in this book may be more relevant in certain phases of development or for certain individuals, and less for others. If we give novice chess players the advice to apply certain verbal rules of thumb, we realize at the same time that a grandmaster's thinking is less verbal, and more space-oriented. However, sometimes you have to be taught something explicitly in words in order to make progress, whereas at a later stage you will learn less verbal and more differentiated.

This book does not hand the reader recipes, but it does provide ingredients for talent development and the creation of a chess culture. You can apply the contents to your own situation, and use what is useful for you. Many aspects of chess development intertwine. To dissect them is, in our opinion, the best way to make these aspects easier to grasp. This approach will now and then lead to repetition, but this will make for easier reading. You cannot be conscious of an abundance of advice all the time, and you don't have to. You can incorporate your insights into your daily routines, and then you will start using them automatically after a while. The information in this book serves as a springboard and a signpost for young players who want to develop further. With the help of their trainer, their coach or their parents they can solve their own

12

puzzle with this information. In this book we will often use the terms 'trainer' and 'coach' alternately. These duties overlap, and they are often performed by one and the same person. We will always choose the term which best suits the subject under discussion.

We have been able to consult a great number of youth players, parents, trainers, coaches and strong players. We are very grateful to them for their cooperation. We thank Willy Hendriks for his permission to include his article on the SBSA Youth Academy here, and also Dharma Tjiam for his contribution to the Apeldoorn Analysis Questionnaire. We thank Yochanan Afek and Harold van der Heijden for their permission to publish their endgame studies, Arne Moll and Roeland Pruijssers for their game analyses, Peter Boel for the translation, Henk Vinkes for doing the layout, and Sipke Ernst for his contribution as editor. We also thank Fred Lucas, Cocky van Delft, Cobie Joustra and Ferdi Kuipers for their pictures and Trix Meurs for her drawing. Pictures without credits are mostly by Karel van Delft. Above all we thank Artur Yusupov, with whom we have had many inspiring conversations about the contents of this book.

We invite you to visit our site www.chesstalent.com. Reactions are welcome via email to [email protected].

Karel van Delft Merijn van Delft

13

Rcdac:tie: !\1arijn Visst:hcdijk en Merijl1 vun Delft Reda('ticadrcs: Elcgustgaarde 15. 7329 AJ-I Apeldoorn

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14

I Jeugdschaak rubriek i� , Apeldoorns Stadsblad

Vanaf vandaag verschljnt er elke lwee weken �n schaakrubriek in het Apeldoorns Stadsblad, Deze rubriek wordt geschreven door MariJn Visschedijk (II) en Merljn van Delft (14), Detitelluidt 'ApeldoorngJeugd.,<haak', Derubrlek wordtafgewisseld met 'Socia Ie vernieuwing en ouderen'. Marijn Visschdijk bespreekt partljen van ApeJdoomse jeugdspelers van de baslsschoolleeftijd en Merljn van Delft hespreekt schaakpartijen van de oudere jeugrl. Zowel Marijn als Merljn spelen bij de jeugdafdellng van De Schaakmaat, Mali;n tra intregelmatig met ex-Nederlands dameskampioen Renate Limbach en MerlJn met ex-NederJands jeugdkampioen Ma rc Jonker. Merijn speeJt ook nog in de volwassenen-competitie van het Apeldooms Schaakgenootsehap ASG, Van schaken hebben ze aHebci weI enig.s.zins verstand: Marijn is Nederland. s meisjeskampioen tot twaa If jaar en Medjn eindigde ongeslagen als vierde op het Open Nederlands kampioenschap tot en met v�rtien jaar. In hun eersle bljdrage tonen ze ter introductle een partij van zlchzelf, Marljn lut een partij zien legen Dirk-Jan ter Horst van De Touwladder en Merijn tegen de voonnaHg (drievoudig) Apeldoorns kamploen W. Sanders, In aile bescheidenheid is t?Ch maarvoor gewonnen

.partijen gekozen.ln vervolgafleve

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Merijn van Delft as a member of a school's chess team.

15

A - COACHING

A1 Top-class sport

A1.l Educational value

Top-class sport ca n offer ma ny good th i n g s : experiences, friendsh i ps, prizes, soc ia l recogn it ion and surpris ing , someti mes even paradoxica l i ns ights . To develop a speci a l i sm at a you n g age has many advantages. Chess contri butes positive ly to the education of peop le . Cogn itive sk i l l s l i ke research, ca lcu lation and reason ing are i m porta nt in other a reas of l ife as wel l . Also, soc ia l sk i l l s a re developed, such as res i l ience, persevera nce, se lf- respect a n d respect for the opponent, the a b i l ity to form u late thoug hts a n d exchange thoughts w ith others . Tra i n i ng i n groups and vis iti n g tou na ments together i s fu n , and it sti m u lates the deve lopment of cog n itive a n d socia l sk i l l s .

A1.2 Time investment

Wel l - motivated young p layers ca n p lay chess for ten to more than twenty hours a week without a ny prob lem . Especia l l y i f th is is i n stead of the twenty hours that many youths spend in front of the te lev is ion or a game com puter. Th is is true for teenagers , and sometimes a lso for ch i l d ren from e ight years old or so. Fouryea r-o lds can a l ready learn the moves a n d then p lay a game where both sides have one p iece, when the trick i s to ca pture the opponent's pawns. If ch i ldren ta ke pleasure i n this game, they w i l l l ater a utomatica l ly play chess more often . Ch i l d ren a n d teenagers a re ca pable o f m uch more than is often expected from them , and most of the t ime they a re perfectly ca pab le of i nd i cati ng themselves how much ti me they can - and wa nt to - spend on tra i n i ngs a n d self-study.

Chess study is i nsp ir ing i f tra i n i ngs a re varied, i f they y ie ld new i ns ig hts and ski l ls, i f there is roo m for creative th ink ing a n d fu n , a n d if research i ng sk i l l s are developed . Th is a ppl ies to tra i n i ngs i n g rou p sess ions, but a l so to i nd iv idua l study. One cond it ion is that the study materi a l and the exercises a re in l ine with the interests and the development level of the parti c ipa nts. For any form of topclass sport, twenty hours per week i s a normal time i nvestment. Some people see th is as monoma n iaca l . But th is is not necessa ri ly the case, as long as there is a wel l -thoug ht-out scheme for tra i n i ngs and com petit ions . If you wa nt to reach to the top, you 're go i ng to have to i nvest t ime. If we ca lcu late properly, we see that most gra n d masters, l i ke other top-class sporters , have i nvested at least 10,000 hours in the ir careers : ten yea rs t imes fifty weeks ti mes twenty hours .

1 7

A1.3 Performance ability

Performa nce ab i l ity i s a resu ltant of ta lent, tra i n ing c i rcumstances, motivation, physical cond it ion and menta l sk i l l s . Coin cidence a lso p lays a ro le . The world is fu l l of talent, but it ma kes a lot of d ifference if a young p layer grows up in an envi ron ment where there is much scope for development. With on ly performa nce a b i l ity you won't get there . Ta lent development a lso means hard work - putti ng i n hours . The good news i s that th is can be fu n if you go a bout it i n a wel l -thought-out way.

Al.4 Talent

Ta lent means having the capacity to develop certa i n necessa ry sk i l l s - having devel op ing potentia l . With only ta lent you cannot ach ieve a nyth i n g . A p lant that does not get a ny water, w i l l wither. You have to develop these ski l l s . This ta kes qu ite some effort . You have to tra i n , g a i n experience in com petit ions, and you have to i ntern a l ize these experiences . In chess, i mporta nt cog n itive ski l l s a re calcu lat ion, pattern recogn it ion, creative th ink ing and systematic reason ing . A good memory is a lso i m porta nt. Besides these, a rea l ist ic self- image and good self-ma nagement p lay a l a rge ro le too . They form the basis for self-confidence, the ab i l ity to assess s ituations objectively, concentration , the cou rage to take i n itiatives, decis iveness and res i l ience.

You can deve lop talent if c i rcumstances a l low th is . You need, fo r exa mple, a chessboard and a good tra i ner. For deve lopment, i ntri ns ic motivation is a lso of i nfl uence, wh ich means that you do someth ing beca use you you rself want to do i t . Intri ns ica l l y motivated chess p layers can be recogn ized by the twi nk l i ng in their eyes i f they see a bea utiful chess positi o n . In order to develop ta lent, you must start at a young age. There a re so-ca l led 'sensit ive periods' wh ich are best su ited for deve lop ing certa i n q u a l it ies. From the age of a bout fou r, ch i ldren can sta rt p lay ing chess. That i s certa i n ly not too ea rly. At that age they have a l ready com pleted as comp l i cated a task as lea rn in g a language .

Just l i ke a l a ng uage, chess cons ists of a complex body of i nformat ion, with its own characteristics and ru les . Chess is compara ble to a language . Op in ions d iffer as regards the extent to wh ich talent i s i n nate ( nature) or acqu i red ( n u rtu re ) . However, it is c lear that the bra i n potentia l of peop le is a l most a lways developed far from opti ma l ly, and that a nyone who wants to can develop h is own talent fu rther. The a mo u nt of ta lent is a g iven - mak ing opti m u m use of it is a cha l lenge.

A1.S Motivation

Being motivated mea ns that you want to ach ieve someth i ng . We d ifferentiate between i ntrinsic and extri ns ic motivat ion . Intri ns ic motivation mea ns that you l i ke to occu py you rself with an activity because of that activity itself; with extri ns ic motivat ion we mean that you do someth ing for an externa l rewa rd . One i mporta nt task of a tra i ner i s to create a fasci nat ion for the game by demonstrating the bea uty of it, and by a l lowing h i s pup i l to experience h i s own deve lop ing opportun it ies . Tra i n i ngs and com petitions shou ld be fu n and they shou ld be a cha l lenge . I f a young player is not enjoyi ng tra i n i ngs and

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competit ions, someth in g i s wrong . Young p layers need to be ta u g ht se lf-d isci p l i ne ; they shou ld u ndersta nd

that it is i mporta nt that they study reg u la r ly, exercise the ir ski l l s and acqu i re knowledge. For exa mple, you must exerc ise tactics on a d a i l y basis, j u st l i ke you brush you r teeth d a i ly. ' I don 't feel l i ke it' is not a good reason . You ca n expla in to ch i ldren that they themselves w i l l not accept it if the ir parents 'don't feel l i ke' driv i ng them to tou rna ments by ca r. A deal i s a dea l - either you want to play chess on a certa i n l evel or you don 't, a n d if you do want it, you w i l l have to ma ke some sacrifices fo r i t . Of cou rse, these th i ngs a re negotiab le - for exa mple, the t ime of day when tactica l exercises a re made . What is conven ient? Immedi ately after school or early in the morn i n g ? If a ch i l d ca n ma ke choices for itself and is part ly respons ib le for its own tra i n i ng schedu le , it w i l l be much better motivated to fo l low this up than if someone e lse decides th is fo r the ch i l d . Wh ich is just as wel l , s i nce a good chess p layer i s a self-w i l l ed (you ng) indiv idua l .

The way i n wh ich chess tra i n i ng s a re g iven and the cou rse of tourna ments can either i ncrease or destroy motivat ion . Good c i rcu mstances for tra i n ings are a sti mulat ing soc ia l a n d physica l env iro n ment, c lear feed back o n ach ievements, interesti ng study materi a l , atta i na ble ( i ntermed iate) goa ls , va riety, interactive procedures and responsi b i l ity. I n competitions a suffic ient a mount of success experiences is necessa ry. A sti mulat ing soci a l env iro n ment consists of emphatic parents, friends to tra i n with , a c l u b w ith a good atmosphere and an enthusiastic tra iner. A sti mulat ing physical env iro n ment consists of, a mong others, a qu iet play ing venue and a tra i n i ng room where it i s easy to concentrate .

It i s a good th ing for coaches, tra in ers a nd parents to rea l ize what the motives of a youth pl ayer a re to pra ctise a sport at a certa i n l eve l . Ad u lts may make out for the ir ch i ldren that p lay ing chess, o r, for i nsta nce, badminton, is good for them, but it i s better to ask them what they themselves th i n k . Ch i l d ren can have a n u mber o f mot ives for p lay ing chess : curios ity t o d iscover a new g a me, enjoyment of the g a me, striv ing for a certa i n competence level (the w i l l to w i n ) and soci a l contacts . Severa l of these motives ca n p lay a ro le s imultaneously. Intri ns ic motivation is a much better motor for development than extri ns ic motivatio n . Interest ing positions ca n conti nue to fasci nate, but at a certa i n point w i n n in g a meda l i sn 't worth the i nvestment of severa l hours' study any more . When you g ive rewards, it i s usefu l to ask you rself if you are feed ing i ntri ns ic or extri ns ic motivati o n . Young ch i l d ren love troph ies and meda ls , but pro misi ng them a n ice crea m or a choco late bar if they w i n i s a lso fi ne . Older youth p layers prefer to p lay for money prizes . No prob lem. However, if the bea uty of the g a me itself is n ot the ch ief motivator, the ir motivati on w i l l fade away i n t he long ru n .

A2 Social environment

A2.1 Psychology

Psychology is the science that stud ies the way people th ink , feel and behave. By studying th ink ing , feel i n g and behaviou r you w i l l get better at describ ing , expla i n i n g , predict ing a n d i nfl uenc ing these phenome n a . Insig hts derived from psychology can be a ppl ied i n chess v ia :

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more efficient and effective tra i n i n g more effi cient and effective behaviour d u ring ga mes the development of a sti m u lat ing chess cultu re .

Tra i ners a n d coaches can pass on psycho log ica l i ns ights t o young chess pl ayers . This works best if i t i s con nected to th e i r own experience, if it is presented transparently and concrete ly, if it is a pp l ica b le and taught in doses . Young p l ayers often fi nd psycholog ica l i ns ights i nterest ing . If these are d i scussed in group tra i n i ngs, they w i l l q u ick ly regard i t as norma l , and then you ng players w i l l not be ashamed of the i r psycholog ica l shortcomings . Just l i ke you can ta l k about shortcomi ngs i n your open in g re perto i re, you can a l so d iscuss fa i l u re i n self-ma nagement together ( see a l so t h e paragra p h on self-management) .

Here i s a n ice game: mention a proverb and expl a i n what it has to do with chess. For exa m ple : Don't se l l the sk in t i l l you 've ca ught the bear. We ca n translate th is i nto chess term s a s : keep concentrating , even i f you r position is objective ly w i n n i n g . A tra i ner can wri te down new i ns ig hts i n tra i n ing reports . This w i l l eventu a l ly provide the tra i nees w ith a check l i st with wh ich they can assess the i r performance.

A2.2 Personal development

It is good for you n g p layers to deve lop i ntrospect ion a n d to have responsi bi l it ies. This contri butes to the ir persona l development and the ir a b i l ity to perform on the chessboard . It is i m portant fo r a m bit ious young p layers to bea r as much as poss ib le responsi b i l i ty for thei r own development. Th is i nvolves d ia log ues with tra i ners and tra i n i ng partners, but a lso activit ies l i ke tra i n i ng beg i n ners themselves, or w rit i n g a rt icles for the c lub b u l leti n or for a website. By g iv ing lessons you rself, or pub l i sh ing a game a n a lysis, you force yourself to th ink ca refu l ly a bout you r i ns ig hts a nd to put them i nto words . Th is wi l l i ncrease you r understa nd ing a n d , consequently, you r performance ab i l ity. Moreover, teach ing chess at a l ower level is a u sefu l way to repeat a l l k inds of themes. Teach ing is i m porta nt for the development of your socia l and com m u n i cative sk i l l s , and it contri butes to a rea l i sti c and positive self- i mage. Th is w i l l improve your self-management d u rin g ga mes and is a lso im porta nt for bei ng successfu l i n everyday l ife .

The Hungarian psycho log ist/pedagogue and chess tra i ner Laszlo Po lgar, the father of three successfu l daug hters, a l so stresses that it is i mporta nt for an ambit ious young p layer to be pa rtly respons ib le for his own deve l opment. In th is context he uses the term 'co-author of you r own u pbring ing '.

A2.3 Coach

Coach i ng is supervis io n . There a re va rious coach ing sty les . A coach or a tra i ner can assi gn tasks to a pu p i l , but it i s mu ch more prod uctive i f a coach cooperates with a young sportsman on the sa me l evel . Th is is a l ready poss ib le at a qu ite young age . The sportsman is respons ib le for h is own actions, and the coach has an advisory ro le . Th i s contributes to a n opti m u m self-awareness a nd a positive self- i mage . The sporter i s the d i rector of h is own performance . Th is sti m u lates h is i ntri ns ic motivation . V ia d i a l ogues, the coach can sti mu late the

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sporter to develop h i m self, us ing h is own knowledge, i ns ig hts a nd experience . This invo lves both techn ica l sk i l l s and personal sk i l l s l i ke i n trospect ion, selfcontro l , creativity, com m u n i cative a b i l it ies and a sense of respons i b i l ity.

A good coach is empathic, i . e . he is a b le to empath ize with the sportsman and feels i nvolved . The coach and the sportsman ca n , by mutu a l a g reement, draw up a tra i n i ng progra m m e together. Experience shows that strong pl ayers who have not had a d idactic ed u cation but a re empath ic ca n sti l l be good tra i ners and coaches. This i s certa i n ly the case w ith i nd iv idua l tra i n i n g and su pervision . If tra in ers and coaches com m u n icate the ir own i ns ights and experie nces i n a clear m a n ner, i f they a re i nterested i n the ir p u p i l s a n d confront them with critical q uest ions (wh ich lead to se lf- reflect ion ) , then they ca n pass on a great dea l of knowledge a n d ins ig hts a bout the ga me a n d about self-ma nagement during game analys is .

Tra i n ers a n d coaches h ave the i r own i nterests . For i nsta nce, a tra iner enjoys sharing his fasc inat ion for the sport with others, pass ing on knowledge, understa nd ing and experience, and resea rch in g posit ions w ith wel l -motivated young p layers . Tra i ners a n d coaches may a l so be i nterested i n g a i n i ng access to the world of top-class sports v ia the ir pup i l s . However, a coach or tra i ner's competitive sp i rit shou ld never sta nd i n the way of the p lay ing pleasu re and the development of youth p layers . Herman Grooten, a n experienced chess trainer and former top-c lass sport coord i nator for the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB, observes that in The Netherlands he is see ing a n i ncreasing n u m ber of youth tra i ners who l i n k the successes of the ir pup i l s with the ir own ego. 'It is a wel l -known pitfa l l to l i n k the resu lts of your own pupi l to the self-esteem of tra iner and p u pi l ', he c la ims . 'I a l ways wa rn aga inst th is phenomenon d u ring my tra i ners' cou rses, but my advice seems to fall on deaf ears. A l ittle more selfreflection would be i n order here .'

It is i mporta nt for a tra i ner to a l low h is pup i l s some room to develop their own sty le . H e ca n help them d iscover the wea knesses i n the ir p lay a nd offer them tra i n i ng materi a l that focuses on those weaknesses, he ca n g ive h i nts about the i r p lay, but it is a l together w rong to stra itjacket them i ntel lectua l ly. Moreover, i n the long run th is w i l l h ave a contra productive effect, s i nce aspir ing youth players should take the direct ion of the ir development into the ir own hands.

Obviously, youth p layers have their wea k moments . For exa m ple, they may not fee l l i ke mak ing their homework somet imes. A trainer shou ld spea k to them about th is : promises m ust be kept. On the other hand , i t is usefu l to estab l i sh a 'sma l l change' ru l e : for i n stance, you ca n a g ree that a sportsman is a l lowed to miss ten percent of the tra i n i ngs or the homework. You ca nnot burn the ca nd le at both ends, a n d there wi l l a lways be practica l prob lems at certa i n moments. Such arrangements contri bute to the a b i l ity of youth p layers to bear their own responsi b i I i t ies.

A2.4 Role of parents

The world is fu l l of young talents . On ly few of them reach the top ; i n puberty, the effort and motivation of at least five out of s ix selected tal ents decreases. This is how it works in ma ny sports . Of i nfl uence a re the q u a l ity of tra i n i ng ci rcumstances, the ro le of parents and social i nfl uences (for i nsta nce, friends

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who may or may not practise the sa me sport ) . Also, a lack of good results can p lay a ro le . Some exa m p les of good tra i n ing fac i l it ies a re : good tra i ners, sufficient time for tra i n i n g , tra i n i ng partners of the sa me age and/or leve l , and the ava i l ab i l ity of good study materia l .

Without parents o r other a d u lts to support the ch i l dren , youth players w i l l not be ab le to reach the to p . Pa rents determ ine to a l a rge extent whether possi b i l it ies w i l l be with i n the reach of the ir ch i l d ren . Their ro le is to pay for tra i n i ngs and tou rnaments, to bring the ch i l dren there, to remind them of a rra ngements, to sti mu late the c h i l d ren to study i ndependently, to react enthusiastica l l y to successes, and to l i sten to the ir a ccou nts of their experiences.

Top-class sport demands at least ten to fifteen hours of tra i n i ng and p laying per week for u nder-ten -yea r-o lds, and even more t ime for teenagers . In a p lan for ta lent develo pment, the Dutch Olympic u m bre l l a organ ization NOC*NSF outl i nes three hours a day fo r physica l sports . Experience teaches us that am bit ious you ng chess p layers ca n also eas i ly work two to three hours on a da i ly basis . It is true that now and then a n 8-year-old becomes a nat ional champion in h is category on the so le basis of talent and a few tra i n i ngs . But such successes w i l l be short- l ived if he does not work systematica l ly with a good tra i ner from then o n . Besides tra i n i ngs, there a re co mpetiti ons and practica l matters that need to be taken care of. Many parents (who themselves often spend hours before the te lev is ion every day) are worried about the t ime i nvestment. Often they do not rea l i ze how much surp lus va l ue top-class sport can have for the person a l development of their ch i l d ren, provided it i s practised in the right way.

Pa rents of ta lented or at least a m bit ious youth p layers shou ld contemplate their role se lf-critica l l y. Demand ing too m uch of a chi ld w i l l h a m per its performance. On the other hand, they wi l l not be do ing thei r ch i l dren a favour i f they a l l ow them to treat the ir sport non -comm itta l ly, for exa mple by not keeping the i r appoi ntments with tra iners, tra i n i n g partners or tournament organ izers . I t is fine if parents are spectators at the ir ch i l dre n 's ga mes. However, they should not hang a round the boa rd of the ir ch i ld a l l the t ime, and they should watch out for getti ng i nvolved i n the d i scuss ion a bout the game content afterwards . The i r i ntentions may be s incere, but the i r ch i l d w i l l fee l awkwa rd and the deve lopment of its own sense of responsi b i l ity w i l l be h a m pered . Aski ng q uest ions about a game is fi ne, but g iv ing com ments shou ld be left to tra i ners and oth er p l ayers - un less the youth p layer asks for it h i m self. Actua l ly, young players w i l l hard ly ever ta ke any tech n ica l adv ice fro m the ir parents anyway, so the latter can save themselves the troub le .

The behav iour of some parents ca n be frustrati ng for tra i ners . They do not m ind paying extra su bscriptions, expect ing top ra n ki ngs ( preferab ly on the world stage) , but the ir ch i ld shou ld not put too much effort in chess study ( 'm uch too busy with his homework, he's only a ch i l d ') . In such cases a tra i ner can just as wel l te l l the parents r ight away that the i r ch i l d w i l l never fi nd the way to the top. Also, he shou ld serious ly consider term i n ati ng the cooperatio n . I t is im porta nt that tra i ners and coaches i nvolves pa rents w ith the i r ch i ldren's com petitive development . Pa rents often have questions about top-class sport - out of i nterest or out of ignora nce . There a re even some parents who cla i m to know i t a l l . I f tra i ners a nd coaches g ive them wel l -thoug ht-out answers , th is w i l l enab le the parents to contribute constructively to the ir ch i ld 's development.

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On com petition days, a tra i ner o r coach can h ave i nform a l chats with them . This wi l l resu lt in a re lationsh i p based on mutual trust, wh ich may sometimes lead to surpris ing i ns ights on both s ides. Tra i ners and coaches can te l l the parents that they can phone or m a i l them if they h ave a ny q uestions . Tra i n ers and coaches are wel l -advised to poi nt out the own responsi b i l ity of the parents to the m . If necessa ry, the parents shou ld contact the tra i ner or coach themselves.

Contacts with parents can provide the coach and tra i ner w ith a lot of useful information a bout the ir pup i l s . Nobody knows a l l the a nswers, not even an expert tra i ner or coach . I t i s i mpo rta nt that they a re ca pable of l isten ing wel l! Ch i l dren may be usi ng certa i n med ic ins , they may have persona l problems, or they may be (s l i ght ly) a utistic ; their parents may be getti ng a d ivorce, or someth ing u n p leasa nt may have h a ppened at school . A l l of these factors may influence the soc ia l fu nctio n i n g of ch i l d ren a n d , conseq uently, a lso thei r concentrat ion d u ri ng tra i n i ngs a n d the ir performa nce i n com petitions . Many practica l problems req u i re 'a cu n n in g p l a n ' ( see a lso the paragra ph u nder the same title) . There is no genera l rec ipe for a ny prob lem, but often a creative so lution i s possi b le . If parents th i n k a long with the tra i ner or coach, the latter ca n ta ke profit from th is in ma ny ways.

At tou rnaments, certa i n ly events w ith you n g chess p l ayers, parents ta l k a lot to each other. Here a n d there a ' g rapev ine ' may g row, wh ich is contra prod uctive . It is wiser to stay away from such 'gra pevines'. Matters that concern a lso other parents, youth players or the sports org a n ization , can be d i scussed at pa rents meet ings, or i n a c l u b bu l let in , i n a newsletter or on a website. D u ring a pa rents meet ing a tra i ner ca n spea k to ma ny parents at o nce, wh ich saves t ime . Another advantage is that parents a re a l so confronted w ith each other's questi ons, ideas and op in ions . Especi a l l y in a cl u b sett ing , such meeti ngs ca n contri bute positively to the deve lopment of a sti m u lat ing chess cu ltu re . In 2007, SBSA held a parents meeti ng i n Apeldoorn, where Artur Yusu pov was i nterviewed by Karel va n Delft a bout ta lent deve lopment. Parents of SBSA youth tra in i ng partiCipa nts were a l lowed to ask q uestions . Of th is meeti ng a v ideo has been made, wh ich youth tra i n i n g partiCipa nts and the ir parents later received on DVD. In one of the weekly SBSA ema i l newsletters, a s u m m a ry of the i nterview has been pub l ished .

The agenda of a parents meet ing may featu re the fo l lowing ite m s : reports on activities, the introduction of new in i ti atives, a n i nventarization of suggestions, questions, or an a ppea l for help with org a n izat iona l matters . I n the append ices we g ive a more extensive l ist of su bjects . If parents m a ke active co ntri butions to al l k inds of organ izationa l matters, this w i l l ease the organ izers ' task and contri bute to a sti m u lat ing chess cu lture .

I n the end, parents a re o n l y h u m a n bein gs . A chess father o nce told u s that he never v isits cruci a l matches of his ch i l d , as he tends to get too nervous on such occas ions . Another parent cl a i med that it made h i m i l l . ' Be ing a chess parent is heavy stuff', a novice chess father concl uded . A school chess tra i ner recounts: ' Du ring chess matches and tournaments of my ch i l d ren I a m often stand ing on the s ide l ine , and I notice the parents' negative i nfluences on thei r ch i ldre n . In the past few yea rs I have watched p lenty of ta lent go down the dra i n .' He is a supporter of parents meeti ngs: 'After a l l a parent is the th ird player on the chessboard .'

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A3 Techniques

A3.1 Goal setting

An am bit ious ch ess p layer wa nts to ach ieve a n a i m - he wa nts to p lay at the h ighest poss ib le level . On ly very few people ma nage to become world champion, but it ca n a lso be a n a cceptab le a im to end u p i n the top ra n ki ngs of a reg iona l championsh ip . Everyone sets the i r own goa ls . Am bit ions and p leasure i n p lay can perfectly go hand in hand - they can even strengthen each other. It is important to set goa ls that a re rea l istic . If a youth p layer, h i s parents or h is tra i ner or coach set the ir goa ls too h i g h , th is can have a very frustrati ng and contraproductive effect .

At tournaments, com petit ions and tra i n i ngs, it i s best for a youth p layer to focus on performa nce goa ls . These a re rea l isti ca l l y chosen goa ls where you strive for an ach ievement that is opti ma l ly atta i nable . You ta ke you rself as a point of com pa rison - not someone e lse - and , for exa mp le, you want to improve you r t ime ma n agement. Fea r of fa i l u re is u n necessa ry. You have every reason to be self-confident and co ncentrated . If the opponent is better at th is poi nt, then so be it . It's not i mporta nt . You want to use your own qua l it ies to the fu l l and perform o pti ma l ly . You want to lea rn fro m you r experiences and perform even better n ext t ime . If you n g chess p l ayers focus on resu lt goals ( 1 -0) , they w i l l fee l compel led to w in at a l l cost . This can eas i ly lead to constra i ned p lay and fea r of fa i l u re . For the sa me reason, pep ta l k a i med at resu lt goals by a parent, tra i ner or coach is useless. 'You' l l w i n this, won't you? ' is an advice g iven with good i ntentions, but it i s empty ta l k .

I t i s better to create opti m u m performing condit ions, l i ke good preparation and a good rest before play, and to g ive practical ti ps . These may be a bout t ime management, the choice of open i n g , or a bout ta k ing a wa l k before a game. Goa l setti ng i m p roves you r resu lts . In order to be effective, goa ls must meet the fo l l ow i ng criteria :

a i med at performa nce instead of resu lt h igh but atta in a ble, rea l istic cha l leng ing , resu lt i ng in a n enjoyment of you r sport specific , concrete a i med at a not too d i stant futu re measu ra ble shou ld be fo l l owed by feedback, the tra i ner/coach must eva l uate the resu lts with the p layer

Havi ng sa id a l l this, of cou rse a p layer sti l l wa nts to become a cham pion . The fie ld of tension between result orientation and ach ievement orientation can be solved in a s imp le way : at every turn your thoughts shou ld be a imed excl us ively at fi nd ing the best poss ib le move.

Experience teaches that a score of 7 , 5 out of 9 often suff ices for fi rst p lace in a tournament. Then why shou ld you want to w i n every ga me? As you see, there is even roo m for three d raws!

If we put th is i nto perspective, a l i tt le re lativization is in order. A chess talent develops by ju mps. Now and then a n i ncubation period occurs, when new ly-

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gai ned insig hts are i nterna l ized, a nd it ta kes t ime before th is is expressed in achievements . I t is i mporta nt to be pu rposive, but it shou ld not be a prob lem if th is is not im med iately expressed i n a h i g her rati n g . M ost talents wi l l even find that their rati ng rema ins level for a n u m ber of months.

A3.2 Training programme

Young players with a m bit ions must tra i n a lot and p lay many ga mes. Room for sponta neity is im porta nt : study ing ga mes that you find i nte resti ng can be done at any point in t ime. However, in order to ach ieve resu lts it i s a l so necessa ry to work systematica l l y v ia a tra i n i ng progra m m e . In such a progra m me the fo l lowing th ings are determi ned :

goals (wh ich books, co l l ection of tactica l exercises, etc . ) t im ing ( e . g . tactics befo re schoo l , game ana lysis i n the even ings) activities (tactical exercises, a n n otated ga mes, etc . ) tools ( books, computer, etc . ) proced u res (se lf-study, w ith partner, w ith tra i n er, etc . ) location ( study, c lub ven ue, etc . )

It is im portant to rea l ize why you tra i n l i ke you do, and to d iv ide you r time wel l over the va rious co m ponents. For exa mple , a tra i n ing progra m me can be put together by d rawing up a matrix where you write the week days in horizonta l co l u mns, and in vertical co l u m ns you can i nd icate subject, proced u re, ti ming and the a mo unt of t ime spent; w h ich l iterature, locat ion, and add it iona l comments. Drawing up a tra i n i n g progra m m e is a form of goa l -setti n g . It is advisa ble for a youth p layer and h is tra i ner to d raw up a tra i n i ng prog ra m me together. The tra i ner has expertise and the youth p layer is the one for whom the programme is designed . One-way traffic fro m the tra i ner to the p l ayer is a waste of t ime. A progra m m e and a week sched u l e w i l l on ly be effective if the youth player rea l izes its use and he lps design ing it. He shou ld feel respons ib le for it and dec ide for h i mself what he wa nts to ach ieve, and if he wa nts to make an effort for th is . Pa rents must be i nvolved i n these matters . They transport their ch i ldren, pay for tra i n i ngs, a rra nge va rious th ings, and they a re a lso a sound ing board for the ir ch i l d . Someti mes it i s also necessary for them to rem ind a ch i ld of certa i n a ppoi ntments it has made wh ich , co nseq uently, have to be met. If pa rents do not support the prog ramme, the whole th ing w i l l be a guaranteed fa i l u re .

A tra i n i ng programme covers a certa i n period . Approx imate season's programmes and tr imester prog ra mmes can be d rawn u p . In a week schedu le this can be la id down very concretely. With ind iv idua l tra i n i ngs, the tra i ner and the pup i l can check d u ri ng weekly meet ings if the sched u le of the past week has been completed . The youth p l ayer may keep a d i a ry where he records his learn ing experiences. The tra i ner can look at these and g ive comments . Feedback by a tra i ner on self-study is i m po rta nt : it is sti m u lating , and it a l lows for an opti m u m processin g of experiences a n d acq u i red i ns ights. Also, the way in which the pupi l stud ies and makes exercises can be d iscussed . Next, a new week schedu le is d rawn u p .

The prog ra mme must b e eva l uated reg u l a rly a n d adjusted accord ing to

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experiences, prog ress a n d new poss ib i l it ies cropp ing u p . The d rawing up of a tra i n i ng progra m m e does not ta ke a l ot of t ime if it is develo ped i nto a routi ne . Besides, it is usefu l a n d enjoya b le to refl ect on experiences. If a tra i ner and h is pup i l eva l uate experiences a n d m a ke new a ppoi ntments i n good consu ltation , th is w i l l contri bute to the p u p i l 's positive self- i mage a n d to h is development of self-ma nagement . It i s poss ib le that these tasks a re fu lfi l led by d ifferent peop le . For exa m p le, a parent can su pervise the week schedu le . One tra iner can ana lyse ga mes and a nother strong p layer can fo l low the process and g ive advice, for exa mple about the choice of wh ich tou rnaments to p l ay.

It is i mportant that the progra m m e is flex i b le a n d that it leaves room for sponta neity. An opportun ity to p lay a n extra tou rnament may present itself. Or maybe there a re enjoya ble activit ies at schoo l , somet imes preventi ng a youth p layer to p lay chess. A chess friend may, i n h i s enthus iasm, borrow a n interesting magaz ine o r book that he wants to have a look at. A search o n the Internet may yield i nteresting ga mes, pos it ions or stories . A good chess pl ayer is a researcher, a n d therefore the tra i n i n g programme must leave room for resea rch of a l l k inds of i nterest ing the mes that crop u p spo nta neously. A good idea is , for i nsta nce, to solve ten d iagra m posit ions w ith tactic exercises five t imes a week . Th is g ives you two extra days to make those exercises if you can not make it at one time or a nother. Another idea is to outl i ne three-q uarters of the tra i n i ng t ime beforehand, a nd l eave one q u a rter fo r browsi n g . Browsing means to spontaneously get going w ith certa i n subjects, th i n k a bout them, sea rch on the Internet for i nformat ion, ta l k a bout them with a tra i n i ng partner, etcetera .

There are no u n i versa l rec ipes. Age, a m bition , learn i ng sty le a nd a l l k inds of ind iv idua l poss ib i l it ies a n d restrictions h ave to be taken i nto account . A tra iner and h i s pup i l can deve lop a n i n sp i ri n g a n d effective tra i n i n g progra m m e i n consu ltation , and they c a n a dj u st t h e content where necessa ry. A tra i n i n g prog ra m me he lps y o u t o structu re you r a ctiviti es . I t makes i t easier t o summon self-d isc ip l i ne , as the progra m me c learly i n d icates what m ust be done on each day. Sometimes a p layer does not feel l i ke do ing a nyth ing for an enti re day. Someti mes, then, he has to be 'made to fee l l i ke it', but at other ti mes he can be a l lowed to take a day off. If the weather is good for swi m m i ng , self-study can be postponed for a cou p l e of hours or for a fu l l day. If the programme ind icates an appoi ntment with the tra i ner, the tra i n i n g w i l l take p lace. A week schedu le a lso enables you to switch a ctivit ies, for i nsta nce, by mak ing more than your da i ly portion of tactics o n one day and spen d ing more t ime on a nother theme on the next.

The tra i n i ng progra m me shou ld consist of va ry ing procedures. Some th ings are better done a lone, others prefera b ly with a tra i ner a nd/or a tra i n i ng partner. It is a l so usefu l to a l ternate tactics w ith posit iona l subjects ; for exa mp le, by spend ing 1 5 m i n utes a day o n tactica l exercises and ha lf on hour on positiona l subjects . If you want to get resu lts , you shou ld work method ica l ly. A p lan consists of a goa l , too ls , procedures, obstacles and a t ime schedu l e . With tra i n i ng p lans as we l l as chess exercises it i s usefu l for a tra i ner to ask h is pup i l to cl assify these five e lements systematica l ly. By ask ing questions, the tra iner can adjust the d iscovery and the c lassification of the va rious aspects .

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A3.3 Chess diary

'The wea kest i n k is stronger than the best memory', Confuc ius sa i d . I f you want to become a better p layer, a chess d i a ry i s u sefu l . You c a n learn someth ing from every s ing le game you p lay by a na lysi ng it . You can record your conclus ions in yo ur d i a ry. These notes may be q u ite short, as long as you write down the most i m porta nt th ings . You w i l l go a long way even if you learn just one s ing le th ing from every game. Th is d i a ry can be i n the shape of a notebook, a text document on a com puter, or a loose-leaf fi l e . In it, a chess student can record notes from tra i n ing sess ions, and a lso rema rks on ga mes he has stud ied, or on chess l iteratu re . You ca n a l so i ncl ude observations about your own behav iour. For i n sta nce, you ma y h ave been g iven a ti p a bo ut concentration exerci ses, or you r tra i ner has expla i n ed to you that it i s very u nsportsman l i ke to ca l l other chess p layers 'patzers' ( how good a re you a nyway? ) . Otherwise, a d i a ry ca n conta i n p ictures, newspaper c l i ppings, a rt ic les from c lub bu l leti ns, ra n king l i sts of tou rnaments you 've p layed, reports on tra i n i ngs, etcetera . Keepi ng a chess d iary has fou r adva ntages:

w h i le you write, you contemplate what you have learned and experienced . Th is he lps you to u ndersta nd th ings better and to memorize new i ns ights . you co l lect a l i st of th ings that you know and are capable of. By rerea d i ng the d i a ry you w i l l refresh your memory. you can write down rules of thumb i n it . These are genera l ru les that you ta ke i nto consideration d u rin g a game . it is fu n t o browse backwards n ow and then .

In the d iary you w i l l work ma in ly with texts . Apa rt from that, it i s usefu l to co l l ect interest ing posit ions i n a separate data base of a com puter prog ramme l i ke Fritz or Chessbase .

A3.4 Analysis Questionnaire

If you want to become a good chess pl ayer, you must a n a l yse your own games. It i s a tough job to m a ke a g ood game a na lys is . The Apeldoorn Ana lysis Question na i re (see Append ix 1) he lps you to p l u m b the depths of your own games and to stu dy the way p layers perform d u ring a game. The answers to the quest ions provide you w ith a techn ical and psycho logica l ana lysis of strengths and wea knesses, wh ich w i l l provide you w ith sta rt ing-poi nts for improvi ng you r p lay. The Ana lys is Questionna i re is usefu l for youth p layers as wel l as adu lt p layers a n d tra i ners . Us ing an a n a lysis q uestionna i re , a chess player a nd h is tra i ner w i l l concentrate on certa i n aspects of the game, and on the former's performance at the board . This i s d ifferent from the c lass ica l way of ana lysing , where a chess p layer crit ica l ly assesses h i s p lay move by move (see the paragraph on a na lysis) .

A tried-and-tested method i s when a parti c ipant of a tra i n ing group ana lyses one of h is own ga mes a n d fil l s in the q uesti o n n a i re . Before the tra in ing , he hands in the completed q uestionna i re to h is tra i ner and the other p layers from his tra i n i n g g ro up . D u rin g the tra i n ing they d iscuss the game, wh i le studying the

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answers i n the questio n n a i re . As a proced u re, th is questionna i re offers some va riety d u ri ng tra i n ings . It i s not necessa ry to a lways use this questionna i re for a na lys is .

The Apeldoorn Analys is Questio n n a i re has been deve loped for youth tra i n i ngs i n Ape ldoorn by D h a rma Tj i a m and Ka rel va n Delft . A tra i ner can abridge th is l ist or add to it as he sees fit . Abridg ing is recommended with younger players, as otherwise they w i l l be confronted with too ma ny subjects at a ti me. Lucien va n Bee k and Ka rel van Delft h ave made a n i n q u i ry among youth talents at SBSA tra i n ings in Apeldoorn , ask ing them what they thought of the quest ionna i re . As it turns out, the ir responses to the task of i nd icating the ten most important techn ica l a n d psycho log ica l questions va ry. Probab ly a l l the quest ions are re leva nt, but not for everybody a l l the ti me . A p laus ib le expla nation is that youth players tend to look back on the ir most recent experiences on ly if they a re asked to ma ke a selection of the most i mporta nt q uestions . If a tra i ner thi n ks the l ist i s too long, he ca n m a ke a smal ler select ion of questions, or he can ask his tra i nees to ta ke ten questions wh ich they themselves consider the most re levant for a certa i n ga me .

In a great n u m ber of tra i n i ngs a n d workshops, the a uthors have spoken to eig ht-yea r-o ld p l ayers and u pwards a bout psychologica l aspects of chess . A majority of the youth players a re interested i n those . It i s i m porta nt for the tra iner not to m a ke a bstract observations . He w i l l be a b le to pass on psycholog i ca l i nsig hts opti ma l ly i f he g ives them concrete na mes, wh ich are re lated t o concrete experiences i n games. A tra i ner shou ld spea k a bout psycholog ica l subjects i n a wel l -bala nced way. A youth pl ayer i s on ly a bl e to i nterna l ize one or two i ns ights per tra i n i n g . Psycho log ica l i ns ig hts s i n k i n best if a young p layer d iscovers them by h imself. A tra i ner can a ccom p l ish this by ask ing d i rected questions about private experiences d u ri n g a g rou p d iscuss ion or an i nd iv idua l tra i n i n g .

A3.5 A cunning plan!

Youth players ru n i nto a l l k inds of prob lems. Not for every prob lem there is a clear so l utio n , but for many prob lems there i s one . The coach shou ld ana lyse the situatio n , be creative a n d come up w ith tr icks. Often he ca n m a ke the youth p layer solve the prob lem by h i mself. With a cu n n i ng p lan!

If a p layer p lays too cautious ly, he can get i nto ti me-trou ble, or perhaps he does not trust h i mself to sta rt an a l l -out attack . A tra i ner w i l l first try to fi nd out the cause for such cauti o n . Does the p layer lack self-confidence, for i nsta nce, or is he a perfection ist and does he fi nd it h a rd to m a ke decis ions? The tra i ner can assign the p layer to employ sharp va riations in a n u m ber of games. By do ing th is , the p layer wi l l l ea rn how it feels to p lay in sharp posit ions, a nd h is fea r of such p lay may subs ide . A youth p layer is best ab le to acq u i re new i ns ig hts if the tra i ner expl a i ns to h i m how someth in g works, a n d if, besides that, he a lso experiences it h i mself du ri ng a game or a tra i n i ng sess ion .

If a youth p layer, when solv ing a sheet of d iagra ms, m a kes more m ista kes near the end, th is may be caused by a decl i n e in energy. Once d u ri ng a youth tra i n i ng sess ion in Apeldoorn , the part ic ipa nts were asked to hold a cha i r over thei r heads . That was easy, but after a few m i n utes, va rious cha i r carriers started to th i n k otherwise . They were a l lowed to put down the cha i rs and the tra i n i ng went on. H a lf an hour later they were asked to hold the cha i rs over

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the i r heads ag a i n . They succeeded without troub le . By way of exp lanati on , the pa rtic ipants were to ld that as regards energy, the bra i n works just l i ke a muscl e : you have to g ive it a rest n o w and then i f y o u want i t t o perform opt ima l ly. Th is mea ns that d u ring the cou rse of a tra i n i n g sess ion, or d u ring a game, or for example d u ri ng you r homework, you have to take a break reg u l a rly. Duri ng private tra i n i ngs, the then s ix-yea r-o ld youth p layer Yassi ne Mouhdad was often very busy. When h is tra i ner Ka rel va n Delft set u p a posit ion, he started to get bored and d isp layed i rritat ing behaviour. The tra i ner devised a cunn ing p lan . Our you ng friend was to ld to set u p the posit ions h i mself from then o n . As there were no coord i nates on the board a n d , moreover, he was reg u larly seated beh i nd the b lack p ieces, th is was a good cha l lenge . The tra i n i ng sessions were no longer i nterrupted , the boy developed a constructive learn ing attitude and the tra i n i ng sessions beca me more fu n .

A3.6 Experiments

An experi ment is a systematica l l y p lan ned tryout i n the fra mework of a resea rch project. A chess tra i ner must sti m u late you ng pl ayers to develop into researchers . That i s good for the ir chess deve lopment and a lso for thei r persona l development . Experi menting is a tried-and-tested method to enjoy chess. Certa i n k inds of experiments shou ld be part of every tra i n i ng sessio n . A researcher thi n ks ph i losoph ica l ly ( i . e . , contemplative a bout the use, the essence and the poss ib i l it ies) a nd ana lytica l l y (what is in wh ich way re lated to what) about subjects and tries, often systematica l l y, to develop new ideas . Next, he wi l l check if h i s hypothesis ( i . e . h i s assu mption ) is correct .

For exa mple, a youth p layer sta rts p lay ing a new o pen i n g . He can read books and consult data bases on it, he ca n browse on the I nternet, or look at an notated games. He ca n a l so study open in g tra ps . The next th ing is to use the open ing i n practical p lay in order to ga in experience with it. Th is can be done in tra i n i ng ga mes with a tra i n i n g partner, d u ring the cl ub competition , aga i nst a com puter progra m me, v ia a chess server, or i n tournament ga mes. A chess player ca n a lso d i scover i nterest ing posit ions when he is study ing a n n otated ga mes or h is own ga mes . Such posit ions demand cl oser investigatio n . They can a lso be tested in ga mes aga i nst a tra i n ing partner or a com puter. Or sometimes a player can try to get such a positio n on the board in a game .

Mak ing mista kes i s i n herent to a ny deve lopment process . You can learn from your mistakes and you m u stn't be afra id to m a ke the m . You ca n learn from you r mista kes by ana lys ing you r ga mes we l l a n d writi ng down your co nclus ions i n a d iary and/or a data base with positions from you r own ga mes. A chess p layer can experi ment with techn ica l quest ions, and he can a lso experi ment with h is own behav iour. For exa m ple , if he reg u l a rly suffers from ti me-trou ble, he can fi nd out what h is performance wi l l be if he never th i n ks longer than three min utes per move for twenty ga mes i n a row . If he has troub le concentrat ing, he can decide to rem a i n seated at the boa rd d u ring the ent i re game, or, on the contra ry, wa l k a round reg u l a rly d u ri ng a game to rel a x .

B y learn i ng to experi ment, you w i l l learn t o u s e you r imag i nation and develop creative a b i l it ies . You w i l l get to know you r poss ib i l it ies and (temporary) l im itations, and learn to express your thoug hts on certa i n s ituations. You wi l l learn to dea l w ith setbacks a nd to re lat ivize, develop a n eye for paradoxes,

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and d iscover that sometimes there i s more than one way to solve a prob lem. It is usefu l for a chess p layer to express h is fi nd i ngs du ri ng a n experiment i nto words in h i s d i a ry, and to d iscuss them w ith h is tra i ner. The latter can he lp h im to reflect on them and to d raw conc lus ions .

Fea r of fa i l u re i n ex periments is a bad cou n se l lor, espec ia l ly for youth p l ayers . Obvious ly a chess p layer w i l l p lay it safe if th is a l l ows h im to w i n a game or even a tournament. But in such cases a youth p layer shou ld not be 'ch icken '. For optimum enjoyment of the game a n d optimum development, a youth player must rea l ize that he i s the ' d i rector', who i s respons ib le for h is own deve lopment. Th is i nvo lves resea rch and the exp lorat ion of new horizons. The tra i ner shou ld keep on encourag ing h i s pup i l s time and a ga in to experiment, a n d he shou ld provide them with tra i n i n g materia l to help them with th is . If you a re a b le to experiment and you are not afra id to do it, th is w i l l feed you r i ntri ns ic motivation . Ch i l d ren can occupy themselves for hours on end p lay ing, for example with thei r Lego tra i n . Th is is beca use they have the freedom to ma ke their own d iscoveries and g ive them shape. Th is pl ayfu l way of d i scovery learn i n g is connected with aspects of both a cog n itive (th i n k i n g ) and a n emot iona l (fee l i n g ) nature .

A3.7 Insights through games

A tra i ner ca n c la rify i ns ights i n aspects of self-ma nagement or knowl edge acqu is it ion via games . For example, he ca n ask a g roup of tra i nees how long they can hold their breath . After th i rty seco nds, most of them w i l l be qu ite short of breath a l ready. It seems to last a ges! But if th i rty seconds i s 'ages', then why shou ld a chess p layer pan ic if he has on ly two min utes th ink ing time left? , the tra i ner may ask . I n Apeldoorn , enti re games a re compl eted i n two min utes at the offic ia l D utch Championsh i p Lig htn ing Chess, an event that has been organ ized here for severa l years now. If there is a computer a round , the tra i ner can a lso te l l h is pup i l s to google ' record ho ld ing breath ', wh ich turns out to be around fifteen min utes . People have tra i ned on that. Practice ma kes perfect. That goes for chess, too .

Another game i s to ask a tra i nee to close h i s eyes. You can a lso use a rea l b l i ndfo ld . N ext, the tra i ner wa l ks the test subject with the rest of the partic ipants to another room. There he i s a l l owed to open his eyes for one second . Then he i s asked to descri be what he has seen . As a ru le, he w i l l have seen plenty : co lours, shapes, movements, objects, re lat ions, you name it . An awfu l lot, in a ny case . The tra i ner may ask his pup i l s how on earth it is poss ib le then that they can not see what i s go ing on i n a s imple chess positi on w ith on ly a few wooden or p l astic p ieces . With such provocative questions the tra i ner can cra n k up a d iscuss ion . F ina l l y someone may rea l ize that you ca n see a lot in one second beca use you recogn ize everyth ing you see . Knowledge i s recogn ition . It works the same way i n chess . If a chess p layer knows ma ny patterns - and they can be learnt - , he w i l l be a b le to recog n ize them in a positi o n . Then , if he a lso knows the characteristics of these patterns, he can put th is knowledge to good use, whether it i s tactica l motifs l i ke a d iscove ry attack or a p i n , or openi ngs, midd legame positi ons or endgames.

With a l ittle creativ ity tra i ners can i nvent severa l games . They ca n a l so ask their pup i l s to come up with a new game at the next tra i n i n g sess ion . A chess student ca n w ri te down the i ns ights he has ga ined in a d i a ry or in a report on

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the tra i n i n g . It is usefu l to browse th rough th is i nformation now and the n . He ca n ta ke exa mple fro m it and devote extra attention to certa i n behavioura l aspects i n future games .

A3.8 Rules o f thumb and mnemonics

Apa rt from the ru les of the ga me, chess has a n u mber of other genera l rules. They can be form u l ated i nto rules of thumb and mnemonics . There are many exceptions, but sti l l it may be hel pfu l to apply them, espec ia l ly if you are tired or stressed . One exa mple of a mnemon ic when a p iece i s u nder attack is CIEPC : Captu re, Interpose, Evade, Protect, Counterattack . An exa m ple of a ru le of thu mb i s : If you cannot choose between p lay ing a pawn or a piece, p lay the piece. A p iece can a lways go back, a pawn ca n not. Or : Each strengthen ing involves a wea ken ing if you move a piece or a pawn, certa i n sq uares are covered but others aren 't any l onger. There a re lots of ru les of th u m b and mnemon ics. It is usefu l to write them down in a d i a ry if you encounter them d u ri ng the ana lysis of you r ga mes or when p lay ing through a n n otated ga mes.

A4 Skills

A4.1 Self-management

Self-ma nagement is a centra l notion i n chess. Objectivity, a rea l i st ic self- i mage and a sense of responsi b i l ity a re qua l it ies that contri bute s ign ificant ly to the deve lopment of good self-ma nagement. A top-class chess p layer ca nnot do without good self-ma nagement - d u rin g tra i n i ng sess ions, a nd certa in ly a lso during games. He has to d iv ide h is t ime wel l , ma nage h i s energy, control hi mself, cope w ith setbacks, and concentrate wel l .

A ch i ld ca n develop a sense of responsi b i l ity i f th is i s sti m u l ated by its env iron ment. A youth p layer shou ld be as i m porta nt a co-a uthor of h is own development as poss ib le . He m ust be a b le to m a ke his own decis ions about his own situati o n . Ta k ing contro l of you r own l ife is the key to success . This sti mu lates your fight ing sp i rit, you r a n a lyti cal a b i l ity and creativity at the board and your effort du ri ng tra i n i ngs, and it sti m u lates active self-study. It a lso contri butes to the develo pment of you r persona l ity. You w i l l learn to re-define problems as cha l lenges. Th is h a ppens when a youth p layer lea rns that the outcome of an event i s l a rge ly determ i ned by his own actions .

We ca nnot repeat often enough that wel l-thought-out chess tra i n ing is a imed to sti mu late both chess sk i l l s and persona l develop ment. Tra i n ers, coaches and parents ca n sti m u late the development of a sense of responsi b i l ity and of self-management in a n u m ber of ways . Youth players a re members of tra i n i ng groups and c lub team s . It is i m porta nt that as a group , they feel responsib le for var ious practical tasks, such as sett ing u p ch ess materia l and clean ing up together. They m ust he lp each other tech n ica l ly with the preparation for ga mes and the i r ana lys is . Tra in in g partners and tra i ners shou ld tackle each other i n case such tasks are neglected . The tra i ner shou ld m a ke c lear a rra ngements with the gro up a bout th is . If th is is u nder d iscuss ion , he shou ld express h i mself d i rectly and clea rly a n d g ive a good motivation ( a lways mention a reason ) . Of

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course, he shou ld req u i re that the person i n question sti l l perform the agreed task . During a tra i n i ng sess ion , many types of cooperati ng proced u res between youth pl ayers a re poss ib le . They a re jO int ly responsi b le for the resu lt, and a lso for each other. Youth p layers ca n ass u me sma l l organ izationa l and tra i n i ng tasks at pri mary school chess cl u bs and reg u l a r chess c lubs . The task of the parents i s to see to it that everyth ing goes accord i ng to p l a n . Where necessa ry, they can g ive constructive com ments, or lend a h a n d . Tasks must be doab le . If they do not lead to a perception of success, th is w i l l work cou nterproductively.

Teach ing a big g rou p can be d ifficu lt but, as a rule, it is perfectly possi b le for youth p layers to fu ncti on as i nd iv idua l tra i ners by a na lys ing with motivated younger pl ayers . If a youth p layer is respons ib le for a tra i n i n g sess ion, th is wi l l i mprove h is self- i mage and sti m u late the development of h is soc ia l and cog nitive ski l l s ( h i s a b i l ity to structu ra l i ze h is thoug hts and put them i nto words, to practise patience, to l i sten, to ask or reform u l ate quest ions, and to consu lt others ) . A l l too freq ue ntly, youths a re g iven too l ittl e respons ib i l ity. This can lead to misbehaviour, as youths w i l l not feel that they a re taken serious ly, they w i l l get bored and ( q u ite r ight ly) take a rebel sta n d . Another th ing is that ch i ldren and youths may l i ke to test the tra iner a l ittle - ' H ow fa r can I go?' There i s an easy a nswer to th i s : a joke i s fi ne, but we a re here to enjoy an i nteresti ng tra i n i n g sess ion .

During a tra i n i ng sess ion a tra iner ca n reverse the ro les and ask a youth p l aye r to conti nue the lesson . He ca n a l so ask someone to hand le the subject materia l for a second t ime, w ith the tra iner p lay ing a s low student . Th is form u la struck a chord w ith t he th en six-yea r-o ld Yass ine Mouhdad , who wou ld become Dutch youth cham pion ro ugh ly one yea r later. Even though he cou l d not yet read , he d id want to have the ma n u a l on the table i n front of h i m . That's what his tra i ner d i d , and it looked q u ite impressive . Such a new ro le is someth i ng you have to get used to, but this boy p layed it w ith verve . H i s eyes twi n kled, and he sat up stra i g ht . You cou ld see h i m grow two i nches . To teach instead of being ta ught i s no sma l l matter. Sudden ly you h ave to form u late q uest ions instead of answeri ng the m . Th is means that you must be thorough ly aware of the essence of the theme u nder d iscuss ion . Of cou rse, a young teacher w i l l l ose the thread here and there at his debut . The tra i ner ca n hel p h i m on his way w ith a q uestion or a remark .

Beari ng respons ib i l it ies promotes self-reflection . Keep ing a chess d i a ry with brief notes on experiences i n the a reas of acq u i red chess knowledge a nd selfma nagement ca n contri bute to th is . It is usefu l for a youth p layer to regu l a rly show this d i a ry to h is tra in er. The l atter ca n g ive constructive comments, and he can show i nterest by ask ing for fu rther explanat ions . Giv i ng comp l iments has a sti m u lati ng effect . In case of fa i l u re, the tra i ner ca n ask how the youth p layer wou ld react h i mself i f he were shown someth ing l i ke th is . QU ite a l ot of talented you n g p layers a re ca pable of p lenty of th i ngs at a youthfu l age . However, overest imat ion a n d overbu rden ing must be avoided . It is not easy for every youth p layer to keep a d i a ry. For i nvolved parents it can be a n i ce task to d iscuss what has ha ppened in the tra i n i ng sess ions, and to write down a few words on it - or they ca n he lp the youth player to write someth ing h i mself. A youth pl ayer's sense of responsi b i l ity i s a l so sti mu lated if he dra ws up h is own tra in i ng schedu l e and exp la ins it to his tra i ner. In a conversation with the tra i ner this sched u l e can be developed fu rther.

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Via the Analysis Q uestionna i re a youth p l ayer can try to m a ke h i s own strength/ wea kness ana lys is . Th i s is a form of self-crit ical reflect ion , wh ich is importa nt, as a chess p layer who wa nts to develop opti ma l ly shou ld be objective, and he should welcome honest crit ic ism . The tra iner can g ive comments on the answers i n the questionna i re, poss ib ly i n a tra i n i ng g roup wh ere the part ic ipants take tu rns in presenti ng a co mpleted q uestion n a i re . If such sess ions a re conducted in a positive tone, they can y ie ld usefu l self- ins ig hts and i nteresti ng d iscussions . Obviously it wi l l have to be made c lear that fa lse modesty a bout shortcomings is out of the question . It i s better to sti m u l ate a more or less 'healthy mach ismo' (a lso with g i rls) l i ke : 'I am so strong that I w i l l g l ad l y admit my m ista kes, so I can learn from them and become stronger', or words to that effect.

A4.2 Mental training

Menta l tra i n i ng is a i med at solv ing menta l prob lems a n d shortcom i ngs i n selfma nagement. Desi ra b le thoughts, fee l i ngs and behav iour can be re i nforced, and u ndesi ra b le thoug hts, fee l i ngs and behaviour ca n be toned down or removed . Th is creates self-awa reness and sk i l l s , and causes the subject to feel happier. Some exa m ples of mental prob lems a re : a d iffuse self- i mage, lack of motivat ion, concentrat ion d isorder, stress, i nsuffic ient sta m i n a , an i nab i l ity to l ive up to expectat ions of others, demand ing too much of oneself, lack of com posure, or lack of confidence .

A menta l tra i n i n g ca n b e g iven b y a psycholog ist or a qua l ified tra i ner/coach, and th is can be done i n var ious ways. A menta l tra i ner ca n gather i nformation about a chess p layer by mea ns of conversat ions, q uestionna i res, tests and observat ions. It i s i m porta nt to h ave a n o pen exchange of thoughts . Menta l b lockades a re often unconsc ious . It is d ifficu lt, if not i m poss ib le, for people to have a co mp lete ly objective self-j udgement. V ia menta l tra i n ing , a chess p layer ca n ga in i ns ight in h is su bconscious motives and blockades. As soon as there is someone who has these questions ' i n v iew', they can get a 'gr ip ' on it . The development of new ways of th ink ing a nd new behaviour cannot be rea l ized in the w i n k of an eye. Th is is often emotiona l ly stressfu l as wel l . But the good news i s : it 's dogged as does it. Some menta l techn iques a re :

set c lear goa ls and form u late them o n paper before crit ica l s ituations, such as i mportant games - try to v isua l ize the poss ib le course and determ ine how you want to tackle problems re lax before a game ta l k to you rself d u ring a game eva luate experiences i n a d i a ry and i n conversat ions with a ( menta l ) coach

Ca uses of menta l prob lems can be charted by a tra i ner or a pl ayer with a so-ca l led 'reversed tree d iagra m '. Th is term is derived from the 'tree d iagrams' in open ing books, where poss ib le contin uat ions a re depicted as a series of branches. These look l i ke the bra nches of a tree - hence the name 'tree d iagra m '. The more you look to the right in such a scheme, the more bra nches you see . In the menta l 'reversed tree d iagra m ', it i s the other way a ro u n d . There is one problem for wh ich you ca n imag ine severa l poss ib le causes. These causes have d ifferent

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backgrounds o r c i rcu msta nces. You ca n put these on paper i n a scheme. We w i l l g ive a s i m p l e exa m p l e . A p layer h a s concentrat ion prob lems. Poss ib le causes are a bad physical condit ion or a lack of se lf-confidence . An i nsufficient physical cond it ion is caused by reg u l a r lack of s leep o r insuffic ient physical exert ion . Lack of self-confi dence ca n be the resu l t of very a m bit ious parents who keep i nterferi n g .

A tra i ner ca n express va rious re levant issues i n catchwords and i ncorporate these in a sch eme that i l l ustrates the mutua l re lat ions between the various issues . Every factor is a 'switch ' that the tra i ner ca n 'turn ' i n order to i ncrease his pupi l 's sk i l l s . Menta l tra i n i n g can ta ke p lace in a separate setti n g . A q u a l ified tra i ner can a l so i ncorporate it i nto his tra i n i ng s .

The theme o f menta l tra i n i n g is extensively d iscussed i n the book 'Schach psycholog ie ' by Rei n h a rd M u nzert and 'Mentale tra i n i ng in de sport' by sports psycho log ist R ico Sch u ijers . Other o utsta nd ing books in the a rea of sport psycho logy a re 'Succesfu l coach ing ' a n d 'Coaches' g u ide to sport psychology' by the America n a uthor Ra i ner M a rtens .

A4.3 Physical factors

Accord ing to form er world cha mpion M i kh a i l Botv i n n i k 's model , chess has fou r aspects : techn ique, psychology, physica l condit ion, a n d coi nc idence . Former world champion Ga rry Kasparov fou n d that his physical and menta l cond it ion were i nfl uenced posit ive ly by pract is ing physica l sports . He observes that they i ncrease his sta m i na , h i s attentiveness and his qu ickness of response. S ix-t ime Dutch champion Loek va n Wely shares th is experience. If a chess p layer is ti red, he isn 't a b le to concentrate wel l , and so he wi l l do a bad job at processing i nformation, ca lcu lat i n g , and th ink ing up ideas. A healthy body contri butes to good ach ievement - d u ring tra i n ings as wel l as com petitions . Th is means that you shou ld :

eat hea lth i l y and moderate ly s leep suffi cient ly be wel l - rested ma nage you r energy d u rin g the game bu i ld u p a bas ic physica l form by reg u l a rly practis ing physical sports

Energy ma nagement i m p l ies a l ternatin g exert ion with re laxati o n . Th is enables you to pro long you r th i n k ing performa nces on an opti ma l leve l . During a game, for i nsta nce, a pl ayer can d ivert h is thoug hts and re lax h is body by wa l k i ng around for a b it . A short stro l l between ga mes i n a tournament a lso has a re lax ing effect.

Kees Gorter, a genera l practit ioner i n Apeldoorn, has done some research on the i nfl uence of physica l condit ion and n utrit ion on attention a nd concentration (see the tourna ment book of the Creative Youth Chess Tou rna ment, Apeldoorn 1994 ) . Citi ng Dr. Harm Ku i pers, a Professor of Exert ion Physio logy at the Maastricht U n iversity and a one-ti me ice-skati ng world champion , Gorter emphasizes the i m porta nce of the neuroveg etative system on the stress ba lance . He advises aga i nst heavy physical exert ion before a game. However, between gam es a short exert ion i s good i n order to sti m u late the a lertness of the

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system , a lthough fatigu e should be avoided . In princi p le , bad s leepi ng before a game is not a b ig prob lem, as physi c ians concl ude that i n such situations the neurovegetative system is hyperactive .

Mental work does not cause any s ign ifi ca nt l owering of the b lood sugar level i n the bra i n . Too much s u g a r sti mu lates t h e work ing o f t h e gastroi ntestin a l system instead of the bra i n . Th is causes a sense of n u m bness. Too l i ttle sugar leads to shakiness and loss of concentratio n . Du rin g ga mes, it 's best for a p l ayer to take l ight nutrit ion . Sweets w ith a lot of fat a re strong ly contra -advised . A l i m ited use of cafe ine (coffee, a coke) sti m u lates the neu rovegetative system . Th is resu lts in an i ncreased attentiveness and adequate response. A lcoho l , even i n sma l l doses, ha s a n adverse effect on a lertness . Isoton ic dri n ks a re best, si nce they prod uce a sma l ler load on the water ba la nce. Prote ins and vita m i ns never g ive any problems, Gorter says, citi n g Saris , Professor of H u ma n N utrit ion at the Maastricht Un ivers ity. A varied a n d ba la nced n utrit ion is espec ia l ly i mporta nt. Gorter observes that q u ickness of response espec ia l ly i nfl uences pattern recogn itio n . A surp lus of stress h a mpers concentration , lead ing to a decl ine i n performance. Gorter c la ims that a surp lus of tens ion ca n be lowered or neutra l ized by physical re laxation exercises and breath ing exercises, self-hypnosis, and biofeedback proced u res. He poi nts at the fact that such proced ures must be learned beforehand . He mentions three go lden ru les of n utrition : sufficient va riation in the menu , as fresh i n g red ients as possi b le, and suffi cient l i q u i d .

O n e point o f attent ion i n t h i s context is the i d e a l temperature for studying . Th is issue was once ra ised at a Mon day even ing tra i n i n g . The heati ng was turned too h i g h , and when the tra i ner asked what was better for tra i n i ng : 30 degrees Cels ius or 3 , M a rtij n knew the a nswer : 3 degrees, 'beca use you a lways te l l us to keep a cool head .' Resea rch has y ie lded 18 deg rees Cels ius as the ideal temperature for studyi n g . This subject deserves closer i nvestigation - any chess p layer ca n try it out h i mself. It i s a l so advisable to pay attention to a i r humid ity, l i ght a nd the amount of oxygen i n the atmosphere.

A4.4 Chess thinking

The th i n k i n g of a chess p layer enta i l s a n u m ber of fu nct ions, for exa mple : memory, ca lcu lat ion, reason i n g , com b i n i n g , the app l i cation of ru les of thumb, and pattern recogn ition . A chess p layer may have a g reater aptitude for certa i n fu nct ions than for others . Other fu nctions a re best ta ught a t a n early stage, i n a so-ca l led 'sensit ive period'. The Russ ian psycho log ist and chess grandmaster N ikolay Krog ius , for exa m ple, descri bes in h i s book ' Psycholog ie im Schach' that players who have learned to p lay chess after their tenth yea r make more tactical m istakes than players who have lea rned the game earl ier.

There has been m u ch research o n the th ink ing of a chess p layer. A cl assic work i s Dutch psycholog ist and chess p layer A . D . de Groot's 'Thought and Choice i n Chess' ( 1 946 ) . In a conversatio n with Renate Li m bach a n d Ka rel va n Delft, De Groot expla i n ed that he had ma in ly investigated cog n itive aspects of chess . Just l i ke many other a uthors on chess psychology, he had never occupied hi mself with the questio n wh ich condit ions determ ine the development of a sti m u lat ing (youth) chess cu lture . Neither had he looked a ny deeper i nto tra i n i ng proced ures . H e had written severa l a rt ic les for a magaz ine on d idactics, in which he reasoned that the Polgar experiment, in wh ich the three Hungarian sisters

3 5

Zsuzsa, Zsofia and J u d it received extens ive chess tra i n ing by thei r parents at home, m ight have benefited the development of the persona l ity of these g i rls . After a l l , spec ia l ization does h ave adva ntages .

In h is book 'Thought a n d Cho ice i n Chess', De G root d i sti ngu ishes between four stages in chess th ink ing that a chess p layer passes through regard less of h is level : the 'orientation phase' (wh ich moves a re worth consideri n g ; ca nd idate moves) , the 'explorat ion phase' (try ing out poss ib i l i t ies by ca lcu lat ion, bri ng i ng down the n u m ber of ca nd idate moves), the ' i nvestigation phase' (deeper and more serious resea rch ) and the ' p roof phase' ( i s the rema i n i ng ca nd idate move good? If not, return to an ea rl ier stage) . Someti mes, v ia a na lysis at a later stage, yet a nother cand idate move wi l l surface . The b ig d ifference between a grandmaster a n d a l esser p layer, accord i n g to De Groot, is not that the grandmaster calcu lates more deeply, but that he has a g reater arsena l of patterns with accompany ing eva l u at ions at his d isposa l , with wh ich he can test any g iven positio n . In a research project by De Groot and Jongman tit led 'The Eye of the Master', it turned out that strong chess p layers were much better at reproduc ing a chess posit ion after having looked at it for a wh i le than less stro ng pl ayers . If the pi eces were p laced ra ndomly on the board, the resu lts were v i rtua l ly identica l . Th i s is an a rg u ment in favou r of the supposit ion that chess pl ayers recogn ize patterns ('ch u n ks') in a chess positi o n .

D e Groot d id g ro undbrea k ing work on t h e subject o f cog n itive psychol ogy. One of h is few predecessors was the Frenchman Alfred Bi net, who conducted a resea rch project on i ntel l i gence and the condit ions for b l i ndfo ld chess in h i s work ' Psycho log i e des g ra nds ca lcu lateu rs et joueurs d 'echecs' ( 1894 ) . Bi net concl uded that the ab i l ity to p lay b l i n dfo ld chess was fou nded on three basic condit ion s : chess knowledge and experience, imag inat ion, and memory. In a memorandum titled 'Chess instruction i n schoo l? ', De Groot has suggested that chess ed ucation m ig ht h ave cog n itive effects as well as socia l effects. Creative thi n king a ppea ls to the ima g i nati o n . The psycholog ist Amatzia Avn i c la ims that creative th ink ing i s a ski l l that can be learned . More on this below.

The majority of chess pOSit ions conta i n a mu lt itude of poss ib le variations . A human being ca nnot poss ib ly ca lcu late them a l l . The recog n it ion and the com bination of patterns provides you with sta rti ng-pai nts for the assessment of a position and the selection of ca n d idate moves. When assess ing a variation , some ch ess players ch iefly re ly on the ir ca lcu lat ing a b i l it ies. Others g ive more weight to thei r i ntu iti o n . We ca n defi ne i ntu ition as the uncon sci ous recogn it ion of possi b i l it ies, l ead ing to the select ion of a soluti o n . There i s no co ncl usive ly ana lysed scientific model of human th i n kin g . If th is wou ld ex ist, it wou ld conta i n many va riab les, l i ke a g e , character, learn ing sty le , a m bit ion leve l , etcetera .

However, there is noth in g more pra ct ica l than a good theory. A n u m ber of aspects of th ink ing a n d learn i n g a re known from research a n d from experience . The app l ication o f those i ns ig hts is a d i rect contri but ion to the development of ta lent and capacity.

A4.S Creativity

Creativity means m a ki n g con nections between matters and ideas that are not connected at first s ig ht. It enables you to fi n d , use and develop more possi b i l it ies than ap pea rs possi b le . Creativ ity i s see ing someth ing that others

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a lso see, but hav ing d ifferent thoug hts a bout it (after E inste i n ) . You define the prob lem in a d ifferent way. Chess is a game of poss ib i l it ies a n d l i m itations. Pattern recogn it ion , ca lcu lat ion, tech n iq ue, positiona l pri nc ip les and the use of combi nat ions p lay a ro le . You do not see that wh ich you do not look at. A creative chess p layer's m i n d is open to paradoxica l poss i b i l it ies . He sea rches for the unexpected h i mself. Creativity is a ski l l that you can learn, c la ims the Israe l i chess psycho log i st and FI DE chess master Amatzia Avn i , who has devoted a n u m ber of chess books to th is subject. He mentions n i ne pOi nts of attent ion for the development of creative th i n k i ng :

1 . Awareness of psycholog ica l b l ocks deterri ng creativ ity 2 . Co rrect defi n it ion of the prob lem 3 . To lera nce to unorthodox ideas 4 . Integ ration of known e lements 5 . Widen ing o f horizons, preventi ng specia l ization 6 . Use of imag i nation 7 . Critic ism and doubt ing 8 . Se lf d i sc ip l i ned tra i n i ng 9 . The motivationa l aspect of creativity

Remarkably, i n a conversation with Karel va n Delft d u ring a n open youth championsh i p in Israe l , Avn i sa id that he cons idered chess to be an antisocia l sport . H is c h i l d ren don 't even have to th i n k a bo ut go ing to p lay th is game. Avn i 's a pproach is cog n itive : a i med at th i n ki n g a spects . J u st l i ke many other chess authors he has not occu pied h i mself w ith soci a l psychologica l aspects . You can acq u i re a ski l l i n stages. You pass thro u g h fou r stages :

1 . Unconscious ly Unab le CA p i n ? Never heard of it') 2 . Consciously U na ble CA tough job, these d i a g ra m exercises') 3 . Consciously Able ( p ra ct ice ma kes perfect, you master the techn ique) 4. Unconscious ly Able ( you recogn ize p ins u nconsci ous ly and apply the

tech n ique)

You can devel op creative th i n k in g by tra i n i n g system atica l l y on i t , studying posit ions that a re d iametrica l l y opposed to common th ink ing patterns . Th is req u i res a n open mind to new and surpris ing ideas . It can even lead to a soca l l ed 'flow', a state of consciousness where everyth ing fits, where you are operati ng self-conSCious ly, concentrated ly, energetica l l y and explorative ly. Creativity is somet imes regarded a s synonymous to i ntu it ion, and considered to be someth ing mag ical and u nfathomab le . However, i ntu it ion is noth ing more or less than u nconsci ously recogn iz ing patterns a n d m a king con nections . These th ings do p lay a ro le in creativ ity, but there is more to creativity. Psychology teaches us that the expectat ions of peo p le l a rge ly determ ine thei r observat ions. Then it i s only log ica l that d ifferent expectat ions w i l l a l low for d ifferent observations .

Peop le norma l ly approach prob lems by verify ing them : by i nvestigating i f someth i ng is tru e . Another approach i s fa ls ificatio n : i nvestigati ng if someth i ng is not true . This he lps when you a re fig ht ing a g a inst menta l fixat ions. As an example of menta l fixation , th e Russia n g ra n d m a ster and psychologist N i kolay

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Krog ius i n d icates the ' Restb i l d ' : i n you r m i n d , a p iece is sti l l on a certa i n square. With such a fa u l ty assumption you w i l l then develop a fa u lty l i n e of reason i n g . The Scott ish g ra ndmaster Jonatha n Rowson pOi nts o u t the fact that strong chess p layers often use the word 'maybe' in a n a lysis . Th is s ig n ifies a fa ls ify ing approach to prob lems.

Th i n k ing is i nfl uenced by emotiona l factors . For i n sta nce, it is d ifficu lt to antici pate you r opponent's moves. Sometimes it fee ls as if you a re hel p ing your opponent by fi n d i ng a good move for h i m , as former d raughts world champion Ton S ij bra nds once to ld us . In the 1 990's he was i nvolved i n youth chess activities in Apeldoorn, a mong others with a lecture on self-ma nagement for youth chess players i n a two-day workshop i n a youth hoste l . He lost a off-hand chess game to Merijn van Delft, who was twelve at the t ime . In a d raug hts game, p layed b l i ndfo ld by S ijbrands, M erij n 's p lay was so d ra matica l l y bad that at a certa in pOi nt Sijbrands became u nsu re of the exact positi o n . There was no mea n ingfu l pattern to be d iscovered i n Merij n 's p lay. A practical advice is to get up now and then d u ring a game and look at the positi on fro m your opponent's s ide . Draug hts players do th is m uch more often than chess p layers , who appa rently have more troub le coming up with such a n idea .

Adopti ng a d ifferent way of th ink ing is tra i na ble . Also i n creative positions, the chess ru les a pp ly. It's just that the solut ions to these positions a re more su rprisi n g . However, if you have never seen a d iscovered attack, you probab ly won 't th ink of fi nd ing the sol ution to a position i n that d i rection . M a ny people th ink convergentl y : they look for concrete solutions . Creative chess p layers first thi n k d ivergently, the ir thoug hts move i n a l l d i rections . They thi n k that everyth ing is possi b le . They a re look ing for the q uestion not the answer. They combine a c lea r- headed a pproach to bring ing or restoring order in the e lements of a position w ith the ir fasci nat ion for a q uest for orig i na l d iscoveries a nd ideas. In short, creativity is a tra i na ble way of th ink ing , wh ich a l l ows you to fi nd, use and develop more poss i b i l it ies . It mea ns having great expectations of the unexpected . The development of creativity ca n be a reg u l a r item in tra i n i ng sessions . Tra i ners can sti m u late pup i l s to bu i l d u p a data base with surpris ing moves. They can a g ree that every partic ipant brings a long one creative position to each tra i n i ng sess ion . Du ri ng the tra i n i n g , the part ic ipants fi rst try to solve the positions . Next, they put i nto words why the position i s so d ifficu lt and/or beautifu l . A long the way, new th i n king patterns and pri n c ip les are dru m med i nto the i r m i nds .

Solv ing endgame stud ies sti m u l ates creative th ink ing , and com posi ng endgame stud ies does so even more . A tra i ner ca n hand out stud ies that are sol ub le at h is pup i ls ' l eve l . If a study is too d ifficu lt, the tra i ner can g ive one move as a h i nt, or try to put the stu dents on the r ight track by ask ing q uest ions. P laying through creative posit ions a lso sti m u lates creative th i n king . SBSA youth tra iner Yochanan Afek is a renowned spec ia l ist of endgame stud ies . One of h is stud ies has been i nc luded i n M a rk Dvoretsky's ' Endgame M a n u a l '. Dvoretsky made the decis ion to write th is book when he was staying in Apeldoorn for a few weeks, together with Afek . Du rin g that stay, Dvoretsky and Afek gave, among others, workshops to ta lents, and they gave a free s imu lta neous d isplay for ch i ldren of the pri mary school De Regen boog . Author Ka rel van Delft reg u larly accommodates strong chess players at his home. In return , he sometimes asks them to partici pate i n a free activity for youth p layers . The s imu ltaneous d isp lay

3 8

was a g reat success, a n d afterwa rds dozens of ch i l d ren asked Dvoretsky for h is autog ra p h . ' I feel just l i ke Fra n k de Boer, the soccer p layer', he laug hed .

A4.6 Concentration

The ab i l ity to concentrate i s i mportant, and it strong ly i nfl uences performa nce . Th is i s certa in ly true for chess p layers . To concentate i s to d i rect you r attention to someth ing ( i . e . , to focus on someth i n g ) , a n d to be prepared to spend a lot of energy on it. Concentrat ion ca n decl i n e du e to va rious physical or emoti onal ca uses; for i n stance, i f someone gets t i red or d i stracted, or i s worried about someth ing , or stressed . Stress occurs if someone wa nts to perform above h is capacity i n a n a rea he considers i mporta nt, a n d where he th i n ks he can exert infl uence. It i s a form of a n xiety, where the menta l stra i n is g reater than the ca pacity. You can try to esca pe from stress by usi ng certa i n p i l l s , by do ing re laxation exercises, or even by hypnosis . The best th ing is to use you r senses and choose a wel l -thoug ht-out, rea l ist ic a pproach .

You r concentratio n w i l l be o pti ma l if you a re wel l - rested, a b le to deal w ith your task and motivated to bring the task to a ha ppy concl usi o n . That has everyth ing to do with a positive, rea l i stic self- i mage and w ith self- management. Good pregame preparation contri butes to th is , in a tech n ica l as we l l as a menta l sense . Such preparation consists of open in g prepa ration , study ing you r opponent's games (a strength/weakness a n a lysis ) , as wel l as a tact ica l wa rm i n g - u p and some thoughts a bout the poss ib le cou rse of the game ( what wi l l I do if he does this or that) . Pep ta l k is useless. A chess p layer shou ld know what he is capa ble of a nd what he wa nts a l ready d u rin g his tra i n i ngs ; a coach or parent shou ld not start about th is subject r ight before the game. If you fee l fi ne, i f you are looking forwa rd to the game and you have fa ith i n a good performa nce, then you ca n reach an opti m u m state of co ncentration , the 'flow'. Condit ions for good concentrat ion a re :

be wel l - rested don 't eat too m uch before the game do a certa i n a m o u nt of exerc ise before the game set a rea l i st ic goa l manage you r energy ( a lternate exerti on with re laxation) if necessa ry, p lace your fi ngers over you r ears and you r hands a round you r face to prevent d istract ion th i n k systematica l l y and creatively th i n k excl us ively in the present ( i . e . a bout the next move) d iv ide you r time wel l

During a tra i n ing sess ion, a ga me can m a ke a lot of th ings c lear. The q uestion is asked : what i s the best way to destroy you r concentration? The tra i ner writes down the answers (go ing to bed late, occu pying you rself w ith other things, bei ng afra i d of you r opponent, noncha la n ce, th ink ing that the other is perfect, negative thoughts, u nderest imation , overest imat ion, not feel i ng l i ke p lay ing, try ing too hard , perfect ion ism, a l lowing you rself to be d istracted ) . Next, the tra iner tel ls the partic i pa nts to th i n k of the o pposites to a l l these answers, and this resu lts i n a n ice rec ipe for p layers who want to learn to concentrate better.

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The tra i ner can pri nt out the l ist, and tra i nees ca n , for i n stance, attach it to a page i n thei r chess d i a ry. It i s usefu l , where possi b le , to tra ns late d ifferent advices i nto one s ing le notion that covers the enti re spectru m . In the case of concentration th is notion i s : focus ing . Here, as w ith a l l sk i l ls , the saying that practice ma kes perfect ho lds true . To sta rt one game with good i ntentions to concentrate does not mean that you r resu lts w i l l i mmed iate ly be opti ma l .

A4.7 Flow

Opti m u m concentrat ion is a l so ca l led 'flow'. Fl ow is a not ion coi ned by the American psycho log i st M i ha l y Csi kszentmiha ly i , and it can be descri bed as an opti mum menta l state for a sportsma n . Top-class sportsmen perform opti ma l ly i n a state of flow. Basketba l l p l ayers use the term ' i n the zone'. The legendary soccer p layer Pe le once descri bed how he experienced flow d u ri ng a game i n a fu l l stad i u m . Sudden ly he entered a state of total re laxation i n h i s head and he had the fee l i ng that he cou ld go on ru n n i ng forever. If we tra nslate the term to chess, flow mea n s :

you c a n sti l l feel t h e te ns ion o f the contest, i t is c lea r that someth i ng i s a t sta ke, but you enjoy i t rather than experienc ing i t as a h i nd rance you become fu l l y a bsorbed in the game and forget the rest of the world you have a sense of contro l , of self-confidence you feel good and you a re creative va riatio n ca lcu lat ion seems to go by itself, the variations are coming to you j ust l i ke that everyth ing goes accord i ng to p la n , the game conti nues as if by itself

You cannot co nj u re up a flow - it is the resu lt of yea rs of hard , effic ient work . When a chess p layer's ca pacit ies (tech n ica l l y as wel l as physica l l y and psycholog ica l ly ) reach a max i m u m level , he can reach a state of flow d u ri ng a game.

A4.8 Tension

Tension, or, i n other words, stress, occurs when you perform tasks that you consider i m porta nt . You w i l l experience it not when you a re putt ing flowers in a vase at home, but rather d u ring the flower a rra ngement world cham pionsh i ps . I f you accept you r ow n self and you r task, y ou w i l l be ab le to contro l tens ion . Th is a lso invo lves accept ing setbacks and carry ing on with your task . It w i l l be hel pfu l if you consider that you r opponent is a l so suffering fro m tension and i f you see it as a cha l lenge to prove that you ca n hand le it better. Then you w i l l convert a prob lem into a cha l lenge . Tens ion is a natura l reactio n . Peop le i n preh isto ric ti mes h a d it when they encou ntered a bea r on thei r path . The body produces extra energy if it is threatened by danger. You can transmute th is 'fright' i nto e ither 'fl ight' or 'fi g ht'. But you must make a choice between the two, otherwise you wi l l turn ri g id and be i n troub le . You ca n compare it to a boy who wants to j u m p over a d itch . If he ta kes a run up wh i le th ink ing 'go' and 'stop' at the same ti me, he w i l l freeze a nd end u p i n the d i tch . In such cases we spea k of fea r of fa i l u re . Th is fea r may be fed by a bel ief that you 'cannot do i t

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anyway'. You can a l so develop fea r of fa i l u re afte r a n u m ber of defeats of wh ich you have not ana l ysed the causes properly.

Resilience, fighting spirit

Some p layers g ive up the fight qu ick ly i n a bad positi o n . Others a re tough defenders . Sta m i n a , res i l ience and fig ht ing sp irit somet imes y ie ld poi nts from objectively lost positions . A w i n n i ng game is not won j ust l i ke that. J ust th ink how often you have let s l i p a w i n yourself. Also, p layers often get too opti m istic or too care less if they have a better positio n . You ca n exploit this by mak ing th ings as d ifficu lt as poss ib le for you r o pponent if you r posit ion i s worse . Sometimes it he lps if you com p l icate the posit ion , i ncreas ing you r opponent's l i a b i l ity to make a m ista ke. Often it he lps to j ust stay patient. I n h i s outstand ing book 'The Seven Deadly Chess S i ns ' Rowson ca l l s th is 'the theory of i nfi n ite resista nce'. Of gra n d masters it i s known that you h ave to beat them three t i mes i n a game before you ca n net the pOi nt . It becomes even more d ifficu lt i f you have just botched a promis ing position . Try to switch to a nother mode a n d make the best of it. For a n a mbitious youth p layer it is usefu l to p lay i n tou rnaments where he w ins often enough to experience some success a n d deve lop h i s own sty le . Meet ing with suffi cient res istance wi l l a lso ga in you new experiences.

Taking leave of a game

Some players fi nd it d iffi cu lt to recover from a lost game . Someti mes th is affects thei r p lay i n the next game as wel l . E ither the ir motivatio n deteriorates, or their u rge to force a win becomes even stronger. It i s best to say g ood bye to a game i n a constructive way - by d raw in g usefu l concl us ions from it . Then you wi l l go to the next game in a posit ive mood aga i n .

A4.9 Time management

Time-trouble

Time-troub le means that you h ave too l ittl e t ime l eft to th i n k ca refu l ly a bout the rema i n ing moves before the t ime-contro l . You ca n prevent this with better ti me management. Record in g the u sed ti me for each move d u ri ng the game w i l l he lp you to d iscern patterns i n you r t ime use d u ri ng the a n a lysis of your games. You can even v isua l ize th is by reg isteri ng it i n a d i a g ra m . Some players get i nto ti me-troub le frequent ly, others h a rd ly ever. Some p l ayers seem to get into t ime-trou ble on pu rpose, i n order not to have t ime for doubts .

Th at i s choos ing the l i n e of least resi sta n ce, and it does not lead to optimum resu lts. I t i s better to strive for self- knowledge a n d se lf-accepta nce as wel l as task accepta nce. Someti mes you see p layers lose on t ime. Th is is actua l ly of no use whatsoever, u n less it wou ld be that a p layer ca n conso le h i mself with the thought that 'my position wasn 't that bad, i f I had on ly had more t ime" ,' - a petty excuse .

Time-troub le can have va rious ca uses . Before you sea rch for a solut ion, you shou ld fi rst fi nd out what the prob lem is. In other word s : fi rst the d iagnosis,

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then the thera py. It may be that you r opponent i s a good dea l stronger. Consequently, he poses you great problems that you ca nnot solve, or on ly with d ifficu lty and at the cost of a l ot of t ime. Your opponent recogn izes a l l k inds of themes, whereas you consta ntly h ave to ca lcu late or reason . The remedy is very si m p l e : lea rn to play better. Bad preparation can a lso cause t ime-troub le .

If you do not keep you r open ing re pertOi re u p-to-date, it is log ica l that your variation ca lcu lat ion w i l l take a certa i n amount of t ime. Al so, if you do not reg u larly practice tactica l positions, ca lcu lat ion w i l l obviously take more t ime. Or you may be indecis ive, wh ich a lso ta kes t ime. Reg u l arly p lay ing bl itz ga mes can he lp , or you can decide to spend a max imum of three m i n utes per move in games with a two-hour time co ntro l d u ri ng a g iven period . If i ndecisiveness is caused by doubts about you r own a b i l i t ies, it ma kes sense to try and determ i ne the thi ngs that you a re not good at . If you notice that you are not good at ca lcu lati on , you must m a ke more exercises w ith tactics and other positions where variat ions must be ca lcu lated . If you fea r the power of you r opponent, do not d read h i s presu med a b i l i t ies; just try to p lay an i nteresti ng game wh ich may even yield you a point or a ha lf- poi nt, or some new i ns ights in any case . Ti me-troub le ca n a lso be the resu lt of i neffi cient va riati on ca lcu lation , mea n i ng : conti nuous switch ing between various possi b i l it ies. It is better to first make an i nventory of the 'cand idate moves'. The next th ing is to exa m i ne them piece by piece and make assessments . Then have a nother look at the ca nd idate moves - an idea that you have found after one ca nd idate move may a l so be usefu l after a nother. Fi na l ly, choose the move you consider best, and check the oneply poss ib i l it ies of a l l of you r opponent's p ieces .

You can do an experi ment to check if it is rea l l y d isastrous to play a move after max ima l ly three m i n utes' th i n k i n g . Ta ke you r last twenty ga mes and figure out how often you h ave lost a game by bad t ime ma nagement. Then play twenty ga mes using max ima l ly three m i n utes per move. If you sti l l have dou bts after three m i n utes, p lay the move that you feel is the most i nteresti ng . After these ga mes, look a ga in how often you have lost. It i s possi b le that you lose now and then by pl ayi ng too fast, but this may be co mpensated for by more victories. Obviously you shou ld on ly consider games pl ayed aga i nst opponents of approxi mately equa l strength ( rated max ima l ly 100 E lo poi nts h igher or lower) . It can a lso be i nterest ing to check in a n u m ber of (tra i n i ng ) ga mes how often in the end you p layed the move you had a l ready thought of with i n the first ten seconds . I f you a n a lyse afterwa rds, i n a l a rge percentage o f cases the first move you thought of w i l l tu rn out to be fine . You should rea l ize that i n many situations there a re severa l more or less equa l ly good moves . You might consider to p lay not necessari ly the best move, but s imp ly a good move, at a n u m ber of turns. F ind i ng a move that is just a tad better can sometimes cost you ocea ns of t ime, wh ich is better i nvested at oth er moments in the game. Even at nationa l championsh i ps, g ra nd masters b l u nder w inn ing posit ions when they have no ti me left i n the endgame .

Many p layers te nd to a l so bl itz out th e i r moves if the i r opponent is i n t imetroub le . Except when you a re v i rtu a l l y los i ng , th is is not to be recommended . Of course you r opponent can th ink i n your t ime, but you a re the one who decides on your next move, and this w i l l a lways make it harder for h i m . Moreover, by p lay ing i n b l i tz tem po you may eas i ly b lu nder you rself. Some sly dogs pu rposefu l l y create so many comp l i cat ions in a position that both pl ayers end

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u p being i n ti me-troub le . Th is i s a gam ble, they a re hop ing they w i l l be the stronger in the ensu ing t ime-scra mb le . In t i me-troub le , q u ite often exchanges are made too q u i ck ly ( si m p l ifi cation does not necessa ri l y mean improvement) and p layers tend to put too mu ch focus on the a bsol ute va lue of a p iece (a pawn = 1 poi nt, etcetera ) i nstead of its re lative va l u e ( its fu nction ) . You shou ld check for yourself i f you a re strong in ti me-troub le . You can a l so opt for ru nn ing you r own race and p lay ing a good move i n stead of 'the best' now a nd then . If you sti l l end up in ti me-trou ble, then it is usefu l to a rra nge you r pi eces thus that they protect each other. You can a lso use move repetit ions a n d checks to reach the t ime-contro l . In a ny case it i s usefu l to have more t ime on the clock than your opponent.

Moving too fast

Beg i n n i ng youth p layers tend to p lay fast . They end u p w ith a l ot of extra t ime, and b l u nder a l ot a l ong the way. Th is often i rritates a m bitious parents. The question is whether these ch i l d ren wou ld b lu nder l ess if they sta red longer at a position . Themes that they do not recogn ize, they w i l l n ot recogn ize either if they take more ti me to study a positi o n . Tech n iques that they do not master, they w i l l not be a b le to a pp ly with more t ime either. I n short, they have noth i ng to spend a l l those m i n utes on . Youth p layers p lay chess beca use they l i ke the game. That shou ld be the sta rti ng-po int . To te l l them to use more t ime is of no use to these ch i l d re n . Not even if the coach d raws an a n g ry face wh i le te l l i ng them th is . The fo l lowing rules can he l p, h owever. They may be usefu l tools for beg i n n i ng youth p layers to he lp them t h i n k a l ittl e more systematica l l y and b lu nder less.

Use the 'CCAP' ru le at every move - look at :

Check Ca pture Attack P lan

Use the 'CI E PC' ru l e if a p iece is u nder attack :

Ca ptu re Interpose Evade Protect Counterattack

Deeper th ink ing ca n a lso be sti m u l ated by the fo l lowing exercise . With every tra i n i ng game, write the fo l lowing down on a form with fou r col u m n s :

own move second poss ib le own move expected move by the opponent actua l move by the opponent

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Th is sti m u lates a p layer to consider more than one possi b i l ity at a t ime, and to a ntici pate what their opponent may p lay. The recorded moves a lso g ive the tra i ner sta rt ing-po ints for advice .

A4.10 Objectivity

Objective th ink ing is a desi rab le qua l ity for chess p layers who want to develop fu rther. Ch ess can provide you with va luab le - if someti mes harsh - l i fe lessons : if you a re not objective ( i . e . honest), th is may be severely pun ished . You may suffer from wishfu l th ink ing , mea n i ng that you on ly see what you want to see, wh ich ca n lead to wrong decis ions. Or you may assess the position too pessi mistica l ly and thereby m iss certa i n chances. During a tra i n i ng , chess is ma in ly science and a rt. D u rin g a n actua l game, it is a sport : two players cross i ng swords w ith i n a l i m ited ti me-spa n . Moreover, they both have a l i m ited chess knowledge, possi b ly they have physical l i m itations, and the i r self-management may be lack ing in a l l sorts of ways .

Sometimes a pl ayer suffers from 'over-obj ectiv ization '. He rea l i zes that he is objectively lost a n d is no longer motivated to put up a rea l l y tough fight. By that he w i l l sell h i mself short. An a l ternative is to p lay as strong ly as you ca n . Especia l ly if the position i s comp l i cated , or if you manage to comp l i cate i t , the opponent may make a m ista ke . Strong p layers usua l ly p lay p u rely aga i nst the board . They assess the position objectively and sea rch for the best move, regard less of the i r opponent's l eve l . Th is way they prevent the game from being lost by underest imation or overesti mation of the ir opponent. Other p layers stick to ' i nter-su bjectivity'. Th is mea ns that they do take the i r opponent's c ircu msta nces, character, capacit ies and style i nto a ccount . Gra nd master Jonathan Rowson describes th is phenomenon in h i s book 'The Seven Dead ly Chess S ins '. Rowson has p layed a n u m ber of tea m com petition games for Schaa kstad Apeldoorn, and in Apeldoorn he has jo ined in tra i n i ngs w ith Mark Dvoretsky. In his book he descri bes a game w ith M erij n va n Delft . That game was p layed d u ring a ra p id tournament between s ix p layers i n a cafe in Apeldoorn, featuring h is tea m mates M anuel Bosboom , Ja n Gustafsson , Lucien va n Bee k, Boris Avrukh and Merij n va n Delft .

A4.11 Psychological tricks

Tricks are cu n n i ng schemes, methods to mis lea d . D u ring chess ga mes, techn ical as wel l as psycho log ica l tricks a re used . An exa m ple of a techn ica l trick is an open i ng tra p . By us ing you r chess knowledge and by a criti cal study of the posit ion, you can prevent you rself from fa l l i ng i nto such traps . Psychologica l tricks a im to i nfl uence your thoughts, ca us ing you to m a ke mistakes . There are many d ifferent psycholog ica l tr icks.

For exa mple, your opponent can pretend to be very nervous after he has made a move. If this ma kes you reckless and you do not pay attent ion, you may fa l l i nto a tra p . Or you r opponent may m a ke a nasty remark l i ke : 'My, you look pale today.' Not a very sportsma n l i ke gesture, but it has been known to happen. If you notice that someone is try ing to p lay a trick on you , you can do someth i ng about it . If you u ndersta nd what's go ing on , th is ma kes a b ig d ifference . You can th i n k up cou ntermeasu res. The s imp lest measu re is to ignore your

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opponent's behav iour, i n other word s : act as if noth ing has happened . Another countermeasure is to pa rry your opponent's behaviour, for i nsta nce, by reacting with a joke if someone m a kes a rema rk before the game . Th is way you w i l l show that y o u are not prepared t o a l low you rself t o b e confused , and you wi l l s imp ly assess the position objectively d u ri ng the game . At a j u n ior world cham pionsh ip, Apeldoorn p layer M a rc J o n ker once p layed an opponent who kept sta ri ng at h im i n an i rritat ing m a n ner. ' I gave h im a w ink , a nd then it was over', Jonker to ld us .

You r opponent's behav iour may su rprise you - by h i s open ing cho ice, for exa m ple . In such cases it is best to ta ke some ti me to th i n k a bout what is go ing on . Th is i s better than p lay ing a w rong m ove, s ince you can b low a n entire game with one s ing le m ista ke . It m ay, for exa m ple, be a g ood idea to sta nd up and get someth i ng t o d ri n k . With a l ittle imag ination you may be ab le to th ink of a cou nter-jo ke wh i le do ing th i s , bu t i n fact it i s a l ready suffi cient if you rea l ize that your opponent is p lay ing a tri ck on you . Then you can s i m ply ig nore it, just look at the boa rd and p lay on . Of cou rse, when you a re co nfronted w ith outright incorrect behav iour you ca n ca l l the a rbiter.

A4.12 Development process

Acquiring skills

The acq u is it ion of techn ica l and socia l ski l l s ha ppens i n phases : you acqu i re an inSig ht, you practice with it ( n ow and then putti ng your foot i n it) , a nd i n the long run t he i ns ight w i l l become a n a utomatism . Th is process fo l l ows the stages that we have d i scussed ea rl ier : 1 . Un conscious ly U na ble , 2. Consciously Unab le , 3. Conscious ly Able and 4. U nconsciously Able. A step forwa rd i s often on ly made after a tempora ry setback or a period of stagnation . Th is is because your th i n king system has to adapt to the switch to a new l eve l . Th i s is cal led 'a n i ncu bation period'.

Transferring from learning to practice

Youth p layers often do not a pp ly a cq u i red tech n iq ues i n games. Th is has to do with the way i n wh ich they tra i n . With tactica l l essons, ch i l d ren often know what to look for. That i s usefu l if you wa nt to exercise a certa i n techn iq ue, but after that it i s necessa ry to practise a mix of d ifferent themes. It is a lso very important to ana lyse you r own ga mes. In them, a l l k inds of tactical motifs occu r, on ly now i n the context of a n a ctua l ga m e .

Loss of form

There a re t imes when noth in g seems to go rig ht . You r performa nce is below level and you a re hopelessly out of shape . In such cases, it is o kay to be a n noyed for a wh i le , but there is no sense in gett ing depressed . It is better to study the reasons for you r l oss of form . Perh a ps you have tra i ned too i ntensively, or you've had too m any other th i ngs on your m i n d - l i ke homework, i l l nesses i n the fa mi ly, or perhaps you have fa l len o u t w ith someone? Or maybe you haven 't

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tra i ned enough on certa i n items? Sometimes someth ing can be done about loss of form : ta ke a rest, change you r week sched u le, improve your tra i n ing on certa i n items. Someti mes noth ing can be done a bout it . Maybe you are experienc ing g rowing pa ins . With every growth process ( e . g . when you learn new th ings) tem pora ry setbacks occu r, when a l l your knowledge and i ns ig hts are being attuned to you r bra i n in new ways. This ta kes a l ittle t ime, but there is no reason to worry. Loss of form i s not the same as loss of motivatio n . In com petitions you ca n fa l l back on you r motivation and your rout ine, and refra in from ta k ing too b ig risks . You 're not ob l iged to tel l you r opponent that you are out of shape; i ndom ita b i l ity and a v igorous attitude can take you a long way. It is s ign ificant that many p layers who have not p l ayed chess for a long t ime notice that the ir tactica l sk i l l has deteriorated more strong ly than their positiona l u ndersta n d i n g .

A4.13 Avoiding blunders

Blunders are b ig m istakes that a p layer norma l ly does not make . They do not a ppear out of th in a i r. There a re various possi b le causes : carelessness, fati gue, or ti me-troub le . Determ i n i ng the ca use is a must, i n order to prevent a player from mak ing such b l und ers aga i n . If the latter occurs , i t is necessa ry to take measures. There is on ly one rea l remedy for t ime-troub le : take ca re that it doesn't come to th is . A p l ayer who is over-confident in w inn ing pOSitions can teach h i mself to ' look through the eyes of a patzer' before he ma kes a move : with the m nemonic CCAP ( Check, Capture, Attack, Pla n ) . In a ny case, it is a good habit to a lways re lax a n d ta ke a good look before you m a ke a move. Many b lunders occur when moves a re pl ayed a tempo. G randmaste rs are very d isci p l i ned i n th is respect : they do not even reca pture a p iece w ithout thought.

A4.14 Non-verbal behaviour

People show someth ing of themselves i n a l l k inds of ways, and they are not a lways aware of th is . They do certa i n th ings , or don 't do them - behaviour - and ta lk i n a certa i n man ner ( pa ra l i ng u a l com m u n icati on ) . Conscious ly or unconscious ly, they a lso spea k ' body la nguage', or d isp lay 'non-verbal behaviour', as it is a lso ca l l ed . Th is behaviour may co nsist of s ign la nguage, but it a lso i ncl udes the way someone d resses, the way he is seated , and the emotions h is face reveals . Kasparov has been known to pu l l faces when h is opponent made a b lunder. A wel l - known exa mp le is h i s fac ia l expression i n the Worl d Cham pionsh i p match in Sevi l l a in 1987, after Ka rpov had b l u ndered .

If you observe ca refu l l y, you ca n d iscover a lot about people without them te l l i ng you a nyth i n g . You can pra ct ice th is . During a tra i n i ng sess ion, a tra iner can g ive h is pup i l s var ious notelets w ith words l i ke 'angry ', ' i n l ove', etc . , written on them . The pup i l s a re asked to act out those emotions and the g roup must guess which emotion is expressed . Th is is a n ice i n - between exercise to bri ng some re l ief d u ring a tra i n i ng sess ion . The experience ca n a l so make a p layer conscious of no n-verba l behav iour. Now and then d u ring a game it can be usefu l to pay attent ion to non-verba l behaviou r. It may revea l what you r opponent th inks of the positi o n . But be ca refu l w ith th is . If you r opponent a lso knows that someth ing l i ke non-verba l behaviou r exists, he can fe int a certa i n attitude.

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Good actors ca n i m itate most non -verbal conduct very wel l . There a re certa i n bod i ly fu n cti ons that ca nnot, or hard ly, b e contro l led . For exa m ple, i f someone's eye pup i l s widen s ign ifi ca nt ly, you can q u ietly assume that you have sca red the hel l out of h i m . Once a photo was made of Kaspa rov rig ht after he had lost to Jeroen Pi ket i n a VSB tou rn a ment i n Amsterd a m . He looked very upset, and this wasn 't an act .

AS Miscellaneous

AS.l Chess as a subj ect in primary school

Are there good a rguments for the i ntroduct ion of chess as a (facu ltative) su bject in pri m a ry school? Th is question was the occas ion for a term i n a l project by Karel van Delft at the facu lty of psychology of the Amsterdam U n iversity in 1992. Research was done on s ix pri m a ry schools in Apeldoorn . Among others, 77 chess players from the 7th g rade were compared w ith 2 0 1 non -chess players . The resea rch clearly showed that th e chess p layers performed S ign ificantly better i n the Dutch eITO school test end test on a rith metics, read ing and writi ng, and data processi n g . S ign ifi ca nt ly, when a d i st inct ion i n gender was made the boys showed the sa me pattern, whereas with the g i rl s the chess players on ly performed better at a rith metics. After a correct ion on ch i l dren with an extremely low score ( be low the 1 5th percenti le score - m a i n ly non-chess players), the p icture rema i ned the sa me . The g ra p h below i l l u strates th is . At a school where ha lf of the 34 ch i l dren beg a n to p lay chess i n the 3rd g rade, the chess p layers a l ready turned out to be better pup i l s from the start. However, this group turned out to be too sma l l to d ra w a ny clea r concl us ions .

Next, it was presupposed that the better ch i l d ren p lay chess, the better they w i l l perform at a rith metics and data process i n g . Th i s hypothesis was tested with 106 pup i l s from the 6th grade (three school c lasses) , ha lf of whom played chess . With boys there turned out to be l ittle or no connection between the ir level of a rith metics and the ir chess- p lay i n g . With g i rl s a certa i n con nection was found between a rith metics a n d chess ski l l s . Th i s g ro u p a lso showed that boys are better at chess and a rithmetics than g i rl s . We shou ld add that the fact that hard ly a ny con n ection was fou nd , may have been beca use lots of other factors, l i ke motivat ion and the effects of tra i n i n g , had b l u rred the i mage. Incidenta l l y, no d ifference in i nte l l i gence was fou n d between the chess p layers and the non -chess p layers ( Raven-test ) . The chess a bi l it ies were measu red with an espec ia l ly desig ned chess sk i l l s test consist ing of a n u m ber of exercise d iagrams. We de l i berately opted aga i nst rati ng l i sts of school co mpetitions, s ince i n that sett ing featu res l i ke i m p u l siv ity, self-consciousness, fight ing spi rit, etcetera , may eas i ly be of i nfl uence .

This resea rch a l so showed that the co n n ection between com petit ion resu lts and theoretica l chess knowledge was S ign ifi ca nt, but not very strong . In any case a d ifferentiat ion i n gender has turned out to be advisab le for th is type of resea rch . Th is had not been done i n ear l ier resea rch . It a lso tu rned out that there are c learly less g i rl s who play chess than boys. Appa rently there is a mechan ism of (self- )selecti on at work here .

This research was espec ia l ly a i med a t fi n d i n g o ut i f so-ca l l ed cogn itive effects

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of passing on knowledge exist i n chess teach i n g . As Prof. A . D . de Groot a l ready c la imed a n u m ber of yea rs ago, in a memorandum ca l l ed 'Chess i nstruction i n schoo l? ' for the benefit of the D utch Chess Federation KNSB, it can not be exc luded that chess teach ing a lso has a n u m ber of non-cog n itive learn i ng effects . We ca n th ink of th ings l i ke : learn ing to acce pt defeat, learn ing that progress can be made by study, etcetera . De Groot a lso sup poses that chess can be re lated to a prod u ctive and creative way of th in k ing : d ist i ngu ish ing a lternatives, systematica l l y go ing through o ptions, m a king your own decisions, learn ing to th i n k conditiona l ly and th i n k a head , and crit ical rea l i ty-test ing . However, these su ppositions a re based on research that has been done on adu lts ( retrospective i nterviews with , a mong others, Boris Spassky and the Dutch writer Godfried Bomans) .

TABLE- Average percenti le scores of chess pl ayers and non-chess players for the CITO school test at a pri m a ry school i n Apeldoorn . Data of e ight successive school yea rs .

Boys Chess players (56) Non-chess players (82)

Li n g u i stic s k i l l 63 . 1 % 4 6 . 8 %

Arith metic s k i l l 7 2 . 9 % 5 9 . 7 %

Data p rocessi n g 6 8 . 8 % 5 2 . 3 %

Girls Chess players ( 2 1 ) Non-chess players ( 1 19)

Li n g u i stic sk i l l 62.4 % 60 . 6 %

Arith m etic s k i l l 7 2 . 6 % 5 6 . 3 %

Data p rocessi n g 65 . 0 % 5 9 . 4 %

AS.2 Youth with adults

Stronger youth p layers shou ld be g iven poss ib i l i ties to develop themselves . If they rise a bove the i r peer g rou p i n p lay ing leve l , they need an a lternative to face stronger resista nce . They ca n p lay aga i nst adu lts; at tournaments and a lso i n c lub and tea m com petit ions as a c lub member. Often the fact that those com petit ions a re p layed i n the eve n i ngs is a prob lem . Some c lubs adopt a shorter p lay ing t ime with ga mes involv ing youth p l ayers .

AS.3 Women's chess

On average, g i rls perform less wel l i n the area of chess than boys . In the youngest age categ ories in c l u bs and pri m a ry schools, the a mount of boys and g i rls p laying is often equ a l . When they move up to secondary school age the nu mber of g i rls strong ly decreases. A ro le is p layed by the fact that at this age, boys tend to concentrate on one s ing le i nterest, whereas g i rls tend to become interested in a va riety of th ings . Also, boys a re often more com petit ively inc l ined . They tra i n h a rder to obta i n resu lts. If g i rls do not m a ke any progress,

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they often qu it when they move u p to seco ndary school . G i rl s who do ach ieve resu lts often turn out to cont inue p lay ing chess . So we can conclude that the experience of success p lays a ro le in motivation . More g i rls tend to jo in a chess c lub if there are other g i rl s . That is more fu n a nd it motivates them to conti nue play ing chess.

That g i rls are capab le of achieving less in the a rea of chess than boys has been d isputed by the ach ievements of the Polgar s isters . These three Hungarian g i rls , Zsuzsa, Zsofia and Ju d it (who a re now adu lts) received ed ucation from thei r pa rents at home. Accord in g to their father, Laszlo Pol gar, who is a pedagogue and a psychologist, ta lent i s the resu lt of n u rture rather tha n nature . Of the g i rls , the eldest ( Zsuzsa ) and the you ngest ( Jud it) have become grand masters, w h i l e the midd le s ister (Zsofi a ) is an Internationa l master. J ud it has even reached the wor ld top-te n .

In Germany and Fra nce, a m o n g others, there are sepa rate women's com petit ions, i n The Netherlands there i s not. Fi rst ly, the fact that there are much fewer female top chess players is caused by the fact that fewer women fa natica l ly p lay chess . Op in ions d iffer as to the question whether positive d iscri m i nation of women and separate women's com petit ions a re advisab le . Th is cou ld have the adva ntage that a n u m ber of g i rl s and women wi l l have more sti m u lat ing success experiences . A d isadvantage m ight be that the top p l ayers w i l l experience less cha l lenge .

AS.4 Biographies and interviews

In books and magazines and on the Internet there a re i nterviews and b iograph ies of chess p layers . They reg u l a rly conta i n usefu l i nformation for readers who wa nt to improve in chess. For th is reason , in th is book a n u m ber of i nte rviews have been included w ith strong players who have vis ited Apeldoorn : David Bronste in , Loek van Wely, Artur Yusupov, Ja n Tim m a n and Rob Hartoch . Now and then a tra iner can hand out such a n i nterview to h i s pup i ls , and ask them to underl ine instructive passages . These can be made the subjects of a group d iscussion .

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Stefan Kuipers. (photo www.fredlucas.eu)

B - TRAINING

81 Organizing trainings

B 1 . 1 Structu re a n d cu ltu re

The coach i n g of you n g to p-c lass sportsmen is not on ly a q uestion of ' structure' - i . e . ru les and sched u les . 'Cu ltu re' i s at least eq ua l ly i m po rta nt : what is the degree of m otivation of a l l the parties i nvolved , a nd how do they get on with each other? Chess can be a h igh ly soc ia l activ ity. At the board you a re on you r own, but tra ining can be done with others . You sti m u late each other, lea rn from each other and col lect knowledge of other i ns ights and a pproaches . It can a lso be great fu n . Th e most i m po rtant th ing a bout chess remains that you derive p leasure fro m it, socia l l y as wel l as i nte l l ectua l ly.

B l . 2 Computers a n d the Internet

Everyth ing used to be d ifferent. Chess pl ayers browsed through chess magazines search ing for new open i ng va riations - some of them col l ected open ing ideas in a card tray. Games were a djourned afte r 40 m oves and resu med later on. The com puter and the Internet have exerted a stro ng i nfl uence on the chess world in a t ime span of approxi mately two decades . Chess p layers use the computer in d ifferent ways. You ca n i nsta l l a chess progra m l i ke Fritz a nd play games aga i nst it . It i s a lso poss ib le to a n a lyse ga mes a n d posit ions. In many chess progra ms, data bases with ga mes and posit ions ca n be stored . It is a lso poss ib le to create databases with you r own ga mes a nd/or posit ions . Good chess prog rams have an open ing book as wel l . Chess pub l ishers put CD-ROMs and DVD's with tra i n i ng materia l on the ma rket: a n n otated ga mes, for i nsta nce, or col lections with tactical positions, endgame stud ies and v ideos on which chess masters expl a i n ga mes. Via the I nternet, you can use a computer chess progra m to play aga i nst other p layers worldwide . Th is is done v ia chess servers l i ke ICC or Chessbase's P laychess.

Chess tra i ners often use compute rs . Via I nternet they a re sent ga mes by thei r pup i l s i n pgn format and these a re entered i nto their chess progra m . Via a chess prog ra m they ca n eas i ly select positions from games and put the d iagrams on paper o r add them in a text. The com puter is a lso usefu l when prepa ring for opponents . Data bases (on CD-ROM, DVD or v ia the I nternet) conta in ga mes of many pl ayers, a n d with them their open ing repertoi re . A chess eng ine can a lso check if there is a tactica l flaw in an intended p la n .

Chess o rgan izers a lso often use com puters . With the he lp of computers and specia l progra m s they ca n qu ick ly m a ke pa i rings for competit ions and

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tournaments . These can be pub l ished i n no t ime with a printer and/or via the Internet. With the he lp of a com puter it i s a lso poss ib le to make com m u nication bu l leti ns, tou rn a ment bu l l et ins a n d other written publ ications . There used to be a time when a l l th is was done with typewriters . Organ izers can m a ke up and store tou rnament scenarios with word-processing prog ra ms. In the next event, often a l i m ited n u m ber of changes w i l l be enough to actu a l ize the scenario . With the he lp of com puters it is possi b le to create web-pages that can be viewed worldwide . Via e m a i l , q u i ck a n d cheap correspondence is possi b le . With a computer, a chess org a n izer ca n m a ke bea utifu l ema i l newsl etters - and do this q u ick ly. The com puter a l so enab les you to m a n i pu late photos and fi l ms . These c an be put on a CD-ROM or a DVD together with gameba ses and texts. You put a sticker with an i m pri nt on it, a n d with a l ittle vo lu nteer work an event can be documented for n ot more than one euro per d isc.

B l . 3 In divid u a l trainer

Youth players who want to develop i nto stro ng chess p layers need one ind iv idua l tra iner, or severa l . The most i m portant th ing for their own development is that they ana lyse their own g a mes. By checking open ings, a na lys ing with the opponent, own a na lysis on the board and v ia a chess program, a chess p layer can ma ke a provis iona l eva l u ation of his games. However, a tra iner who is a stro ng chess player can show in words a n d variations where the youth p layer has shortcomings . Moreover, he can g ive specific advice a n d refer h i m to specific tra i n i ng materia l and l i teratu re .

Youth p layers shou ld send a l l the ir ga mes to the ir tra i ner(s ) , preferably with thei r own com ments, verba l and with va riations . Ind iv idua l tra iners d i scuss certa in themes (for i n stan ce, the open ing repertOi re) with their p u pi l s . They a lso g ive d i rections for self-study and they can d iscuss week schedu les and d iaries with thei r pu p i l s . They ca n a l so i nd icate the tou rnaments i n wh ich the youth pl ayers may ta ke part in the com i n g period .

B l . 4 Me ntor

A modest cl u b member ca n be a sti m u l at ing mentor for a youth p layer. In g roup tra in ings, an ind iv idua l pu p i l ca nn ot show u p to fu l l adva ntag e . A mentor ca n , fo r instance, tra i n on a weekly basis with one pup i l or two . They can a n a l yse each other's games, ta l k a bout self-study and vis it tournaments together. A mentor can ta ke over various tasks from a tra in er or coach . A mentor has to have a certa in chess leve l , but the most i m porta nt th ing is that he is enth usiastic and shows comm itment to h i s p u p i l ( s ) .

B l . S Guest trainers

As a va ria nt of reg u l a r tra i n i ngs, it ca n be insp i ring to have a workshop by a guest tra i ner. The latter can be a wel l - k nown stro ng p layer or a tra i ner with a certa in specia l ism . Each tra i ner has h i s own sty le . For a m bit ious youth p layers it is an enrich ing ex perience to be confronted with various stu dying methods and visions. After a l l , development w a lks o n two leg s : knowledge a nd u nderstand ing on the one hand, and fasci n ation on the other. If you want to ach ieve someth ing

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i n chess you have to work hard - on you r chess knowledge and on yourself. To a large extent th is work consists of self-study. Tra i n ings are noth ing more than spri ngboards and s ign posts . Therefore, i nsp i ring g uest tra iners can have addition a l va lue .

8 1 . 6 Self-fu lfil l i ng prophecy a n d selection

People part ly see what they expect to see. If what they see is not rea l i stic, th is ca n have negative consequences. In a scientifi c research project, students and sea cadets after seeing a movie were asked to ind icate how many pol icemen had received b lows d u ring a student riot . The students perceived less than the actual n u m ber, the sea cadets perceived more . Li kewise, tactica l l y-oriented chess players w i l l more eas i ly fi nd tactical poss ib i l it ies i n a posit ion, whereas positiona l ly-oriented p l ayers w i l l more easi ly fi n d positiona l conti nuations . If a tra iner puts it to a ta lented youth p layer that he w i l l never be any good , the youth p layer w i l l sta rt to bel ieve th is . If he then exerts h i mself l ess, he w i l l not achieve much a n d th is tra iner w i l l be proved r ight. That is a self-fu lfi l l i ng prophecy.

In th is respect the notions 'fa lse positive' (wrongfu l l y assessed as sufficient) and 'fa l se negative' (wrongfu l l y assessed as i nsufficient) are of importa nce. Someone may or may not h ave talent and motivation, and he may or may not be selected for extra tra i n i ngs . If a youth p layer is not selected for the wrong reasons (fa l se negative) , then he w i l l be deprived of develop ing poss ib i l it ies. If he has no bus i ness being in a selection g roup (fa l se posit ive) , useless time and effort wi l l be i nvested i n h i m . Anyone who assesses if a pupi l q ua l i fies for extra tra in ing , ru ns the ri sk of fa l l i ng i nto va rious traps . There is, for exa mple, such a thing as a 'b i rth effect'. Dutch psycholog ist Ad Dud ink has proved this with you ng soccer players. Of the adu l t top-c lass soccerplayers, a conspicuously large percentage tu rned out to be born i n a utu m n . An a l most e ig ht-year-old ch i ld is on average physica l l y stronger than a ch i ld that has j ust tu rned seve n . I f these ch i l d ren tra i n and p l a y together i n g roups of a g iven b i rth year, the older one w i l l l i ke ly outclass the you nger one a n d he w i l l be selected sooner -whereas th is does not say a nyth ing a bout h is developing potentia l .

If a youth player breaks down under the stress on a selection day, th is may a lso lead to wrong concl usions a bout his ta lent . Such pitfa l l s can be avoided by using d ifferent methods of assessment, and at d ifferent times. For exa m ple, by looking at tra i n i ng effort, mak ing an i nventory of com petition resu lts, having the pupi l m a ke a chess test, and by ta l k ing to parents and tra iners . And, last but not least : by ta l king to the ch i ld itself and observ ing it . Moreover, some youth p l ayers may not yet perform wel l beca use they have not been p lay ing for long, or beca use they have not received a ny good tra i n i n g . Menta l ity a l so p lays a n i m portant role i n t h e decision whether o r not a ch i ld is permitted to jo in a tra i n i n g . Some youth p layers do not feel l i ke exerting themselves, others a re prepared to work qu ite hard and w i l l qu ick ly catch up . Ta lented p layers c an often be recog n ized by the i r a b i l ity to develop the ir own ideas d u ri n g tra i n i ngs and ga mes. Rea l ta lents a re explorers, they l i ke to try out 'crazy th ings'.

A ch i ld that has adorned ha lf of its bed room with chess attributes may not become a world-c lass p layer. But it may g row u p to be someone who develops great activ ity in the chess wold . Provided he is g iven the chance . . .

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8 1 . 7 Youth player as a trainer

It is usefu l for youth p layers to reg u la rly g ive tra i n i ngs or g ive l ive commentary at a c lub, at schoo l , or before friends . If you teach, you must th ink a bout what you say. You have to catch ideas i n words a n d repeat i nsig hts a n d concepts to you rself. You w i l l a l so m a ke new d iscove ries. This w i l l i ncrease your chess understa nd ing . By g iv ing tra i n i ngs, youth p l ayers develop soc ia l ski l l s and a sense of responsi b i l ity. They become more assertive and learn to make a contri bution to a soc ia l com m u n ity. If more youth p layers g ive tra i n ings, there w i l l be more tra i ners ava i la b le a n d more ch i ldren w i l l be a b le to learn to p lay chess. It is known from experience that many youth p layers enjoy teach ing . What young tra i ners ca n do d u ring the i r tra i n i ngs, depends on the i r own sk i l l s and the level of the i r pu p i l s . The size of the g roups may va ry. A young tra i ner can start with a one-on-one lesson , and if th is works out wel l he can sta rt teach ing a group . Youth p layers can sta rt teach ing at a q u ite young age . Although, if a s ix-yea r-o ld teaches the game to the g i rl next door beca use she wa nts someone to p lay with, we shou ld perh a ps j ust ca l l th is 'exp lanat ion'.

A young tra i ner ca n , for i n sta nce, g ive a lesson about a tact ica l subject from Van Wijgerden a n d Bru n i a 's Step- by-Step method . This is wel l -structu red subject matter. An experien ced teacher can su pervise a n d g ive d i dactic t ips. Another possib i l ity is for the youth p layer/tra i ner to expla i n certa i n subjects, l i ke wrong solut ions to exercises, to pup i l s i n a separate sett ing , as a n assistant of the teacher. Or a you ng tra in er ca n d iscuss with a sma l l g roup of p layers their own ga mes and i nteresti ng positions . In a p layfu l way, d u ring the a n a lysis, the you ng tra i ner ca n tra nsfer a lot of knowledge and u ndersta n d i n g , as wel l as many tech n iq ues . If the young tra i ner is motivated , if he asks many questions and a l l ows h is tra i n i ng grou p to d iscover many th ings by themselves, such a tra in ing w i l l soon be wel l on its way.

8 1 . 8 Trainin g pa rtners

Alone is sti l l a lone . Cockroaches move faster if they know that other cockroaches are around . If peop le do someth ing together, they ca n sti m u late each other too . Not a l l learn i ng su bjects a re su ita b le for teach ing in g roups . The study of com pl icated theoreti ca l materia l i s best done in le isure ly c i rcumsta nces . The defi n it ion of ' le isure ly ' d iffers for each i nd ivid u a l . For some it has to be qu iet, others l i ke to have m us ic . A n u m ber of tra i n i ng tasks, such as tactical exercises, you w i l l do on you r own . In most cases, the acqu is it ion of knowledge and understa n d i n g , the deve lopment of sk i l l s a n d the i nvestigation of prob lems a re more successfu l l y done i n a g rou p than i nd ivid ua l l y. If you learn together, you w i l l pOi nt out new ideas or flawed reason ing to each other. In a p layfu l way, you w i l l sti m u late each other to ca rry o n longer, and to de lve more deeply i nto certa i n subjects . Also, it is more fu n .

Tra in ing i n a sti m u l at ing env iron ment enhances the motivation of youth p l ayers . In a g roup, youth p layers deve lop socia l sk i l l s l i ke mak ing appoi ntments, expressing their op in ion , l i sten in g to each other, admitti ng the ir m ista kes, and p lumbing deeply i nto problems together as wel l as look ing for so l ution s together. It is usefu l to a l te rn ate ind iv idua l study with co l lective tra i n i n g . Yo u ca n , for exa m ple, fi rst study a n open ing you rself, then p lay a tra i n i ng game w ith it and

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then ana lyse that game together. Some of the advances of a training g roup can a lso be ach ieved in a one-on-one session with the tra iner, provided that the latter bu i lds up th is tra ining in an interactive way. This means that he wi l l ask many questi ons and , by means of d iscuss ion, w i l l u rge the pup i l on to learn in an explorative way.

8 1 . 9 Tea m tra i n i ng

Members of a tea m can tra in together, for exa mp le by ana lysing ga mes or preparing opening s together. They can a l so put some money on the table and h i re a tra iner. The latter can analyse ga mes, he lp them with their opening preparation, d iscuss various themes and g ive ti ps for study. A sma l l number of chess c lubs h i re a strong p layer, preferab ly an Internationa l master, to p lay first boa rd in their first tea m and a lso g ive tea m tra inings and youth tra inings . Even at the lowest leve l , soccer cl u bs often h ave a professiona l tra iner - in the chess world th is i s a ra rity. Artur Yusu pov has g iven various tra inings to the fi rst team of Sch aa kstad Apeldoorn .

82 Didactics

82. 1 Introd uction

'Properly taught, a student can learn more in a few hours than he would find out in ten years of untutored trial-and-error. ' - Emanuel Lasker Didactics is the a rt of teach ing . Good teach ing increases the enjoyment as wel l as the effect of tra inings . The most i m portant th ing a bout a tra ining process is that pup i l s get faSCinated, they enjoy their deve lopment, they feel independent and responsi b le for thei r development as wel l as for the cou rse of the training . A good chess training sti mu lates the partici pants' chess development, but a lso thei r persona l development and soc ia l sk i l l s . Top-c lass chess can only be atta ined by pup i l s with a l ot of potentia l and a g reat u rge to deve lop . Motivation can be sti m u lated, but if a pup i l prefers to do someth ing e lse, there is nothing for it . No h a rd feel ings . Lim ited talent can go together with g reat motivation. Good tra inings can contribute to an opti m u m devel opment of a p u pi l .

The q u a l ity of a tra ining i s what counts, not the q uantity of the subject matter that is treated . If pup i l s a re ta ught to investigate thorough ly, if they learn to th ink systematica l l y and creatively, if they consu lt each other, manage their time wel l , get on with their self-study and , a bove a l l , if they a re motivated , then the a im w i l l be ach ieved . Knowledge can eva porate, but the understand ing of methods hard ly ever does. In the end , a chess p layer mainly re l ies on selfstudy. A tra ining he lps as a spring board and a signpost in th is process . In a good tra ining , knowledge and understand ing a re acq u i red and ski l l s a re exercised . A good tra iner pays attention to the deve lopment of the ri g ht attitude. I m portant aspects fo r the development of chess ta lent a re the ab i l ity to concentrate and objectiv ity. The ab i l ity to concentrate is sti m u l ated by a tra iner if he stresses its importance and asks h i s pup i l s to ana lyse posit ions serious ly. He sti mu lates objective th inking by stressing the i m portance of objective ana lyses and by sti mu lating pup i l s to ta ke an assa i l a b le attitude when thei r own games are

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d iscussed - technica l l y as wel l as menta l l y. Sometimes th is means that he must conquer h is shame, but if th is i s reg a rded as a no rm in the g roup, th is won't be such a d ifficu lt step to take.

8 2 . 2 Training g roup

An effective g ro up size va ries with every proced u re . It a l so depends on the level of the g ro up and the experience of the teacher. Not a l l g ro u p members are eq u a l ly fa r in the ir devel opment. A teacher can take th is into account by g iv ing lessons on d ifferent levels, i . e . when g iving explanations, he mentions both s imp le and more com p l icated issues . It is i m portant that a tra iner ta l ks to h is pup i l s about se lf-study d u ring the lesson. Do they have the i r own niche to study? Do they p lan it? Do they find a week sched u le u sefu l ? Do they write in their d iary what they h ave done each day?

Pupi ls ' learning styles vary. One l i kes to be to l d the information in words, the other w i l l take it in more easi ly i f he sees it before h i m . Exp l anation is the most effective if it happens v ia severa l d ifferent co mmunication channels . Th us, a tra iner shou ld demonstrate positions and va riations on the boa rd whi le g iv ing verba l explanations at the sa me t ime. He shou ld take into a ccount that not every pup i l i s equa l ly q u ick-witted . The tra iner shou ld g ive his group the opportunity to ta ke the i r ti me th inking a bout a question. Lea rning th ings by hea rt is often useless. It i s better to g ive information a bout a subject and to have the pup i l s exercise with it . Then they w i l l acq u i re the necessa ry knowledge wh i le p laying, and it w i l l s ink in better. Al l the pup i l s shou ld be involved in the process . For the investigation of posit ions it is usefu l to d iv ide the g roup into sub-groups that a re as hom ogenous as possi b le . After the ana lys is , the tra iner asks s imp le questions to the lowest- level pup i ls , and more difficu lt ones to the better pup i l s .

8 2 . 3 Trainer

An empathic teacher is an i m portant determining factor for success . A comm itted teacher w i l l enjoy embarking u pon an a dventure with h i s pup i l s in a le isure ly atmosphere . The teacher and the pup i l s a re pa rtners who ta ke each other seriously. Th is w i l l set the tone for their m utua l relationsh ip in a sti m u l ating envi ronment . Obvious ly, the teacher is the one with the knowledge, and he may be expected to g ive shape to the learning process . But a tra iner shou ld know h is l i m itations . A re latively wea k tra iner (compared to h is p u p i ls) can do a usefu l job by sti m u lating the pup i ls , by passing on knowledge to them that he com mands h i m self, by g iv ing tactical exercises with una m biguous solut ions, and by d iscussing interesting pOSitions that he has stud ied thoroug h ly h imself. A weaker tra iner can a lso ask stronge r c lub p layers to d iscuss thei r ga mes with h is pup i ls . The teacher's lang uage is very i m portant; pup i l s shou ld understand what a tra ining is a bout . Also i m po rtant a re the tra iner's speed of s peech , and he shou ld a l low eno u g h breaks . Pup i l s shou ld be g iven the t ime to th ink a bout what they have been to ld . Experience shows that a strong p layer without much d idactic experience can sti l l be successfu l in a sma l ler g roup, and especia l l y as an ind iv idua l coach . It i s i m portant that he fee ls com mitted to h is pup i l (s ) and that there is a l ot of intera ction between teacher and p u p i l ( s ) .

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B 2 . 4 Tra i n i n g plan

Tra inings a re a i med at acq u i ring knowledge and understand ing, developing a certa in attitude and exercising ski l l s (app lying knowledge and understanding in practice ) . At the sta rt of a cou rse the tra ine r d raws up a p lan, includ ing study goals, and presents this in a su rvey, in wh ich he a lso points out study materia l and practica l matters l i ke the t imes and the location of the tra inings . In each tra ining he te l l s the pup i l s what he \l'>{i l l be dOing , how he w i l l go a bout it, and for wh ich reasons . He w i l l ask for suggestions and l i sten to reactions . Students w i l l become interested in themes if the choice of subject, the level of d ifficulty, and the methods connect to their percepti on of their envi ronment and their leve l . Each theme wi l l pass through severa l stages in a tra ining : introduction, explanation, exercises, tests.

B2.S Motivation to learn

Motivation is an i m portant factor for learning . If a teacher is ab le to motivate h is pupi ls, they w i l l ach ieve opti m u m resu lts . Rewa rd and punishment by the teacher h a rd ly p lay a ro le in a g rou p of motivated pup i l s . They w i l l reward themselves by enjoying the ga me and the g roup process, and by ach ieving resu lts . Tra inings a re interesting if they a re suffiCiently cha l leng ing . The tra iner must watch out for underburdening as wel l as overbu rdening . It has a sti m u l ating effect if ch i l d ren can q u a l ify (as with the Step- by-Step Method ) , and if tra ining sessions h ave a bu i lt-in com petitive e lement v ia points that can be scored . Too d ifficu l t subject matter, l ong l i stening periods and monotonous lessons are guarantees for causing students to stop p laying chess . But if they d i scover a l l sorts of princi p les and inSights, the latter w i l l sink in better. Moreover, the d iscovery of new ideas w i l l sti m u late their fascination for the game. Success experiences and positive reinforcement enhance motivation . Th is means that the teacher shou ld th ink ca refu l l y a bout the level of the lessons, and that he should reg u larly g ive ind iv idua l pup i l s sti m u lating comments . Sometimes the weather o uts ide is s i mpl y too nice . If pup i l s a re l ess incl ined to tra in on such days, the tra iner is better advised to organize someth ing more enterta ining , l i ke a si m u l . D isc ip l ine is i m po rtant for progress, but a l l owing ten percent of 'change' ( a bsence, doing someth ing else) w i l l keep th ings p leasant.

Pup i ls can hand le an opti m u m study load if they know that they bear part of the respons ib i l i ty for the tra inings and a re a lso a l lowed to g ive shape to them . If a lesson turns out not enjoya ble, the tra iner m ust im med iate ly search for the ca use . Perhaps the su bject matte r was too d ifficult, or he may have been spea k ing too long . The tra iner shou ld i m mediate ly put such issues up for d iscussion and sea rch together with the pup i l s for a better procedure . Energy management is a necessary condition for effective study. Reg u l a r short brea ks w i l l keep the heads c lea r. Also, when mak ing exercises d u ring a tra ining the pup i ls shou ld be a l l owed to take their ti me. It is sti m u lating to have a tra ining pa rtner. Partners wi l l ask each oth er critica l questi ons and provide each other with new insig hts . Moreover, it i s often more fun to investigate someth ing together than it is to do th is on you r own. It is a l so easier to stick to your p lanning if you have made a ppOintments a bout it with someone else. As for homework on tacti cs, it i s advisable to a lternate easy positions ( i . e . s imple

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exa mp l es and repetitions) with d ifficu lt ones. This can be done in various ways, for exa m ple: repetition on one day and a new subject on the next. 'Repetition is the mother of learning . ' Repetition of exercises that have become easy fo r the pup i ls a l so provides them with success experiences, wh ich w i l l inspire them to study fu rther.

B 2 . 6 Conte nts

A tra iner shou ld m a ke use of exa m ples to introduce and to c la rify subjects . He should move from concrete matters to a bstracti ons, not the other way round: first the e lements, then the whole - first easy, then d ifficu lt . The genera l ru le is : The younger the child ren, the more concrete the subject matter shou ld be . Ch i ldren pass through stages in their chess deve lopment: materia l , space, time. Th is order shou ld a l so be fo l l owed when you offer them tra ining materi a l . Information overk i l l i s useless. Former World Cham pion Jose Ra u l Capablanca once said: 'I do not know much , but what I do know I co m mand wel l . ' Lea rning materia l and exercises shou ld correspond to the pup i ls ' experience and their perception of their envi ronment. Via an analys is of one of h is own ga mes with the help of an ana l ysis q uestionna i re, a chess p layer can express how he has experienced a game. This provides a tra iner with sta rting-po ints for the contents of h is tra inings, and for advice on self-management. Chess p layers d o not only learn d u ring tra ining sessions - they a lso learn fro m experiences ga ined in tou rnaments . It is i m portant for a teacher to g ive attention to such experiences . Th is may lead to g rou p d iscussions a bout a certa in position or theme.

B 2 . 7 M ethods

It is i m portant fo r lessons to be varied, both in proced u res and in subjects . Monotony hampers learning . A good tra ining offers pup i l s a chance to d iscover many th ings by themselves . A good tra iner va ries between fronta l teach ing (the teacher stands before the g ro u p ) , investigation in g roups and ind iv idua l ana lysis of posit ions. In many D utch school and chess cl u bs, pup i l s first fo l low a tacti cs lesson from the Step- by-Step Method and then p lay a game . With exercise sheets the ir theoretical knowledge of tactics is tested , but what they do with th is in practice re ma ins undiscussed . However, it i s h i g h l y i m po rtant that a tra iner or a strong p layer analyses the youth p l ayers' own games with them . Th is can be d one i m med iately after the latter's fi rst game has been p layed ( and recorded ) . Ana lysing you r own games is the key to development in chess. A tra iner can first h ave the p u pi l s investigate their ga mes ind iv idua l l y, and then he can d iscuss them in a g rou p setting . Th is forces the ch i ld ren to fi rst make thei r own assessments .

It is i m po rtant that exercises a re done in a cha l leng ing atmosphere . A teacher shou ld not be spea king too l ong - he shou ld sti m u l ate pup i l s to ask many questions, and to answer h i s . There m ust be a d ia logue, an explorative learning conversation. The teacher shou ld ask m any 'why'-questions . Fronta l teach ing is effective for the introduction of subject matter, but it has a stu ltify ing effect if it is the only procedure used . Resea rch and d iscovery a re centra l in a wel l thought-out tra ining sess ion. T h e tra iner shou ld select good exa mples, where new knowledge and ins ights a re r ight on the horizon of the pup i l s' accu m u lated

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knowledge and ins ights. The Russian educationa l psycholog ist Lev Vygotsky cal led th is the 'zone of the proxima l development'. The D utch psycho log ist Carel Frederi k van Pa rreren has a lso written a bout th is . J ust a brief search on the Internet can he lp a tra iner ga in more insig hts in th is a rea .

It is effective if a tra iner teaches h is pup i l s to work actively with the subject materia l . H e expla ins a subject, then the students are g iven exerci ses around this theme, and they d raw conc lusions and put these into words . If a tra iner teaches h i s pup i l s to put new pieces of knowledge and understand ing into words, and if he sti m u l ates d iscussion, he w i l l sti m u late them to th ink systematica l ly and conceptua l ly. Syste matic thinking means that students first assess a position a ccording to genera l characteristics . Then they select the cand idate moves, wh ich they ca lcu late to the end . The resu lts a re compared, and then a decision has to be made a bout the best move . Conceptua l th inking is thinking in concepts, themes and p lans . Th ink of yesterday's newspaper or the TV news. What was it a bout? M uch knowledge and understand ing is lost beca use nothing has been actively done with it . It is i m po rtant that students do someth ing with thei r newly-acq u i red knowledge, l i ke solv ing d iagra m s or ma king a summ ary in thei r d iary. A tra iner shou ld a lso check in the ga mes p layed by h i s students if newly acq u i red knowledge is correctly a ppl ied into practice. For subject materia l to s ink in, it shou ld be pra ctised reg u l a rly with questions and exercises . That can be done, for instance, in the form of a qu iz where students can earn pOints .

Lea rning proceed s in incu bation stages. Someti mes it ta kes a wh i le before insights a re rea l l y interna l ized . Someti mes a lso, prog ress goes hand in hand with a tem po rary setback in resu lts . Th is is beca use present knowledge and new ins ights must be integ rated into you r thinking , and th is often goes in fits and sta rts.

If a position is too d ifficu lt for a norma l ana lysis, the teacher can sti mu late the search for a sol ution with d i rected qu estions . A tra iner shou ld use clear exa mples for the d iscussion of a certain theme. For the acq u isit ion of techniques the tra ine r shou ld first show a few exa mples and te l l h is pup i l s to make a few exercises on that theme . The next step is to offer them s l i ghtly more compl icated positions, where the students can d i scover the theme by themselves . A tra iner shou ld g ive h i s pup i l s enough t ime d u ring tra ining s to ana lyse a position. The room shou ld be qu iet wh i le this i s done . The students must concentrate wel l , just l i ke d u ring a game. Th is contributes to the development of a good com petitive attitude . The ana lysis i s fo l l owed by a g roup d i scussion, where the tra iner observes how the students rea ct and where there may be holes in their knowledge, and then he delves deeper into those. By a lternating the procedures, a sti mu lating atmosphere can be created . With one task, a pup i l can work ind iv idua l l y, with a s l ig ht ly more d ifficu lt one 'cr ibbing is ob l igatory' and cooperation is necessary. Asking stu dents in turn to te l l someth ing about a theme or a bout one of their own ga mes w i l l sti m u late the ir a b i l i ty to express themselves and to consu lt each other.

If you want to m a ke progress in chess you shou ld do a certain a mount of se lf-study : exerci sing tactics, studying annotated games, ana lysing own games, studying openings, practising endga mes and studying interesting endgame stud ies . The tra iner can expla in the best way to go a bout th is . He can a l so devote a g ro u p session to th is subject . The resu l t of such a d iscussion may be that it is better to exercise tactics for 1 5 m inutes every day than for

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an hour and a ha lf every week . It i s effective to a lternate ' learn i ng th ings' ( for exa mple , studying a n notated ga mes) with 'do-th i ngs' ( for exa mp le, making tactical exercises ) .

B2.S Study enviro n m e nt

A qu iet tra i n i ng env iron ment is very i m porta nt. The interior of the tra i n ing space contri butes to this su bsta nti a l ly. Good tab les and cha i rs a re a welcome bonus. Noise and d istract ions wi l l d isturb the learn ing process . A lso, the tem perature shou ld be good a n d there shou ld be a sufficient amount of fresh a i r.

B2.9 Du ration a nd frequency

The ideal i ntensity a nd d u ration of tra i n i ng sessions depends on how much the students ca n hand le . The more i nteresti n g a nd va ried a tra i n i n g is, the longer its duration can be . The amount of subject materia l that students can hand le is often re lated to age a n d to cog n itive level . A wel l -thought-out structure of tra in i ng components w i l l strong ly influence the atmosphere in the g roup and the effect of the tra i n i n g . Ha bit formation and reg u l a r tra i n i ng a re i m porta nt req u i rements for success . It ta kes t ime to learn to p lay good chess . Good p lann ing is i m porta nt . It a l l ows a student to reserve suffi cient ti me fo r tra i n i ngs without them domi nati ng h i s l ife . With good p lann ing , energy is used efficiently and an opti ma l lea rn ing performa n ce is poss ib le .

B2. 1 0 Keeping order

A tra iner shou ld be ab le to m a ke do with not more than an occas iona l reprimand . Group mem bers ca n a l so mutu a l l y correct each other. This w i l l happen sooner if they feel jo i ntly respons ib le for the tra i n i ng routin e . Keep ing order is hard ly an issue with wel l - m otivated stu dents. If th ings get too jo l ly, the teacher can rec la im everyone's attention either with a joke or by ra is ing his voice. If this doesn't work, he can ask the students in question dead serious ly if they wou ldn 't prefer to l eave . Of cou rse, a ch i ld ca n d isp lay d ifficu lt behaviour if it has a perso na l ity d isorder or if it has prob lems at home. It is i m porta nt that a tra i ner has an eye for such c ircumsta n ces . In such cases he can ta l k to the chi ld and its parents o utside the tra i n i ng , a n d sea rch with them for a so lution . Without question there a re g rou p rules, bu t i t ca n be a great re l ief fo r a ch i l d i f i ts prob lems receive attenti o n . I n case of a persona l i ty d isorder ( i . e . autism or ADH D) , a teacher can g ive a pup i l extra attention and structure .

B2. 1 1 Supporting a ctivities a n d too l s

A stu dent can active ly and, conseq uently, effectively i nterna l ize new knowledge and understa nd ing if he su m m a rizes everyth ing co ncise ly i n a d iary. This new knowledge can consist of a l l k inds of th ings : fo r exa m ple, rules of thumb (genera l rules) , open ing tra ps or m ista kes i n self- management . A chess student can combine a d i ary with a database, where he ca n g ive com ments to posit ions or ga mes with text and variati ons . The study of ga mes and posit ions ca n easi ly be repeated v ia a database, and it wi l l a l so be better remem bered a s wel l th is

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way. A student ca n partly turn ' lea rn in g th ings' (acq u i sition of knowledge) i nto 'do-th i ngs' by mak ing a summary i n a d ia ry. The more actively someone learns, the more effective it w i l l be .

I f a teacher g ives a summary of a lesson on paper, or v ia a n emai l.this w i l l sti m u l ate reflection on the learn ing materia l . Th is contri butes to systematic knowledge aug mentation . O lder tra i n i ng part ic ipa nts can a l so make a summary themselves . A student track ing system can be of practical service. In it, a teacher ca n take stock of, for i nsta nce, performa nce with exercises, tou rnament visits, etcetera . This way, a bad performa nce w i l l i m mediate ly attract attention . Th is can be an occasion for a repetition of certa i n learn ing materia l . It can a lso be an occa sion for a ta l k between the tra in er a n d the p u p i l and , possib ly, h is parents. In such a ta l k the tra i ner can d efi n e a problem and g ive advice.

Of the a bove-mentioned rema rks, a teacher can m a ke a checkl ist . With it , he can look at h is own fu nction ing poi nt by poi nt d u ri n g tra i n i ngs . He can bring weak poi nts i nto v ision by agreei n g with a nother tra i ner to observe each other d u ring a tra i n i n g , and to judge each other with the help of the check l ist .

With the study of tactics, the success rate of the cou rse w i l l be h ighest if a student gets q u ick feedback on the exercise he has don e . It is not effective if you make you r homework, hand it i n to you r teacher a n d then it i s d i scussed one week later. Tactical exercises, for exa m p le, ca n be done by students themselves with the Step-by-Step Method on CD-ROM . Here, they i m m ed iate ly see the answers a n d ca n check ri ght away what they have done wrong . A student ca n note h is m ista kes on paper and re-do these exercises late r on .

Before a tra i n i ng , a teacher ca n ma ke a su m m a ry of the subject materi a l . But he ca n a lso d istri bute i t afterwa rds ( by ema i l , for i nsta nce) . In an emai l report, su bjects ca n a lso be mentioned that have spontaneously cropped up d u ring a lesson . A tra i ner ca n sti m u late reflection by concl ud ing (a part of) the lesson with the question : 'What have we lea rned here?', a n d the students ca n take turns mention ing exa mples .

A tra iner can use va rious a ids . In case of fronta l teach ing , a demon stration boa rd is u sefu l ; in sma l ler grou ps or i n d iv idua l l essons he ca n use a computer. During frontal l essons, every student shou ld have their own boa rd for try ing out variations .

83 Training components

83 . 1 Tactics

' 99% of chess is tactics.' Tactics a re the basis of everyth i n g . After the ru les of the game have been learned and the fi rst ga mes have been p l ayed, the develop ment of a chess p layer sta rts with the learn ing of basic tactica l motifs l i ke dou b le attack ( attack ing two of the oppon ent's pieces at the sa me ti me with one p iece) and p in (attacking a piece that ca n not move as then the p iece behind it is u nder threat) . These basic tactica l motifs form the ABC of chess. We heart i ly recommend the wel l thoug ht-out Step-by-Step Method by Rob Bru n ia a nd Cor van Wijgerden, where a l l the tacti cal motifs a re exp la ined i n a systematica l way. Th is method consists of manua ls a nd work books - see the website www. sta ppenmethode . nI . It is

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being used on v i rtu a l l y a l l school c l u bs and chess c lubs i n The Nethe rla nds . Th is method is a lso suita b le fo r self-study by youths as wel l as adu lts. The Step-byStep Method has been tra ns lated i nto various languages, a n d today it is a l so very popu lar i n Germany.

By exercis ing a lot of tact ics you w i l l stead i ly i m prove you r recogn ition of positions where certa i n comb inat ions a re poss ib le ( pattern recogn itio n ) . The you nger you sta rt with this, the better. It can be com pared to learn ing a language. Research by Krog ius proves that to p-c lass p layers who have sta rted after the ir tenth yea r m a ke more tactical m ista kes at a later age . Tactica l abi l it ies a re developed best by exerci s ing - a l most - da i ly, e . g . for 15 mi nutes . The authors of the Step-by-Step Method advise aga inst work ing through the Steps too qu ick ly. The newly lea rned sk i l l s shou ld be a l lowed to si n k i n - on ly then w i l l you be a ble to use them in your own games. However, it can never be the intention of a tra iner to s low down eager you ng players . Today, for every Step there a re extra workbooks as wel l as p lus work books, provid ing the motivated player with even more materia l to practise with . Fu rthermore, the Step- by-Step M ethod has a l so been put on a DVD, wh ich has the advantage that wh i le you a re m a king the exercises you get d i rect feedback v ia the co rrect answers . Repetition is the key to success . Dutch youth champion Roeland Pru ijssers worked through the Step- by-Step Method seven t imes u nt i l he had a good command of the materi a l . It can have a stimu lat ing effect to a l ternate difficu l t exercises with easier ones .

Exercis ing tactics on ly is not suffic ient for a novice chess p layer. It often happens that ch i ldren who have fin ished Step 5 sti l l b l under pieces in the ir games . It is just as im portant - and th is i s often forgotten ! - to p lay many ga mes and d iscuss these ga mes with a stronger p layer or a tra iner. Further on i n th is book there is more i nformation a bout how to ana lyse your own games. The problem with exercis ing tact ics is that you are consta ntly search ing for good moves for your own s ide . Not u nt i l you p lay and ana lyse a lot w i l l you rea l ly learn to a lso sea rch for good moves for your opponent, which you shou ld a lways ta ke i nto accou nt .

More books with ta ctical exercises on a l l levels have been pub l ished . A classic is 'The Anthology of Chess Com bi nations' (pub l ished 'by Chess Info rma nt) . In th is book, thousa nds of d ifferent comb inat ions from the past 200 yea rs are presented on 424 pages. For the sa ke of va riety, it is a l so fu n to practise tactics on the I nternet, fo r exa mp le on the Berl i n chess tactics server E m ra ld (see chess .emra l d . net) .

83.2 Strategy

'Pawns are the soul of chess.' - Fra ncois Andre Dan ican Ph i l idor Tactics i nvolve a concrete and forced seq uence of moves. Strategy and positiona l p lay a re the counterparts of tactics . The two fo rmer terms a re often mixed up . This is a l ittle co nfus ing , s i nce the ir mea n i ngs a re si m i l a r, but not exactly the sa me. Strategy means mak ing p lans ; with positiona l play we mean putti ng pieces on good sq u a res. Chess pl ayers are often cl assified, accord i ng to style, i nto tacti cal and positiona l p l ayers . Tactical p layers tend to look fo r compl ications and th ink concretely a l l the ti me. Positi ona l p layers prefer to avoid compl ications a n d try to i m prove thei r position step by ste p . This is a

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classical d i st incti o n . H owever, a modern top p l ayer shou ld be an a l l - rounder. The o ld -fash ioned image of a chess master who devises a master p lan and consistently fo l l ows it through d u ring the enti re game is not correct. A chess game is usua l ly a seq uence of short strateg ic operations supported by tactical ca lcu lation s .

The u lt i mate a i m i n a chess game is t o checkmate t h e enemy ki n g . Apart from this, the most im porta nt strateg ic e lement by far is the centre , i . e . the four sq uares i n the m i dd le of th e chessboard . Th is is beca use the more centra l ly a p iece is positioned, the more poss ib i l it ies it w i l l have . A kn ight i n the corner on ly l ooks at two sq uares, but a kn ight i n the centre is eye ing e ight . Th is a ppl ies to a l l the p ieces except the rooks . A predomi nant misunderstand ing a mong very i nexperienced chess p layers is that if you put you r p ieces i n the centre, they w i l l be vu lnerab le because they ca n be attacked from a l l s ides . The opposite is true . You m ust trust your own strength : i f you a re beautifu l l y centra l ized, you yourself a re strong . Some peo ple a lso say : it's better to have a bad plan than no plan at a l l . Th is say ing holds a g ra i n of truth . If you can not th ink what you r p lan shou ld be, you cou ld consider:

1 . A d i rect attack on the enemy k ing . Active, a ssertive p lay is surpris ing ly often successfu l . As the opponents get stronger, u n motivated attacks on their k ing w i l l o bvious ly h ave less chan ce of success, but it wi l l not do you any harm to experi ment with the m .

2 . Centra l izati o n . J u st put a l l you r p ieces i n the centre , th is can never be tota I ly wrong .

3 . Improvi ng your worst p iece. If you keep do ing th is con Sistently, you w i l l keep you r position hea lthy.

In the Step- by-Step Method a modest sta rt is made with strategy. As said, the deve lop ment of the chess p l ayer sta rts with masteri ng the basic tactical motifs, a n d strategy comes after that. The strateg ic exercises of the Step- byStep Method are often perceived to be d ifficu lt . That's not such a bad th ing -on ly it is i m porta nt to d iscuss the exercises extensively with a tra iner u nt i l a l l is c lear. A good fo l low- u p on the Step- by-Step Method is the book 'Chess Strategy for Cl ub P layers' by Herman G rooten . In th is book, a l l the i m portant strategic e lements a re dealt with i n sepa rate chapters, for exa m ple : wea k pawns, strong sq uares, passed pawn, open file, the seventh ra nk, the bishop pair and harmony between the pieces . Each chapter is fu l l of i n structive exa m ples and concludes with ha l f a dozen exercises. These exercises a re a lso often perceived as bei ng qu ite toug h . Here aga i n , it i s im porta nt for the tra i ner to expl a i n that it is not a bad th ing to m a ke mista kes. A n ice proced u re is to do such strateg ic exercises in a g roup setti ng, so that you can su pport each other a n d lea rn from one another. Strategy is not someth ing you learn in one day. Here a l so, repetition is the key to success . Brows ing through th is book for a second t ime, you w i l l keep d iscoveri ng new th ings . You w i l l a l so a cq u i re a better u n dersta n d i ng of strategy by a na lysi ng you r own ga mes with a tra i ner or a stronger p layer.

Jonath a n Rowson has written a n i nterest ing a rg u ment a bo ut solv ing d ifficult exercises in h is book 'Chess for Zebras'. If, wh i le p laying through i nstructive exa m ples, you are sitti ng in you r cha i r nodd ing u ndersta nding ly, then afterwards you w i l l have the fee l i ng that you have become a stronger p layer - that now you

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understa nd more of the game. On the other hand , if you are mak ing d ifficult tactica l or strateg ic exercises, you w i l l someti mes despa i r and get a more negative i m pression of you r own chess a bi l it ies. The paradox is that i n the fi rst case you have learned re latively l ittle , whereas i n the seco nd case you have tra ined your sk i l l s and in fact th is has made you a better p layer. Rowson ca l l s th is the k ind of tra i n i ng that pushes you u p aga inst the edges of your comfort zone . In short : however h a rd the exercise, you w i l l learn more fro m stu dying a position first and racking you r bra i n s than fro m check ing the sol ution right away. Chess ta lent can express itse lf in the determ i nation with wh ich a young p layer tr ies to find solut ions. Rowson , by the way, i s writi ng ma in ly a bout adu lts - obviously for very you n g ch i ldren other laws apply, and fo r them it can be frustrating to spend too m uch t ime on one prob lem . For very you ng ch i ldren it may be better to p lay through the solut ion together in such cases, thereby transform ing it into an i nstructive exa m p l e .

Beside the basic strateg ic e lements there is t h e fasci nat ing comb i ned action between the factors materi a l , ti me and space. The pieces have an average va lue ( pawn 1 poi nt, kn ight and bishop 3 poi nts, roo k 5 pOints, queen 9 poi nts) , but these eva l uations a re h igh ly re lat ive. For exa m ple, a roo k that is sta nd ing motion less i n a corner, as it does i n the sta rting position , i s worth not more than 1 point. However, a rook that is ru n n i ng ra m pant over the board may be worth 6 pOints. The more space a p iece gets, the h igher its va lue becomes. You ca n, for i nsta nce, a lso sacrifice a p iece to ga in t ime for a q u icker activation of your rema in ing p ieces .

More books have been w ritten on strategy. We recommend 'Secrets of modern chess strategy' by John Watson . In this book, a l l major and minor developments are d iscussed that the game of chess has gone through strategica l l y s ince Aaron N i mzowitsch's c lassic 'My System '. A lso very n ice a re ' Piece power' by Peter Wel l s and ' 1 0 1 t ips to i m prove your chess' by Tony Kosten . Such books are often ava i l ab le on ly i n the Eng l i sh l anguage, which leads to a nother u sefu l piece of advice fo r a m bit ious non-Eng l ish chess pl ayers : pay good attention d u ring the Eng l ish lessons at school ! A c lass ic work with exercises is 'The Best Move' by Vlast im i l J a nsa and Vlasti m i l Hort . Another i nstructive book is ' Power Chess with Pieces' by Ja n Ti m m a n . And, of cou rse, Max E uwe's c lass ic ' Judgement and Pla n n i n g in Chess' shou ld be part of th is l i st . Today th is book has an oldfashioned flavour, but at the ti me it was g roundbrea k ing and it i s sti l l i nteresti ng to read .

Chess i s 99% tactics and 1 % strategy. Another way to put th is i s that actua l ly there is no d isti nct ion between tactics and strategy - they are i nextrica bly con nected . There is a good chance that when p lung ing i nto thought, conj u ring up a l l sorts of bea utifu l strateg ic p lans , you a re suddenly taken by su rprise by a tactical poss ib i l ity for your opponent that you haven't seen com i n g .

8 3 . 3 Ope n i ng

The open ing is the i n it ia l phase of a chess game. In Step 2 of the Step-byStep Method the three go lden ru les fo r the open ing a re i ntroduced : 1. Pawn in the centre 2. Pieces out 3 . K ing safe . In oth er word s : contro l the centre, develop your pi eces and castle . These rules are very s imp le, but espec ia l ly the conseq uent development of a l l the pieces ( ru le 2) is someth ing that chess

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players keep s inn ing aga inst even at a re latively h i g h level . Other rules of thumb for the open ing a re : don 't m a ke too many pawn moves and don 't get your queen out too soon , beca use th is w i l l cost you too m uch t ime. More haste, less speed , but i n the open ing every move cou nts a nd you shou ld not lose t ime there . If one of the two p layers obta ins a lead i n development, th is often leads to a d i rect attack o n the other p layer's k ing and a q u ick victory. A re lated subject is open ing traps, i . e . wel l - known short-ci rcu its in the open ing phase of the game .

For novice chess players it i s useless to study open ing theory. As long as you are sti l l worki ng on the Step- by-Step Method , in pri nc ip le the go lden rules of the open i n g app ly. Nevertheless, a fi rst acqua i nta n ce with the va rious openings wi l l fo l low soo n . With w h ite it i s reco m mended to open the game with l . e4, wh ich is the most d i rect and a ctive move . I n order to l ea rn a bout the combi ned action between materia l , space a n d ti me at an early stage, it is good to play gam bits l i ke the K ing 's Ga mbit a n d the Eva ns Gam bit . A gam bit is a n opening where materia l is sacrificed for a ctive p lay and attack ing chances. To l . e4, the classica l - and poss ib ly best - rep ly is l . . . e S . Another good , active poss ib i l ity is l . . . cS, the Sici l i a n Open i n g . There a re d ifferent Sic i l ian va riations, but a n ice one for you n g p layers is the Dragon . An excel lent introd uctio n to openings is g iven i n Pa u l van der Sterren 's ' Fu n da menta l Chess Open ings'. In th is book, the backgrounds of the open ings a re u nfo lded with p l enty of verbal exp lanation, he lp ing you with you r open ing choices.

P laying active openings is the best way to deve lop your tacti cal ski l l s . With an eye on talent deve lopment and top-c lass sport, a marg i n a l note is in order here . As soon as young ta lents play i n the n ationa l top reg ions i n the ir category, it i s t ime to trade i n the ga mbits fo r a seri ous open ing repertoi re with princ ipa l ma in l i nes . Remem ber that we a re ta l k ing a bout ch i l d ren from about 12 years of age here (or even sooner, if a ch i ld i s u p to it) , who have a l ready completed a long stretch . In The Netherlands th is tends to go wrong someti mes . Ta lented players keep p lay ing ch i ldre n 's open ings too long , and conseq uently fa i l to jo in i n with the i nternationa l e l ite. I n order to com pete i nternat iona l ly, hard work is req u i red, and th is a l so involves a serious study of the open ings . By p lay ing princ ipa l main l i nes you wi l l sti l l force yourself to ca lcu late a lot , but you w i l l get many more d ifferent posit ions on the board , wh ich w i l l a l l ow you to deve lop more broad ly. From th is point of view, Merij n van Delft has written a n open ing series i n the former Dutch magazine Scha a kn ieu ws, where he presented a complete repertoi re for the wh ite p layer based on m a i n l i nes after l .e4. There are an enormous amount o f open ing books, bu t these a re often rather specia l i zed and do not make u p a com plete repertoi re . True, a l l the re leva nt i nformation is in the data bases, but for you n g p layers it i s not so easy to fi nd thei r way i n a co l l ection of more than three m i l l ion g a mes. Actua l ly, the ( Dutch- language) Schaakn ieuws series is a m a n u a l for us ing databases. The young talent must know the most i m portant va riations a n d he must know where he can fi nd more i nformation .

A good tra i n i ng procedure to get a good com m a n d of open ings is by ta king so-ca l led m odel ga mes ( in the aforesa id o pen ing series in Schaakn ieuws, for every open ing a n u m ber of model ga mes were sum med up) and d iscussing them in the form of a qu iz . The study of theory a lone is obvious ly not enoug h .

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You have to p lay games with these o pen i ngs you rself and then a n a lyse the m . This c a n b e done, for insta nce, b y organ izi n g theme tou rnaments with a certa i n open ing va riat ion as a theme. P lay ing b l itz on t h e Internet can a l s o b e a good school , provided that you do this seriou sly a n d look up the theory afterwa rds . In conclus ion, we wou ld l i ke to remark that you can o n ly rea l l y master an open i ng by p lay ing rea l ga mes with it . W ith o pen in g tra i n i n g , th ings often go wrong i n practi ce. The trick is t o understa nd i n wh ich situations open i ng study i s tota l l y m isp laced and , on th e other hand , i n wh ich cases it is i m porta nt. Consult ing a strong p layer or a tra i ner ca n be hel pfu l here .

83.4 M iddlegame

The midd legame is d isti ngu ished fro m the open ing and the endgame in the sense that it does not h ave a ny concrete theory. In the m idd legame, rea l chess is being played, a n d the p layer who i s tactica l l y and strateg ica l l y the best versed w i l l ga in the upper h a n d . The rema rks made on tactics and strategy at the beg i n n i ng of this chapter a pp ly here . To become more sk i l led in the m idd legame it is a lso i m portant to study exemp lary ga mes by strong p layers . True, there does not exist a concrete m idd legame theory, but th is study w i l l m a ke you fa mi l i a r with many typ ica l positions conta i n i ng certa i n standard p lans . See a lso the last paragraph of th is chapter, on annotated ga mes .

Today, open ing theory has developed so fa r that the d isti nct ion between the open ing a n d the m idd legame i s not a lways c lear. In such cases we can spea k of an i ntegrated who le . There a re two factors that have ra p id ly acce lerated the development of open ing theory. S i nce we have the Internet, a l l i nformation has become ava i lab le to everyone . Besides, com puter chess progra ms have become so strong that the development of open ing theory is no longer the priv i lege of the gra nd master e l i te . The boundaries between m idd legame and endgame a re not 'a lways very c lear e ither, but usua l ly we spea k of a n endgame when the q ueens a re excha nged. However, i f there a re sti l l many other pieces on the board, we often spea k of a q ueen less midd legame. A knowledge of endgames w i l l enab le you to determ ine i n m idd lega mes how you ca n l i q u idate i nto favou ra ble end ings .

8 3 . 5 Endgame

The endgame is the fi n a l phase of the game, and as such the decis ive one. One sma l l m ista ke may u ndo a l l your prev ious exert ions, and often it can not be remed ied any more . Endgame p lay i s chess i n i ts p u rest fo rm ; s ince there a re on ly a l i m ited a mount of p ieces left on the boa rd , it i s cruc ia l for a l l the pieces to perform opti m a l l y.

Therefo re, a good study of the endgame w i l l teach you a lot about the poss ib i l it ies of the p ieces and the way they cooperate . A bea utiful exa mple is try ing to force mate with b ishop and kn ight. Both pi eces must cooperate perfectly to succeed i n mati ng the enemy k i n g . However, many peop le do not l i ke studying endgames that they may never get on the board , a n d they prefer to look at open i ngs, with wh ich they th i n k they can score more q u ick ly.

In the Step- by-Step Method, besi des tactics a lot of attention is a lso paid to the endgame : mating comb i nations, pawn end ings (the 'sq uare', key sq uares,

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outside passed pawn, ca nd idate first, protected passed pawn , zugzwa ng, breakthrou gh , pawn race) , materia l advantage, queen versus pawn, rook versus pawn and rook endgames ( Lucena position and Ph i l idor positi on ) . These basic endgames a re presented with enough exercise materia l for students to practise them sufficiently. In the endgame, the k ing becomes an i m portant piece. You cou ld say that here the k ing is worth fou r pOints in genera l : stronger than a minor p iece ( kn ig ht or b ishop) , but wea ker than a roo k . By attach ing a value to the k ing with pOi nts it becomes clea r that you wi l l s imp ly p lay with one p iece less if in the end ing you forget to activate you r ki ng .

Not a l l endgames need to be stud ied i ntensively, but c learly a n i ntensive study of the rook p lus pawn versus rook endgame is extremely profitab le . In this respect, the booklet 'Was ma n O ber Tu rm - Endspie le wissen sol lte' by Ka rl Otto Jung is bri l l ia nt i n its s imp l i city. Rook end ings a re the most freq uently occu rring end ings. Here, rule n u mber one i s : in most cases activity is more im porta nt than materia l . O ld-fash ioned endgame books were often rather d u l l , but there is a new generation of endgame books that a re m uch more access ib le a nd practice-oriented, l i ke ' S i l m a n 's Co m plete Endgame Cou rse' by Jeremy S i l ma n . The mod ern cl assics a mong the endgame books a re ' Endgame Man ua l ' by M ark Dvoretsky and ' Fu n da menta l Chess End i ngs' by Ka rsten M O i ler and Fra n k La m precht. Ka rsten M O i ler has a l so pub l ished a good DVD series on endga mes.

If one of the p layers has a c lear materia l adva ntage for no com pensation, it i s sa id that the win is a matter of techn ique . Techn ique is not at a l l easy, but on the other hand , it does n 't req u i re magic . Tech n ique has two i m po rtant aspects . In 'Chess Strategy for the C l u b P layer', Herman Grooten has written i nstructive ly on so-ca l led 'schematic th i n k i n g '. Also, tech n ique is not an i ntu itive knock of the master, but a matte r of contin uous accu rate ca lcu lat ion of a l l sorts of short va riations . In other word s : tech n ique is tactics .

8 3 . 6 An n otated ga mes

In order to become a better p layer it i s usefu l to play through a few an notated games every wee k . These a re ga mes where the game moves (a lso ca l led 'text moves') are exp la ined in words and variations . In th is way you w i l l get to know many typica l positions with their sta ndard p lans . Do not restrict you rself to games with open i ngs that you play yourself. Annotated ga mes ca n be fou nd i n books l i ke 'Understa nd ing Chess Move by Move' by John N u n n and magazi nes l i ke ' New in Chess'. The more verba l the expla nations, the better. It i s i m porta nt that you study these g a mes a ctively. This can be done in the fo l l owing way :

1 . Play through the game and try to u ndersta nd the com ments . Write down moves and com ments that you don 't u ndersta nd and present them to you r tra i ner or a tra i n ing partner.

2 . P lay through the g a m e aga in a n d write the two or three most importa nt ru les of th u m b ( = comments with a genera l i m porta nce) in you r d iary.

3 . P lay through the game once more a n d 'pred ict' the moves for the w i n n i ng s ide . For every move, mention at least one reason why it shou ld be p layed . I n th is way, you ca n check if you u n dersta nd the cou rse of the game a n d you w i l l notice wh ich phases rem a i n u nc lear to you . Moves

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that you understa nd a re easy to memorize. For moves that you haven't been ab le to remember, you shou ld read the com ments one more t ime.

4. Col lect i m porta nt thematic positions in a computer database.

By lea rn i ng i n th is a ctive way, you wi l l reflect more u pon what is go ing on and you w i l l acq u i re knowledge, u ndersta nd i ng and ski l l s . It w i l l ena ble you to recogn ize the acq u i red themes more q u ick ly, a n d a l so to a pply the acqu i red techniq ues i n your own ga mes. It is a n i ntensive way to study, but it does yie ld resu lts. It is better to study one s ing le game thorough ly and rea l ly learn someth ing, than to p lay through more ga mes rather su perficia l ly without picking up a nyth ing from the m .

Games by t h e o ld masters a re ca l led c lass ica l games . Ga rry Kasparov has descri bed chess h isto ry in his magn ifi cent 'My Great Predecessors' series . Tournament boo ks a re a re lated way to write about chess h istory. The bestknown exa mp le is 'Zurich Internationa l Tou rna ment 1953 ' by David Bronste in . More recent pub l ications a re 'Curacao 1 962' by Jan Ti mman and 'San Lu is 2005' by Al i k Gershon and Igor Nor. Game col lections by the worl d 's best p l ayers a re reward ing sou rces of insp iration as we l l . The best-known i n th is genre is 'My 60 Memorable Ga mes' by Bobby Fischer. A modern classic i s ' Fi re on Board ' by Al exey Sh i rov.

8 3 . 7 Variation calcu l ation

Va riation ca lcu lat ion is i n fact tactics for advanced p layers . Tactics is the app l ication of basic motifs, a n d of cou rse it invo lves ca lcu lation . As soon as we can no longer spea k of one c lear motif, a n d the ca lcu lat ion of l i nes sta rts to become more out land ish (as i n a rea l game) , we spea k of variation ca lcu lation . Novice p layers do not yet have the a b i l ity to ca lcu late deeply, but as they develop fu rther as chess p layers, variation ca l cu lat ion w i l l beco me more and more pa rt of thei r ga mes. Visua l ization , i . e . , p lay ing the moves i nside your head, p lays a l a rge ro le in variation ca lcu lation . The younger you sta rt with visua l ization , the better you r co mmand of th is sk i l l w i l l be. Va riation ca lcu lation takes p laces in steps :

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1 . Cand idate moves . Before you sta rt ca lcu lat ing, you m ust fi rst make a l ist of the moves that need to be considered . Ta lented young players a re often good at ca lcu lat ion, but they don 't a lways know very wel l what they shou ld calcu late . Th is i s a matter of experience and tra i n i ng on a l l facets o f chess. The more knowledge and understa nd ing y o u have, the better you r feel i ng w i l l be for cruc ia l va riat ions .

2 . Ca lcu lati ng va riations . Accord i ng to the c lassica l theory of variation ca lcu lat ion (Alexa nder Kotov, a mong others) you must systematica l ly calcu late a l l the ca nd idate moves through to the end . Modern theory ( e . g . John N u n n ) re lativ izes th is and c la ims that it can even be very fu nctiona l to j u m p to a nd fro between d ifferent variations, because th ings you have found in one va ri ation cou ld possi b ly be used in another.

3 . Decision-maki n g . A t ime-control of two hours for forty moves means that you have a n average of 3 m in utes per move. Obviously, i n certa in cruc ia l positions you w i l l need to spend more ti me . But th is ca nnot be

done too often , otherwise you w i l l get i nto t ime-troub le . For a human p l ayer it is i m poss ib le to ca lcu late everyth i n g , therefore when you make a decis ion you m ust partly re ly on your i ntuiti o n .

There is a considerab le a mou nt o f l iteratu re o n va riat ion ca lcu lat ion, with t ips and exercise materia l to tra i n and i m prove th is ski l l . I n N u n n 's book 'Secrets of Practical Chess', the subject of va riation ca lcu lat ion is i l l ustrated with sa mple games. Also i nte rest ing is ' Improve You r Chess Now' by Jonathan Tisda l l . In the books by Dvoretsky a n d Yusupov, va riation ca lcu lat ion a l so gets a lot of attention . A good way to tra i n variation ca lcu lat ion is by so lv ing endgame stud ies (see the next para g ra p h ) .

l.to r. Artur Yusupov, Karel van Delft, Jonathan Rowson, Jan Gustafsson, Merijn van Delft, Harmen Jonkman, Lucien van Beek and Victor M i k halevski during a workshop in Karel van Delft's living room.

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B 3 . 8 Endgame studies

There a re endgame stu d ies i n a l l sha pes a n d sizes . For practical p layers, endgame stud ies that sta rt from a rea l istic position a re the most interest ing. Such positions can be used i n tra i n i ng sessions to exercise va riatio n calcu lation and creative th i n ki n g . Th is tra i n ing procedure is recom mended in the books by Dvoretsky and Yusu pov. The young Dutch grandmaster Danie l Ste l lwagen has taken this advice to hea rt, and he has developed a pass ion for endgame studies . I n 2003 he even won the Dutch Solv ing Cham pionsh ip for Endgame Stud ies with an unprecedented 1 00% score .

Haro ld va n der Heijden, fro m the Dutch city of Deventer, i s very active in the world of endgame com positions, and he has gathered the largest co l lection of endgame stud ies i n the world , with a round 7 5 . 000 of the estimated tota l of 1 0 0 . 000 pu bl ished stud ies. This co l lection is pu b l ished on CD-ROM, see home . concepts . n l/ rv h e 1 6442 .

Haro ld i s a l so a study com poser h imself, a nd he showed a ty pical exa mp le as an exercise for the partici pa nts of an S BSA chess festiva l in Apeldoorn i n 2003 . The bea utifu l th ing of th is study is that a nyone can solve it .

Haro ld va n der He ijden . Wh ite to p lay and w i n .

Va n d e r Heijden expla i n s : 'C lea rly the win shou ld be brought on by a brea kth rough of the wh ite pawns . But

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obviously 1 . gS? fa i l s to 1 . . . . fxgS, after wh ich B lack ca n advance h is own pawn with check. Neither is 1 . eS? any good, s i nce after 1 . . . . fxeS 2 . g S e4 3 . g6 e3 4 . g7 e2 5 . g8Q e l Q , both sides have a q ueen . Therefore, the solution must be a move with the ki n g . After 1 . Kh3? Kf3 there i s noth ing better than 2. eS fxeS 3. gS e4 4. g6 e3 5. g7 e2 6. g8Q e l Q and this i s a lso a d raw.

So eventu a l l y, by e l im i nation , every solver w i l l end u p p lay ing the surpris ing

1 . Kh l ! !

I f B lack now p lays 1 . . . . Ke3, Wh ite repl ies with 2 . eS fxeS 3 . g S a nd the b lack k ing b locks its own pawn . And after 1 . . . . Kg3 2. eS fxeS 3 . gS , Wh ite w i l l promote with check. The move 1 . . . . Kf3 looks clever, but after 2 . e S fxeS 3 . gS e4 Wh ite sudden ly p lays 4 . Kg l , stopp ing the b lack pawn .

But what if B lack denies a l l the problems and p lays

1. . . . Kfl ?

Then there fo l lows :

2. e S ! fxeS 3 . g S e4 4. g 6 e3 S. g7 e 2 6 . g8Q e l Q

D raw? No !

7 . Qg 2 mate ! '

After Va n der Heijden had demonstrated th is so lution many t imes to nonsuccessfu l so lvers i n Apeldoorn (who had tried a l l poss ib i l it ies except l . Kh 1 ) , Artur Yusu pov wa l ked by. After a bout ten seconds he said : ' 1 . Kh 1 and mate on g2 '.

Endgame com poser Yocha nan Afek has p layed a ro le i n the deve lopment of chess cu lture i n Apeldoorn as a tra i ner a n d advisor. On the website www. chessvi bes . co m he has a week ly co l u m n where he presents a n endgame study. For Ka rel van Delft's 50th b irthday he com posed the fol lowing stud y :

Yochanan Afe k . Wh ite to p lay and win .

84 Practical play

B4. 1 Visiti n g tou rnaments

1 . RaS + !

I nsuffic ient for the w in i s 1 . RdS ! ? Qh 5+ ! 2 . Kb4 Qb5 + ! 3 . Kc3 Qxc6 + 4 . Kd2 Qg2+ 5 . Kd3 Qf3 + 6 . Kd4 Qf4+ 7 . Kd 5 Qg 5 + S . Kc4 Qc 1 + 9 . Kd5 Qg 5 + 1 0 . Kc6 Qxd S = .

1 . . . . KxaS 2 . fSQ + !

The a l ternatives don 't work : 2 . Rh4? Qd 5 + 3. Kb6 QdS+ 4. c7 Qd6 + 5. Kb5 Qd 5 + = and 2. Bh7? Ka 7 3. fSQ QxfS 4 . RxfS = .

2 . . . . QxfS 3 . e 7 ! Qxe7

3 . . . . QcS 4. Bf7 Ka 7 5. eSQ and 3 . . . Qf5 4 . Bd 5 Ka7 5 . RaS a l so w in for Wh ite .

4 . Bd S + ! Ka7 S . RaS + ! KxaS 6. c7+ K a 7 7 . cSN + ! 1 - 0

There is a D utch cl u b for endgame study com posers - see www. arves .org . Th is c l u b pub l ishes a n i nternationa l magazine ca l l ed ' EG '. Issues can be downloaded on www. gadycosteff. comj egjeg . html

If you want to become a good chess p layer, you m ust p lay a lot and ana lyse your own games and your behav iour i n the m . Tou rn a ments a re good opportun ities for ga in ing a l ot of experience . There a re b l itz tou rn a ments (five m in utes th inking t ime per p l ayer) , rap id tou rn a ments ( 2 0 or 25 m i n utes) a n d tou rnaments where the t ime-control i s m i n i ma l l y two hours per p layer per game . Tou rnaments are announced on chess websites, for insta n ce on the sites of nat ional chess federatio n s .

For youth p layers there a re sepa rate tournaments, b u t ta lented youth players often co m pete i n events with adu lts beca use they meet stronger resistance there . Youth p layers who want to deve lop fast shou ld not restrict themselves to youth tou rnaments. It is necessary for them to reg u l a rly p lay serious ga mes

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with reg u lar t ime-contro ls . How ma ny ga mes they play, i s a matter of consultation with the ir tra i ner. An average of one game a week (for exa mple, i n a cl u b co m petition) is probably the m i n i m u m . Ambit ious youth players should, as a rule, vis it tournaments where they can w in at least ha lf of their ga mes. This w i l l be sufficient as a success experience . Suffering too many defeats wi l l eventu a l l y lead to a cra m ped p laying sty le . Vis it ing tournaments a l so has a socia l aspect. You meet a va riety of peop le and it i s fun to visit tou rnaments outside your home town with a g rou p of c lub mates o r friends.

B 4 . 2 Time-contro ls

Most p layers prefer ' rea l ' chess ga mes, with a m in ima l t ime-contro l of two hours per pl ayer. There a re a lso other p lay ing tempos, l i ke ra pid and bl itz . Then there are p layers who have aba ndoned a l l board play a n d occupy themselves excl usively with computer chess, correspondence chess, chess problems, or endgame stud ies. Young ch i ldren with l ittle experience a re best advised to play short ga mes, tota l l i ng h a lf an hour, for i nsta nce. They shou ld p lay games with enough t ime to th i n k . Yo uth p layers do not yet have a lot to th ink a bo ut, so it's no use having them p lay ga mes that last mu ch longer than the t ime they w i l l use . However, at a certa in pOint they reach th e stage where they sta rt p lay ing longer games, and then they can partici pate in weekend tou rnaments, for insta nce. In most s ix-rou nd weekend tou rnaments in The Netherla nds, part ic ipa nts are a l lowed to take one bye (free rou n d ) . As a ru le one round is p l ayed on Friday even i ngs, three on Saturdays and two on Su ndays. In Apeldoorn, part ic ipa nts are a l lowed to ta ke two free rou nds . This offers the youngest players the poss ib i l ity to take part i n the tou rna ment without gett ing too ti red . If youth players qu ick ly fi n ish the ir ga me in a weekend tou rnament, they can ana lyse with thei r opponent, watch other ga mes, or p lay b l itz . Of course it w i l l be great if an organ ization can fi nd a strong player who is w i l l i ng to a na l yse ga mes with youth players .

B4.3 Supervision d u ring tou rnaments

In competitions a p layer m ust perform - he must show what he is capable of. Sports psychologist Peter Bl itz c la ims that 'to perform is to present', mean ing : you must show you r tricks. A game d iffers from a tra i n i ng sess ion i n a n u m ber of respects : there are i nterests at sta ke, there is a n opponent, there is a n aud ience watch i ng and p lay ing t ime is l i m ited . A chess p layer ca n prepa re fo r games by tra in ing and by preparing for specific o pponents. By eva l u at ing tech nica l ly, but a lso physica l ly and menta l ly h i s ga me experiences in tra i n i ngs a chess p layer wi l l become stronger. It i s a lso i m portant to pay attent ion to organ izationa l aspects . I t freq uently ha ppens that pl ayers do not take possi b le tra in delays or traffi c-jams i nto account, ca us ing them to a rrive l ate for a match . I f you are less than one hour l ate, you can sti l l p l ay. But you w i l l have less time to th ink and the ag itation caused by you r late a rrival is bad fo r your concentratio n . During tra in ings, chess is a science - d u ring matches it's a sport . In both situations, chess can a lso be a n a rt .

I t is necessary for tra i ners to observe thei r pup i l s reg u l a rly d u ring ga mes and tou rnaments . Then they w i l l notice aspects of their se lf-management that

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are not v is ib le on the scoresheet of a game, such as t ime ma nagement, sitt ing posit ion, energy ma nagement and menta l issues. On some of these issues, a tra i ner w i l l a l ready be a b le to g ive specifi c advice d u ri ng a tournament. Aspects that requ i re cl oser d iscussion a nd exercise can be d iscussed d u ri ng tra in i ngs . I t w i l l sti m u late youth p l ayers if a tra i ner visits a tou rnament with a group of h is pup i l s . A tra i ner ca n either p lay there h imself, or s imp ly observe h is pup i ls . Sometimes a pl ayer gets nervous d u ring a tou rnament - for exa m ple, if he has a cha nce to win it . Th is may lead to inadeq uate behav iour, l i ke wrong open ing cho ices, bad t ime ma n agement, or stress. In such cases it i s i m porta nt that a tra i ner has contact with h i s p layers between games and g ives them advice . If the tra i ner is not present i n person , he ca n a lso contact the p layers by te lephon e .

Youth p layer Roe land Pru ijssers from Apeldoorn was once one-and-a-ha lf point a head of the fie ld with three rou nds to go at a Dutch U - 1 6 championsh ip . He very m uch wa nted to become champion, but he sta rted to fear that a l l sorts of th ings could go wrong . D u ring the tou rnament he had no contact with any tra i ner. Pru ijssers decided to employ certa i n vague s ide l i nes i n the open ing , and i n the fina l round he even ma naged to end u p i n a l ost position with in twelve moves - with wh ite . That yea r he fa i led to become D utch j u n ior cha mpion . In 2008 Roe land (who had become a n internationa l master i n the meantime) played the Dutch U-20 cha m pionsh i p in Ve n lo . He was 18 years o l d . He was staying i n a cha let i n a ho l iday resort with h is c l u b mates Stefa n Ku ipers, Tom Meurs and Armen Hach ij a n , who a lso participated i n th i s cham pionsh i p . Merijn va n Delft was on the spot as a coach d u ring the ent ire tou rnament, and stayed i n the house with the boys. Every day the players and their tra i ner prepared i ntensively for ga mes, and i n the even i ngs they a n a lysed the ga mes that had been p layed that day. Th is t ime Roel and d id become Dutch cha mpion . It sti mu lates youth p l ayers if d u ring tou rnaments, strong p layers d iscuss participa nts' ga mes and these d iscussions ca n be watched by a l l the p layers present . For many youth p layers this w i l l be a once- i n -a- l ifetime experience. If they p lay at a sma l l c lub, they often do not get ma ny opportun ities to d iscuss games with a n i nternationa l master, or to be a spectator at such a n a na l ys is .

B 4 . 4 Prepa ration

To perform opti m a l l y, a player m u st be wel l - rested , concentrated , motivated , and he must feel good . It i s hel pfu l for many chess p layers to look forward to a game in a le isure ly way. On the day of the match, they have a le isurely brea kfast and take care that they a rrive in the p laying h a l l in t ime. Someti mes they take a l i tt le stro l l . Du ring tou rn a ments these activit ies often fo l low a fixed pattern , wh ich has a re lax ing effect.

The h igher a p layer's level , the l a rger is the ro le of open ing preparatio n . In the even ing or the morn ing before the game, the p layer looks at h is opponent's ga mes and prepares open ing variations . Nowadays, with the he lp of the com puter and databases, you can get an overview of the open i ng variations you r opponent plays i n a sp l i t second . A usefu l option i n the database progra m m e Chessbase is to select a l l the games and download them into a tree d iagra m by c l ick ing on 'selection to book' with the ri ght mouse button . This way you can cl ick you r way through the games, and very q u ick ly learn which l i nes your opponent p lays. It

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is advisab le to keep pen and paper close at hand , and to write down the most importa nt ga mes.

In the tree d iagra m you ca n not see when a certa in move has been p layed -for that you must retu rn to the game overview. If you rea l l y want to go about this in a professiona l way, you can a l so look what you r opponent p lays with the other co lour, to avoid cOincidenta l l y prepar ing a va riat ion i n wh ich your opponent specia l izes h i m self. Another such ti p is to look up you r own games in the database, to see what the opponent may know a bout you .

Besides pay ing attention to you r opponent's open ing repertoi re , it i s usefu l to p lay through a n u m ber of h is complete ga mes to get a good idea of your opponent's strong and weak pOi nts. When everyth ing has been weig hed up, the p l ayer determines if he w i l l use h is own repertoire or prepa re someth ing new for the occasi o n . Help from a coach with prepa ration can be very va l uab le, espec ia l ly at cham pionsh ips . Shou ld no ga mes by you r opponent be ava i la ble, then you ca n prepare in a genera l way by rehears ing known open ing l i nes. However, espec ia l ly d u ri ng a tense o r t i ri ng event it may be wiser to just relax before the game. Another o ption is a 'warmi ng-up ' with tactica l exercises. Espec ia l ly if you have n 't pl ayed a ny ga mes for a whi le , you r tact ica l ski l l has probably deteriorated q u ick ly, and then a tactical warm i n g - u p is recom mended . Dur ing cha m pionsh ips, young p layers tend to be nervous . A l ittle com petition stress is healthy, beca use th is he lps you to focus on the game. However, too much stress w i l l have a para lys ing effect . By reg u larly paying attention to this d u ring tra i n i ngs, at least part of the stress ca n be removed . In a group tra in ing , for exa m ple, ex periences ca n be interchanged . By th ink ing beforehand what you a re go ing to do i n certa i n situat ions, you ca n reduce stress.

'Angstgeg ner'

A so-ca l led 'angstgegner' req u i res spec ia l p reparation before the game. An 'angstgeg ner' is an o pponent who is equa l l y strong or weaker than you in theory, but whom you have repeated ly fa i led to beat. Los ing aga inst a considera bly weaker player ca n have d ifferent causes - techn ica l as wel l as psychologica l ones. An opponent with a strong persona l ity can ca use a p layer who is suscept ib le to this to be unsure of h i m se lf. H is p lay becomes cra m ped , he ma kes m i sta kes or does not dare to take his cha nces. Also, a n opponent may have a p lay ing sty le or an open ing repertoi re that i sn 't to your taste . A p layer who interprets such defeats wrong ly may lose self-confidence, wh ich, consequently, w i l l cra m p his sty le on a fo l l owing occas ion . As a resu lt of th is 'se lf-fu lfi l l i ng prophecy' ( i . e . a prophecy that you bel ieve i n as a co nseq uence of wh ich you r own behaviour w i l l bring about the sa me effect) he wi l l l ose the next game a g a i n . By 'force of repetit ion' - you keep th ink ing that you just cannot w in - you su bconsciousy strengthen the i mage of an i nv i nc ib le opponent.

The first necessa ry condit ion fo r gett ing r id of a n 'angstgegner' i s to recogn ize the phenomenon . Understa nd ing is a prerequ is ite fo r goa l -oriented action . Analyse your defeats aga i nst your 'angstgeg ner' a s objectively as you can and try to fi nd out what went wro n g . Ana lyse defeats by you r 'angstgeg ner' aga inst other players and t h i n k of reasons why you may be a b le to beat h i m . Th i n k before t h e g a m e h ow you want t o p lay aga i nst h i m , and what you w i l l do i f h e reacts i n a certa i n way. A necessa ry co ndit ion fo r w i n n i n g is t h e bel i ef that you

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can w i n . By the way, the same condit ions a re va l id when you face theoretica l ly much stro nger p layers .

B4 . s Playing ga mes

In fact, wh i le p lay ing a game you have to th ink a bout a huge amount of th ings at the same ti m e . It's enough to drive you crazy. Therefore, the most important practical ru le i s : forget everyth ing you 've learned a n d just p lay a n ice game. A l l the knowledge you have a cq u i red shou ld come to you su bconsciously. Co nscious ly try ing to a pp ly a l l sorts of ( a rtific ia l ) ru les w i l l have a contrary effect. 99% of chess is tactics, so just sit down, ca l cu late, and p lay you r game. In an opti m u m state of mind you wi l l enjoy p lay ing and you r co ncentration wi l l be good ( see a l so the para g raph a bout flow) .

At moments l i ke th is , chess i s a sport . This means that you must be practica l , fight for a l l you a re worth , and be sportsman l ike . Being practical means that you shou ld not try to p lay a perfect game, as th is is v i rtu a l l y i m possib le . Perfection ism is one of the main causes of t ime-troub le . D iv id i ng you r t ime wel l is a true a rt wh ich req u i res a l o t of practice. I n a sport you m ust fig ht with a l l your m i g ht for your chances. This a l so i nvolves sportsma nsh ip . You n g p layers who behave unsportsma n l i ke due to i n ex perience shou ld be con Sistently ta ken to task . The sa me goes fo r i nexperienced parents who lose s ight of rea l ity in the heat of the batt le .

Th ink ing about the res u lt of the game or about the tou rnament ra nk ing ca n have a very negative infl uence on co ncentratio n . A p layer shou ld focus on looking for the best possi b le move at each turn . This w i l l a l l ow him to thi n k constructively, and a lso t o co ntro l h is nerves . A p layer c a n tra i n o n th is aspect, c la ims Dan ish gra ndmaster Sune Berg Hanse n . About p lay ing a game John N u n n h a s written an exceptiona l ly i n structive chapter ca l l ed 'At t h e board ', which is the fi rst chapter of h i s c lassic 'Secrets of Practical Ch ess'. Th is book came out i n 1998 a n d had a seco nd edit ion in 2007, with a l ot of new materia l about the rol e of the computer. N u n n a lso pays a l ot of attention to a variety of aspects that are co nnected with decision -ma king a n d variation ca lcu lation . The other chapters a re a bout play in the open in g , the m idd legame and the endga me.

B 4 . 6 Ana lysis

Duri ng a game it i s very i m porta nt to look u po n chess as a sport : what cou nts is to w in , and in a l i m ited period of t ime a n u m ber of practica l decis ions have to be made. However, after the game the moment arrives when chess becomes a science . The d iscussion after the ga me is ca l led 'ana lysi ng ' or a lso ' post- mortem'. Analys ing you r own ga mes is a cruc ia l l i n k i n you r chess development. You can lea rn best and q u ickest fro m your own mistakes . One of the reaso ns fo r th is is that you have a stronger emotiona l i nvolvement with your own games. If you learn only one thing from every game, you w i l l go a long way. In these modern t imes it is i m porta nt to force you rself to first ana lyse by yourself, and on ly then use the computer. This w i l l su bstantia l l y i m prove the lea rn ing effectiveness . Ana lysis i s the search for what cou ld have gone better or d ifferently i n a game. U nder the surface of the move p layed there a re often an abu ndance of poss ib i l it ies .

7 5

This is what m a kes chess so i nteresti ng . S im ply put, ana lysis is try ing out other moves . M a ny moves force themsel ves upon you a utomatica l l y and a re just begg ing to be tested ( d u ri n g the game you ca n on ly m a ke one move at a t ime ! ) , but some moves a re cou nter- i ntu itive and h a rder to fi n d . The d iscovery of a surpris ing, creative move ca n g ive you a lot of satisfaction . Analys is is more fu n when it is done together with others . This a lso mea ns that you shou ld be open fo r suggestions by others. Many p layers a re j ust fu l l of the ir own ideas, convinced that they a re r ight, and unab le to l i sten to others . Respect fo r each other is a n i m porta nt th i n g . Even a re latively wea k p l ayer can suggest a good move.

l.to.r. Roi Miedema, Merijn van Delft and Roeland Pruijssers. It is good to reg u larly ana lyse you r ga mes with a strong p layer. Th is stronger p layer wi l l have a better understa n d i n g , he ' reads' the game better a n d has more experience, and conseq uently he w i l l be a b le to point out m i sta kes to you that you wou ld not have found you rself. Sta rti n g when he was twelve years o ld , Merij n va n Delft paid Marc Jonker one-hour v is its every week for a cou ple of yea rs to ana lyse his games. J ust l i ke exerc is ing tactics and p lay ing many games, such ana lysis sessions are ind ispens ib le for a you n g p layer who wa nts to deve lop . There is a n u m ber of go lden ru les with respect to the a n a lysis of you r own games :

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1 . Always a n a lyse with your opponent after the game. This i s how Loek va n Wely became strong : he p l ayed an awfu l lot, and after the game he i nvariab ly a n a lysed with h is opponent. The a n a lysis immed iate ly after the game is a lso ca l led ' post mortem '. You may decide to m a ke some notes a l ready d u ring th is a n a lysi s . If you have a good memory, th is is not necessa ry, but in that case you must remember to save you r notes t imely, beca u se after one week you w i l l have forgotten a lot . During a t ir ing tou rna ment where severa l ga mes are p layed on one day, it is wise to l i m it the a n a lysis to a short d iscuss ion after each game, a n d save your energy for the next game.

2 . Create a data base i n the com puter for savi ng your own games. You can name it 'My games', or ' Merij n base', or someth ing l i ke that. Enter a l l you r ga mes here, regard less o f the resu lt .

3 . Ana lyse a l l you r own ga mes. If you have l ittle t ime, just reproduce the fi nd i ngs fro m the post mortem, but at least ind icate a few critical poi nts . These notes do n ot h ave to be co rrect or complete by a ny means -everyth ing that you save i n you r co mputer w i l l not be lost and you can cont inue work on it at a nother time. If you have more ti me, you ca n , of cou rse, make a com plete a n a l ys is . You can learn someth ing of any game - win, draw or loss .

4 . Pub l i sh you r a n a lyses. Th is is a we l l - known advice from former world cham pion M i kha i l Botv i n n i k . Ja n Ti mman writes in h is books how he pai nsta ki ng l y fo l lowed th is advice, a cknowledg ing the ro le th is has played i n h is development . Some p layers do not pub l ish the ir game a n a lyses, for fea r that it wi l l a l l ow their riva ls to prepare better for them . Th i s fea r is u nfounded , beca use the g reatest expert on your own ga mes w i l l a lways be you you rself. By pub l i sh ing your games you w i l l force you rself to regard them more critica l ly. If you rea l l y do want to keep a va riat ion you h ave found in a critical open ing position secret, then there is an e legant so lution : j ust g ive the first move of the variation , for exa m ple by writi ng : 'Also crit ical is 1 6 . h S ! ? '.

As soon as you r own ana l ysis i s suffic ient ly developed, turn on the computer. You can m a ke a game ana lysis with the computer by fo l lowi ng the steps g iven below :

1 . U n ravel the open ing phase of the game with the hel p of databases, books and a rt ic les. Fi nd out what the fi rst new move i s .

2 . Add a l l the com ments that you have i n your head - the variations you have thought of d u ring the game as well as the variations that have been d iscussed d u ri n g the post morte m .

3 . P lay through t h e g a m e with a n eng ine l i ke Rybka or Fritz and work out va riations .

4 . P in point the turn in g-paints of the game and put question ma rks i n the right p laces . A game a n a lysis shou ld be a log ica l who le . In the sta rting position there is a n a pproxi mate bala nce between eq ua l ity and a s l ight edge for Wh ite, but a s soon as one of the p layers ma kes a mista ke, th is should be refl ected in the assessment of the position .

5 . Rou n d off. There shou ld be a ba la nce between variat ions and text, the a n a lysis must be a ca refu l ly ed ited who le . Everyth ing in it must have a fu nction - it shou ld not be there for noth i n g . No i naccuracies, no red undancies. Writi ng a fu l ly-fledged game a n a lysis is an a rt of its own .

Apart from techn ica l factors, psycholog ica l factors a l so p lay a part d u ring a game. It i s usefu l to try and bring these factors to the surface i n your ana lys is . It is i nteresti ng to know wh ich mistakes you have made, but it is even more i nterest ing to know why you made them . There ca n be a l l k inds of reasons : nerves, u nderesti mation of the opponent, i ndecis iveness, etcetera . Apa rt from the c lass ica l way of ana l ys ing , it is a l so possi b le to ana lyse a game with an

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ana lysis questionna i re ( see the para g ra p h on the Ana lysis Questionna i re ) . Th is may br ing to l i ght certa i n new aspects that you have not thought of before . A n ice proced u re is p lay ing co rrespondence chess. Here, as opposed to norma l chess, you a re a l l owed to touch the p ieces and you ca n i nvestigate va riat ions much m ore deeply.

The fo l l owing para g ra p h conta ins a few exa m ples of game a n a l yses. I n a written ana lysis, certa in symbols (or creative varia nts of the m ) a re used to assess the m oves :

! ! exce l l ent move good move

! ? i nteresti ng move ? ! d u b ious move ? bad move ?? b lu nder N new move

For the assessment of a position the fo l lowing symbols exist :

+ - winn ing a dva ntage for Wh ite ± clea r adva ntage for Wh ite � sma l l adva ntage fo r Wh ite

equa l posit ion CXl u nclea r position (th is ca n be interpreted as laz i ness on the part

of the ana lyst, but N u n n 's conventi on i s : 'a comp l icated position that is a pproxi mately eq u a l ')

� with cou nterp lay ex; with co mpensation fo r the sacrificed materia l + sma l l a dvantage for B lack =+= c lea r a dva ntage for B lack - + winn ing a dvantage for B lack

The three poss ib le resu lts of the game a re :

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1 -0 Wh ite w in s '12- 1/2 D raw 0 - 1 B lack w ins .

B4.7 Ana lysis examples

In the previous paragra ph we have exp la ined what the ana lysis of a game enta i l s . Below we g ive three exa mples of a game a n a lysis . In a l l three cases, the orig ina l ana lysis has been kept i ntact. The fi rst one is very extensive, but it g ives a n ice p icture of a l l the th ings that can be i ncl uded in an ana lys is . A rea l chess p layer a lso ana lyses h i s defeats !

Arne M o l l - Tom Botte ma Dutch tt, 2 7 Novem ber 2004 Ana lysis : Arne Mo l l

1 . e 4 Ne6

I had ma in ly prepa red for Booij a nd Peek, and was s l ight ly su rprised when I had to p lay Bottema . As I had no idea what was h is customary rep ly to 1 . e4, I was very p leasantly su rprised when he p layed the N i mzowitsch , wh ich is after al l an open ing that is reg u l a rly played at E uwe ( i . e . , the name of Mol l 's chess cl ub at the t ime) .

2. Nf3 d 6 3 . d4 Bg4?!

7 . . . . Bg6 8 . Qe2 e6 9 . Ne3

9. Nbd 2 ! ?

9 . . . . Nf6

By tra nsposit ion we fi nd ourselves on ' norm a l ' N i mzowitsch paths aga i n . Wh ite has a space advantage, and Black has problems with h is q ueenside pawns . Sti l l , for the moment Black's position is so l id . He ca n possib ly p lay along the b-fi l e , and Wh ite must cont inue energetica l l y.

1 0 . h 4 ! ?

Played by none other than J u l ian Hodgson , but perhaps not the best choice . Stronger was 1 0 . Bg5 ! , which I had p layed myself i n a n earl ier ra pid game, as I d iscovered when I checked . B lack is i n fo r a rough ride, fo r exa m ple : 10 . . . . Be7 1 1 . Bxf6 ! Bxf6 1 2 . h4 h 5 1 3 . g 5 Be7 1 4 . 0-0-0 Qb8 1 5 . Nd2 ! ± M o l l - Rebel , ra pid 1994, and Boj kovic- M ic ic, 1990 .

1 0 . . . . h S

I w a s g lad with th i s move . Now Wh ite More c ircumspect is 3 . . . . Nf6 . gets a c losed posit ion, where he can

ta rget the wea kness in B lack's camp 4. BbS at ease . 10 . . . . h 6 ! ? is what I had

expected , and I d id not yet know what 4 . d 5 I was g o i n g t o p lay after that.

4 . . . . a 6 S . Bxe6 bxe6 6 . h 3 B h S 7. 1 1 . g S N d 7 g 4 ! ?

Strictly spea k ing , a novelty, even though it l eads to tra nsposition . The idea to chase the b ishop to g6 is known i n th is type of position , but not specifica l ly here . A lso poss ib le is 7 . Nc3, but with th is move order, probab ly the most pr inc ip led move is 7 . c4 !

1 1 . . . . Ng4? 1 2 . Nd2 e5 1 3 . d 5 + fo l l owed b y f2 -f3 .

1 2 . Qe4 ! N

Aga i n a move that p leased me . Wh ite i n creases the pressure, a l so prepa ring Nc3-e2-f4 i n passi ng, and forces Black to m a ke fu rther concess ions . Hodgson pl ayed the impu ls ive 1 2 . d 5 ! ? , and

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after 1 2 . . . . c5 ( 1 2 . . . . cxd 5 1 3 . exd 5 e5 14 . Nd4 Nb8 1 5 . f4 Qe7) 1 3 . e5 ! ? dxe5 1 4 . dxe6 fxe6 1 5 . Nxe5 Nxe5 16. Qxe5 Qd 7 Black's active b ishop pair weighed u p aga i nst h i s destroyed pawn structu re, Hodgson-Wockenfuss, 1985 .

1 2 . . . . es 1 3 . dxes!

This was my idea . After 1 3 . d 5 N b6 Wh ite has accomp l ished noth i n g .

1 3 . . . . Nxes 1 4 . 8e3 !

Wh ite conti nues h is poi nted p lay. Bottema now sa n k i nto deep thoug ht, presu mab ly ca lcu lat ing Bxe4 . However, I had seen that th is was not possi b le . Therefore, B lack m ust retreat fu rther.

14 . . . . N d 7

14 . . . . Bxe4? seemed tem pti ng , but it is wrong after 1 5 . Nxe4 d5 16. O-O-O ! with the fo l lowi ng possi b i l it ies : 1 6 . . . . dxc4 ( 1 6 . . . . Nxe4 1 7 . Qc6 Ke7 1 8 . g6 ! ± ; 1 6 . . . . Qc8 1 7 . Qc3 ! Nxe4 1 8 . Qc6 Ke7 1 9 . c4 ! ± ) 1 7 . Rxd8 Rxd8 1 8 . Nxc5 ±

1 5 . Qa4!

It looks a l i tt le stra nge to g ive exclamation m arks to Wh ite's last fou r moves . H owever, they do not on ly serve to ind icate t he tech n ica l s ide of

8 0

the matter, but a lso the psychologica l s ide . At th is moment I fe lt stronger than ever : not on ly had I been u n beaten for months, but on th is specific day I felt espec ia l ly fit and sharp . This was i l l ustrated by my moves : they were a l l t o the point and they a l l came with a c lear threat - fo l lowing i n the footsteps of Grischu k . The text move a lso fits perfectly i nto Wh ite's p lan of besieg ing the b lack q ueens ide . The kn ight is p in ned , moves l i ke e4-e5 are hang ing i n the a i r, and Nd4-c6 is com i n g .

1 5 . . . . 8e7 1 6 . Nd4 e s ? !

This move came as a su rprise . I had prepared to p lay a h igh ly p leasant pressure position , but now things suddenly get much more concrete. In cidenta l ly, this shou ld have wo rked out favou rab ly fo r Wh ite, a n d therefore Black cou ld a lso have conti nued i n N i mzowitsch sty le with h i s cat-andmouse p lay : 1 6 . . . . 0-0 17 . Nc6 Qe8 1 8 . 0-0-0 was what I had expected . W h ite has a very p leasant posit ion, as becomes c lea r if B lack tr ies to force matters : 18 . . . . Ne5 ( 18 . . . . N b6 1 9 . Nxe7 Qxe7 20 . Bxb6 cxb6 2 1 . Qb4 ± ) 1 9 . Nxe5 ! ( 19 . Nxe7 ? ! Qxe7 20 . f4 Ng4) 1 9 . . . . Qxa4 ( 19 . . . . dxe5 20 . Rd7 or 20. Qc4) 20 . Nxa4 dxe5 2 1 . Bc5 ! ±

1 7 . Ne6 Qb6

Better was 17 . . . . Qc7 .

1 8 . 0-0-0 Re8

What else?

19. Nxe7?

Only now, d u ring a n a lysis, do I see that th is move, which I have long condem ned as wrong, may not be so bad . For a long ti me I thought that th is was the i ntroduction to an i ncorrect

sacrificia l combi nation , but just as Fritz The ri ght move, but not for the reasons someti mes bri ngs h u m i l i at ing b lu nders I had in m i n d , as we w i l l see . Sti l l , to l i ght, i t can a l so someti mes l a y bare maybe someth ing l i ke ' i ntuit ion' exists amazing attacking twists - such as after a l l - who knows? In any case, here . Yet, I ca nnot avoid g iv ing th is now the wh ite attack indeed tu rns out move a q uestion m ark, s ince with it to be strong enough for at least a draw, Wh ite u n necessa ri ly ma kes th ings but the va riat ion comp lexes are so extremely hard for h i mself. Wh ite extremely co mpl i cated that any clever cou ld have crowned h is positiona l tri ck ca n turn the ta b les i m med iately. pressu re p lay m uch more easi ly with After the qu iet 2 1 . b3? Qb4 ! Black has the beautiful move 19. Ne5 ! ! , tota l l y a l l the cha nces, for exa m p l e : 22 . Qxa 6 destroying Black's pawn structure, fo r Rb6 2 3 . Qd 3 Ra8iii ; 2 1 . Qa 3 Qb4 ! exa m p l e : 1 9 . . . . Rc7 ( 1 9 . . . . Rd8 20 . Nc4 (20 . Nxg6 ! ? fxg6 2 1 . Qc4) 20 . . . . 2 1 . . . . Q x b 2 + 2 2 . Kd 2 NeS! Qb4 ( 20 . . . . Qc7 2 1 . Qxa6) 2 1 . Nxd6 Bxd 6 22. Rxd6 Qxa4 23. Nxa4 Bxe4 24. Rhd 1 etc . ) 20 . Nxg6 ( 2 0 . Nc4 ! ? Qc6 2 1 . f3 ! ± and B lack i s tota l l y restricted, whereas a l l h is wea knesses rema in ) 20 . . . . fxg6 2 1 . Qc4 ±

19 . . . . Kxe7 20. f4

Wh ite is b u rn ing h is bridges beh in d h i m . Safer was 20 . Bf4 ! ? - w h ich I hadn't looked at - 2 0 . . . . Rc6 2 1 . Rhe 1 Ne5 ( 2 1 . . . . Rb8 22 . Nd 5 ! exd 5 23 . Qxc6 ! Qxb2 24 . Kd2 Qd4 2 5 . Ke2 Qc4 26 . Kf3 Bxe4 2 7 . Kg 3 + - ) 22 . Bxe5 ( Fritz g ives the sharp 22. Rxd6 ! ? here : 22 . . . Kxd6 ! (22 . . . . Rxd6 2 3 . Bxe5 Rd7 24 . Bxg7 Rb8 2 5 . Bf6 Ke8 26 . b3;!; and I prefer White here, even if i t is not as clear as Fritz th inks) 2 3 . Rd 1 (23 . Bxe5 ? Kxe5 24 . Rd 1 c4 doesn1 work for Wh ite ) 23 . . . . Ke7 24. Bxe5 f6 25 . gxf6 gxf6 26 . Bf4 with a n u nclea r posit ion) 2 2 . . . . dxe5 2 3 . f4 ! and perhaps W h ite is sti l l better, a lthough I 'm not so sure of i t .

2 0 . . . . Rb8!

During the game I thought this was the losing move, but in fact it is B lack's only chance. After other moves he wi l l si mply be crushed .

2 1 . fS !

The on ly move, but I thought I had a l ready seen the ' refutatio n '. 22. . . . exf5? 2 3 . Rb 1 + - ; 2 2 . . . . Nb6? 23 . Qxa 6 ; 22 . . . . Rb4 2 3 . Qxa6 Ne5 24. fxg 6 ! ! See the com ment after move 2 3 .

2 3 . f6 + ??

U h , oh ! This is the beg i n n i ng of a fata morga n a that was to v ict im ize the ent ire p lay ing venue . I thought I had ca lcu lated everyth ing bri l l iantl y : this i ntermed iate check forces the b lack king to the f-fi le , after which I p lay my roo k to f1 with tempo, preventi ng Nf3 + at the sa me t ime . W hat both p layers hadn 't seen is that Black actua l ly doesn't need Nf3+ at a l l . Correct was the s imp le yet horri b ly comp l icated 2 3 . fxg 6 ! , wh ich I had tu rned down in v iew of 23 . . . . Rb4 (23 . . . . Nf3? 24.

8 1

Ke2 Qxc3 2 5 . Qxa6 ! + - and d6 fa l l s ; 23 . . . . fxg 6 24 . a 3 ! ) 24 . Qxa6 Nc4 ( 2 4 . . . . Nf3 2 5 . Ke2 N d 4 26 . Bxd4 cxd4 27 . Qa 7 + - ) and t h i s seemed to me to be too risky for Wh ite . However, I had missed that Wh ite now a lso threatens Qa 7+ and xf7 . Th is ma kes the positio n s o compl icated that I n o w present the below va riat ions in the hope that the reader can add h is own fi nd ings to them. My tentative concl us ion is that the position ca n be he ld . . . by both players . 2 5 . Ke2 ! The correct way to play for a w i n . Now we get two va riation complexes :

Variation A : 2 5 . . . . Qxc2 26 . Bd2 ( 26 . Rd 2? Qxc3) 26 . . . . Nxd2 A fasc inat ing position , which has cost me many a n hou r's work. In it ia l l y, I thought that Black can now d raw with the tri ck Rxe4 + , but then I rea l ized that Wh ite can sti l l p lay for a w in by g iv ing two i ntermediate checks. The va riations are too n ice not to show - hopefu l l y the reader w i l l forg ive me for t h i s sma l l s id estep : 2 7 . Qa 7 ! T h e i d e a i s to protect c3 , a n d w e w i l l soon see why th is i s necessa ry ( n ot the d i rect 27 . Rxd2 Rxe4 2 8 . Kf3 , as now B lack has the pretty 28 . . . . Rf4 ! ! ( 28 . . . . Qxd2 29 . N xe4 + - ) 29 . Kg3 ( 2 9 . Kxf4? Qxd2-+ ; 29 . Ke3 ? is i m poss ib le now i n v iew o f 2 9 . . . . Qxc3 - here w e see why it is usefu l for Wh ite to protect c3 ! ) 29 . . . . Rg4 3 0 . Kh3 Qxd 2 and Wh ite has to g ive perpetua l check) . 27 . . . . Kd8 ! Now this is the r ight sq u a re . 28 . Qa 5 ! The idea becomes c lear. 28 . . . . Kd 7 ! Or a lso to c8 ( i n a ny case the k ing can not go to e8, s ince then Wh ite wins beautifu l l y : 28 . . . . Ke8? 29 . Rxd2 Rxe4 30. Kf3 ! Rf4 ! ( 3 0 . . . . Qxd2 3 1 . Qb5 + - ) and now: 3 1 . Ke3 ! ! a nd c3 is protected, therefore Wh ite wins ! ) . 29 . Rxd2 Qxc3 ! Now this i s necessa ry. (aga in , bad was 29 . . . . Rxe4 3 0 . Kf3 ! Rf4 3 1 . Ke3 ! ! + - ) 3 0 . Qa 7 Kc6 3 1 . Qa6 Kc7 32 . Qxd6 Kb7 and it looks as if

82

Wh ite ca n not m a ke any progress, a lthough he ca n keep try ing with, for i nstance : 3 3 . Qf4 ! ? Rb2 ! 34 . Rhd l ! ? ( 34 . gxf7 Qc4 3 5 . Kf3 Qc3 = ) 3 4 . . . . fxg6 3 5 . Rxb2 Qxb2 36 . Rd 2 Qb5 3 7 . Kf2 u nc lear.

Variation B : 25 . . . . Qxc3 ! ? I th ink that this i s the safest way for B lack . By the way, after 26 . Qa 7 (26 . Rd 3 Qxc2 27 . Bd2 Rd 8 ! ) he wou ld have to fi nd the bri l l i ant 26 . . . . Ke8 ! ! (26 . . . . Kd8 27. Qxc5 ! ( 2 7 . Bxc5 Qxc2 28 . Kf3 Rb2-+) 27 . . . . Qxc2 28. Kf3 d5 29. Rxd 5 ! exd 5 3 0 . Qxd 5 Kc8 3 1 . Qc5 Kd7 3 2 . Qxb4 + - ) 2 7 . Qxf7 ( 27 . gxf7? Kf8) 27 . . . . Kd8 28 . Rd 3 ! Qxc2 29 . Bd2 a nd now another pretty trick : 29 . . . . Qxd 3 ! ( 29 . . . . Re8 3 0 . Qxg 7) 3 0 . Kxd3 Ne5 3 1 . Ke3 Nxf7 3 2 . Bxb4 Ne5 (32 . . . . cxb4? 3 3 . gxf7 g 6 34 . Kd4 + - ) 3 3 . Bc3 Nxg6 34. Bxg7 Rg 8 with a compl icated endgame. Both s ides have their trum ps and their sou rces of worry - chances a re probab ly a bout eq u a l .

23 . . . . gxf6 24. g xf6 Kxf6

24 . . . . Kf8 2 5 . Rb l + - ; 24 . . . . Kd8 2 5 . Rb l + -

2 5 . Rhfl Kg7 26. R b 1

Pl ayed with fu l l confidence, and here I left the boa rd to take a wa lk . So I was go ing to w in , a n d a pparently my opponent thought the sa me, for when I retu rned he had p l ayed :

26 . . . . Rb4??

The expected move . White remains a p iece u p . Not u nt i l the next day d id it s i n k i n to us a l l that we had co l lectively m issed a s imp le trick . Qu ite s imp le - if on ly you see it! - was : 26 . . . . Qa 3 ! ! , after wh ich Black s imply remains two pawns u p . There are no va riat ions . Terri b le .

27. Rxb2 Nc4 + !

Th is i ntermediate move confused me . I hadn't seen it ! Now I ca n n ot go to d3 with m y k ing , as then b2 fa l l s with check ! I now saw that I cou ld go to e2, but then pawn c2 might fa l l prey to the b lack b ishop (which wou ld ca ptu re on e4 first) . Therefore, I p l ayed my k ing impu ls ively to the on ly other sq u a re where it protected c2, com plete ly forgetti ng that my b ishop on e3 remai ned unprotected now. 27. . . . Rxa4 28 . N xa4 Nc4+ 29 . Kd3 Nxb2+ 30 . Nxb2 d 5 3 1 . Bxc5 + -

28. Kc1??

28. Ke2 Rxa4 29 . Nxa4 Nxb2 30. Nxb2 Bxe4 3 1 . Nc4 ! Bxc2 32. Nxd 6 + - wins easi l y fo r Wh ite, especia l ly s ince he w i l l eat up a l l the q ueenside pawns . I t is u n bel ieva ble that I d idn 't go for th is , but maybe th is game had sapped too much of my energy a l ready.

28 . . . . Rxa4 29. Nxa4 Nxe3 !

Of cou rse . Now it's a com pletely d ifferent story. The black centre is dangerous, and Wh ite's p ieces a re offside . Sudden ly the position is h i g h l y unclear, a nd I wou l d n 't b e su rprised if B lack is a l ready better here . In any case Bottema d isp layed flawless techn ique from here o n .

30. Rg 1

Another possi b i l ity was 30 . Re l Nc4 3 1 . Rb3 with a n u nclea r position .

30 . . . . N c4 3 1 . Rb7

3 1 . Rb3 ! ?

3 1 . . . . Kf6 3 2 . N b6

Exchang ing kn ig hts looked l i ke the correct decision , but now it seems to me that th is exchange favou rs Black : h is k ing can become active more q u i ck ly. However, 3 2 . Nc3 Ke5 wasn't a bed of roses for White either.

3 2 . . . . N x b 6 !

The r ight decis ion . True, Wh ite now wins back a pawn, but B lack remains the more active. 32 . . . . Ne5? ! 33 . Nd7 Nxd7 34 . Rxd7 favours Wh ite, s ince the b lack pawn fro nt w i l l be a n n i h i l ated ; 32 . . . . Ne3 3 3 . N d 7 Kg7 34 . e 5 !

3 3 . Rxb6 Rd8 !

33 . . . . Ke5 34 . Rg 5

34. Rg S ! ?

Wh ite wa nts t o have two passed rook pawns, but unfortu nately these can not be set in moti on q u ick ly enoug h . There were more i m portant th i ngs to attend to fi rst : the march of the centra l b lack pawns, supported by their k ing, wi l l be fast . Incidental ly, i t was dou btful w hether there was a nyth ing better for Wh ite .

34 . . . . Bxe4 3 S . Rx h S d S ! 3 6 . Rxa6 Rg8

Now Black is very active. Nevertheless, here I sti l l thoug ht that I ought to be better with correct p l ay. Those two

83

passed pawns . . . but the wh ite rooks do not coord i nate at a l l and the b lack pieces a re much better positioned .

3 7 . Ra3 c4 38. Rg 5 ! ?

Black bei ng i n s l ight t ime-trou b le , I tried to confront h i m with a d iffi cu lt choice. But obvious ly he does not excha nge rooks.

38 . . . . Rh8!

38 . . . . Rxg 5? 39. hxg5+ Kxg 5 40. Rc3 ! and on ly Wh ite can p lay for a wi n .

39. Rh3 Bf5 !

Sol id and stro n g . B lack p l ays the ending excel lent ly. 39 . . . . Rxh4? is what Fritz wa nts to p lay, but after 40 . Rxh4 Kxg5 4 1 . Rh8 ! the wh ite a - pawn is very da ngerous .

4 0 . Rh2 d 4

Rb6 52 . Ka i ( 52 . Kci Rf6 - + ) 52 . . . . Bxc2 ! 5 3 . Rxc2 Rxh6 54 . Rxfl Rh i 55 . Ka 2 e4 56 . Kb3 Rb i 5 7 . Ka2 Rb6 and B lack should w i n .

4 2 . . . . dxc3 4 3 . Rxc3 Bd3 44. a 3 ! ?

In order to be ab le to p lay the k ing to d2. The i m med iate m a rch of the h - pawn would a l so end badly, for exa m pl e : 44 . h 5 Ke5 4 5 . Kd 1 ( I hadn't seen th is poss ib i l ity, by the way) 45 . . . . Kd4 ! ? (45 . . . . f5 46 . h6 Kd4 47 . Rc i f4 looks good for B lack as wel l ) 46. Rc i e5 (46 . . . . c3 47 . h6 e5 48 . Rh4 e4 49. h 7 Rh8 50. a4 f5 5 1 . as f4 ) 47. Rh4 e4 48 . h6 f5 49 . h 7 Rh8 50 . a4 f4- +

4 4 . . . . Ke5 4 5 . Kd 2 Kd4 ? !

More conv inc ing was 4 5 . Rb8 ! 46. Kd i Kd4 47. Rci c3 - + .

46. Rf2 ? !

After th is move the game is lost. More Wh ite has made no prog ress tenacious was 46 . Rh3 , i ntend ing to whatsoever with h is pawns, h is k ing ta ke twice on d 3 , but obvious ly Black position is sti l l bad , and the black pawns would not a l low th is : 46 . . . . Be4 ! 47 . a re sta rti ng t o beco me menaci n g . I t i s h 5 f5 48 . h6 f4 and B lack shou ld w in . c lear that someth ing has gone w rong .

4 1 . Rg 3 Ra8

4 1 . . . . c3 ! ?

42. c3

This appea rs to favour White , but th is remains to be see n . Another poss ib i l ity was 42 . Kb2 Rb8 (42 . . . . c3 4 3 . Kb3 e5 44 . Rf2 ) 43. Ka i (43. Kci c3) 4 3 . . . . c3 1 and Black seems to w in after a l l , see : 44 . h 5 Rb2 4 5 . Rg g 2 ! ? ( 4 5 . h6 Rxc2 ( 4 5 . . . . Bh7 46 . Rf3 Ke7 47 . Rhf2 ! ) 46 . Rxc2 Bxc2 47 . a4 Be4 48 . as d3-+) 45 . . . . e 5 46 . h6 Bh7 and now, for exam p le : 4 7 . a4 Ke6 48 . a s Kd5 49 . a6 R b6 5 0 . Rg 7 Rxa6 5 1 . Kbi

8 4

46 . . . . f5 4 7 . Rf4 + Ke5 !

Also here, B lack chooses the correct p l a n . H is k ing goes back to f6 and then he merri ly sta rts ro l l i ng h is pawns.

48. Ke3 Kf6 ! 49. Rf2 e5 5 0 . h5 f4 + 5 1 . Kd2 Kf5

On ly here d id I rea l ize that for the first ti me in more than a year I was go ing to sco re a zero i n the tea m co mpetiti o n . Fortunately, m y tea m h a d a l ready won the match .

5 2 . h 6 e4 5 3 . R h 2 e 3 + 54. Kel f3

A sorry s ight . The b lack pawns w i l l

reach the other s ide, whereas the white ones a re nowhere to be see n . To ease t h e p a i n I p layed on for a bit, agai nst my better judg ment, of cou rse.

5 5 . Rxd 3 cxd 3 5 6 . h 7 Rb8 5 7 . R h 5 + Kg4

And Wh ite resig ned . A tense, i nstructive, and , a bove a l l , d ifficult game!

0 - 1

Analysing you r o w n ga mes is a lways usefu l . You ca n learn co ncrete th ings as wel l as d raw genera l l essons from it. Often it ta kes a l ittl e t ime before you can u se these new ins ights. In 200 1 , Merij n van Delft suffered a painfu l l y q u ick defeat at the hands of the Belg i an master M ichel Jadou l . Extensive ana lysis showed what had gone wro n g . N ot u nt i l two years l ate r d id the same open ing rea ppear on the board, and fi n a l l y Merij n was a b le to use h is new knowledge :

G M Dorian Rogoze n ko Me rij n va n Delft Hamburg , 7 J u n e 2003 Analysis : Merij n va n Delft

1 . c4 Nf6 2 . Nc3 g 6 3 . Nf3 Bg 7 4. g3 0 - 0 5 . Bg 2 d 6 6 . 0 - 0 Nc6

An i m porta nt nua nce. After 6 . . . . e5 7 . d 4 ! I would have been forced t o p lay the l ine with 7 . . . . N bd7 .

7 . d 3

After th is move Wh ite ca n no longer hope for an open i n g advantage; 7 . d4 .

7 . . . . e5 8 . R b l a 5 9 . a 3 Re8

Although th is va riation is known to be eq u a l , in 200 1 I suffered a pai nfu l l oss

with it aga i nst Jadou l . Th is t ime I was better prepared .

1 0 . Bg5

1 0 . b4 axb4 1 1 . axb4 e4 1 2 . dxe4 Nxe4 1 3 . Nxe4 Rxe4 is comforta ble for B lack . More accu racy is needed after 1 0 . Nd2 , a n d now :

a ) 1 0 . . . . Be6? 1 1 . N d 5 ! g ives Wh ite a p leasant adva ntage as Black w i l l no longer get i n d 5 : 1 1 . . . . h6 1 2 . b4 axb4 1 3 . axb4 Rb8 1 4 . b5 Ne7 1 5 . Qb3 ! Keep ing the b ind . 15 . . . . Nf5 1 6 . e3 Nd7 17 . Qc2 Ne7 18 . Ba 3 Nf6 1 9 . Qb3 Qd7 20. b6 ! W h ite breaks throug h . 20. . . . c6 2 1 . Nxf6 Bxf6 2 2 . Bxd6 Ra8 23 . Qc3 Nc8 24 . Ne4 Bg7 2 5 . Bxe5 1 -0, Jadou l -Van Delft, The Netherl a nds tt 200 1 ;

b ) 1 0 . . . . Nd4 ! 1 1 . e 3 Ne6 1 2 . b4 axb4 1 3 . a xb4 c6 Now Black mai nta i ns a dynamic pawn structure . 1 4 . Nf3 Bd7 1 5 . Qc2 Qc7 1 6 . Bb2 h5 1 7 . Ra 1 Rxa 1 1 8 . Rxa 1 d 5 ! ? 1 9 . Nxe5 d4 20 . Nxd7 Qxd7 2 1 . Nd 1 dxe3 22. Nxe3 '12 - 112

G u revich -Sh i rov, New Del h i 2000 .

1 0 . . . . h 6 1 1 . Bxf6 Bxf6 1 2 . b4 axb4 1 3 . a x b4 Bg7 1 4 . b5 Ne7 1 5 . N e l ?

Th is move is too s low. The attacking scheme that I use in th is game is known from the fo l lowing game : 1 5 . Nd2? e4 ! 1 6 . Qc2 ( if 1 6 . Ncxe4? f5 and the kn ight cann ot go back) 1 6 . . . . e3 ! 1 7 . fxe3 Nf5 1 8 . N d 1 h 5 1 9 . Rxf5 gxf5 2 0 . Nfl h4 with adva ntage to Black, Vaga n i a n - La utier, M a n i la 1990. Better is 1 5 . Qc2 or 1 5 . Q b 3 .

1 5 . . . . c 6 1 6 . N c 2 d 5 ! N

On two occasions, Akop ian d id not get more than a draw with 16 . . . . Be6 1 7 . N b4 Qd7 .

8 5

Artur Yusupov and Roeland Pruijssers during Youth Meets Masters. (photo www.fredlucas.eu)

17. N b4?

Consistent, but bad . Wh ite shou ld a l ready have opted for a modest setup with 1 7 . bxc6 bxc6 l S . cxd 5 cxd 5 19 . Qd2 ( 19 . d4 Bf5 ) , after wh ich Black keeps the better of the play with 19 . . . . Bf5

17 . . . . e4

Bxe3 3 1 . Kg2 QxcS, W h ite can sti l l fig ht. The text move loses at once.

26 . . . . Bd4+ 27. Kh l N xg 3 !

Not a d ifficu lt conclud ing move, b u t a pretty one .

0 - 1

The fo l lowing attack ing game brought The wh ite b ishop has to sta n d by Roe land Pruijssers wel l on h i s way to hel p lessly wh i le the long d iagona l is h is Dutch U-20 tit l e : occupied by b lack pawns.

1 M Roe l a n d Pruij sse rs lS. Qb3 Be6! Roi M i ed ema

Ven lo, 30 Apri l 200S Black keeps the tens ion, after wh ich Ana lysis : Roe land Pru ijssers Wh ite is the one who has to budge.

1 . e4 e6 2 . d 4 d S 3 . N c3 B b 4 4 . e S Ne7 19. cxdS S.a3 Bxc3+ 6 . bxc3 cS 7 . Qg4 0-0

S . Bd 3 N bc6 9 . Q h S N g 6 1 0 . Nf3 Qc7 1 9 . dxe4 dxc4 is very good for B lack . 1 1 . Be3 c 4 1 2 . Bxg6 fxg 6 1 3 .Qg4

Qf7 1 4 . N g S QeS l S . h 4 Ne7 1 6 .Qe2 19 . . . . cxd 5 20. Na4 Qd6 2 1 . Rfc l b 5 N 1 7 . g 4 B d 7 ! ? l S . h S RecS 2 2 . RxcS RxcS 2 3 . Qd l

23 . . . . e 3 !

Th is thematic sacrifi ce is made precisely at a moment when the white kn ights are hope lessly out of p l ay.

24. fxe3 N f5 25. Qd2 h 5 26. e4

After 26 . Nxd5 Bxd5 27 . Bxd 5 Qxd 5 2S. N b6 Qc5 29 . N xcS Bh6 3 0 . Qb4

Alternatives a re l S . Kd 2 ! ? and l S . N h 3 ! ? The idea is to fi rst put a k n ight on f4 and on ly then p lay h5 . However, I had done th is myself once, and in the game Pru ijssers -G rigorya n , World U - 1 S cham pionsh ip, Kemer 2007, it seemed too slow.

l S . . . g x h 5

l S . . . h6 1 9 . N h 3 g5 looks l i ke the best sol ution for B lack . However, Wh ite has 20 . f4t a n d even though Black can defend tenaciously, it l ooks as if the wh ite attack w i l l crash through fi rst.

1 9 . Rx h 5 h6 20. N h 3 Qg6 ! ?

A new idea b y my opponent. However, it l oo ks too s low. 20 . . . Qf7 ! ? 2 1 . Nf4 Ng6 ! ( 2 1 . . . a 5 22 . Kd 2 b4 2 3 . Rg 1 ) 22 . Nxg6 Qxg6, with the fo l lowing poss ib i l i t ies :

8 7

a ) 2 3 . 0-0-0 b4 ! ? 24. cxb4 a 5�

b) 2 3 . Rh3 ! ? as (2 3 . . . Be8 24 . 0 -0-0) 24 .g5

c) 23 .g5 Be8 24. Rh4 h 5 2 5 . 0 -0-0 Qf7 26 . Rd h l Qf3 =

2 1 . Nf4 Qe4 22.f3 Q h 7 2 3 . Kd 2

23 . Rh3 ! ? as 24 . N h 5 ±

23 . . . a 5 24. Rg 1 ?

24 . g 5 ! b 4 2 5 . g x h 6 g6 ( 2 5 . . . gxh6 26 . Rg l Kf7 2 7 . N xe6 ! ) 26 . Rg 5

24 . . . b4?

24 . . . Ng6 ! 2 5 . N h 3 b4 2 6 . g 5 Rf5 !

25.g5 Rxf4 26. Bxf4

Th is tu rned out to be a l l preparation by the black p layer.

26 . . . Qf5 2 7 . Q h 2

27 . Be3 ! ?

27 . . . Be8!

27 . . . b3 ! ? 28 .gxh6 ( 28 . Kc l ! ?) 28 . . . Qxc2 29 . Ke l ! Q b l ( 29 . . . Qxc3 30 . Bd2 ! ) 30 . Kf2 Qc2 3 1 . Kg 3 Nf5 3 2 . Kg4 Be8 3 3 . Rh 3 gxh6 34 . Qxc2 bxc2 3 5 . Rh2 Ba4 36 . Bxh6±

28.g6!

28. gxh6? Qxh5 29 . Rxg7 Kf8 3 0 . Qx h 5 Bxh5 3 1 . Bg 5 Nf5 ! ( 3 1 . . . Ng6 32 . Bf6 ! ) 32 . Rb7 Bg 6 ! 3 3 . h 7 Bx h7 3 4 . Rxh7 Kg8 3 5 . R h l bxa3=t

8 8

2 8 . . . Qf8 29.Bxh6 B x g 6 3 0 . Rhg5?

3 0 . R h 3 ! gxh6 3 1 . Rxh6 Qg7 ( 3 1 . . . bxc3 32 . Kxc3 Kf7 3 3 .Qh4�) 3 2 . Q h 3 ! ( 32 . Qh4 Kf7 ) 32 . . . Ra6 3 3 . cxb4 ( 3 3 .Qh4?! Ra 7 ! 34.Qh3 Ra6 = ) 33 . . . c3 34 . Kxc3 Rc6 3 5 . Kd 2 axb4 3 6 . axb4 Rxc2 3 7 . Kd l Rc6 38 . Rg4± Black is a lmost i n zugzwa n g ; 30 . Rxg6 Nxg6 3 1 . Rg 5 Kh7 !

30 . . . Qf7?

30 . . . Qxf3 ! 3 1 . Kc l ! ( 3 1 . R5g3 Qf5 3 2 . Kc l bxa 3 ! 3 3 . Rg 5 Qf7 34 . Kb l Rb8�) 3 1 . . . Qxc3 32 . Rxg6 Qa l 3 3 . Kd2 Qxd4 34 . Kc l Qa l =

3 1 . Rxg 6 ! Nxg6 3 2 . Q h 5 Qf5 3 3 . Rg 5 !

And Wh ite w ins easi ly. 3 3 . Qxf5 ! ? exf5 34. Rxg 6 Kh7 3 5 . Rxg7 Kx h6 36 . Rg l bxa3 3 7 . Ke3 wou ld sti l l g ive Wh ite w inn ing cha nces, but they wou l d have been smal ler than i n the game .

3 3 . . . Qf4+ 3 4 . Kd 1 bxa 3 3 5 . Rxg6 Qf7 3 6 . Bxg7 1 - 0

85 Training tools

BS.l computer programs

Nowadays, the role of the computer becomes more and more important in chess training. Computer programs like Fritz and Chessbase have various functions: - Database function: In a database with several millions of games, like Chessbase

Megabase, you can look up positions, openings and opponents. You can also create your own databases where, for example, you save your own games, build up a collection of positions (see the next paragraph), or save opening variations.

- Analysis function: With chess engines you can analyse positions. Examples of such engines are: Fritz (please note that Fritz is the name of the umbrella program as well as the name of the engine), Rybka, Shredder, and Junior. These engines have their strong and weak pOints. For example, Fritz is stronger in tactics, whereas Rybka is better at positional play.

- Opening book: The opening book of a chess program contains opening theory. Rybka's opening book has been written by Jeroen Noomen from Apeldoorn.

- Playing function: The Fritz program also allows you to play against the computer. The program Chessbase is more aimed at study and has more extensive database functions. Both programs can be used to play against other people on the Internet.

BS.2 Building up databases with own games and positions

An ambitious chess player should thoroughly internalize his experiences from his own games. The analysis of games and positions increases your knowledge and your understanding of chess, and it contributes to the development of skills. It is very useful to collect played games in a database of a computer program and add verbal comments and variations to the moves. This is called annotation, and it helps you develop researching skills and self-reflection. Annotated games offer good starting-points for discussions with a trainer.

Besides building up a database with own games, it is also useful to create a second database containing instructive positions from your own games. A chess player regularly misses tactical tricks in a game, or he makes a positional mistake or cannot find a good plan. This can happen in tournament games and competition games, but also in Internet games. Such blunders may come to light when you are playing through the game with a computer chess program, or during analysis with the opponent after the game, or during a discussion of the game with a trainer. Especially if there is a creative or a thematic move in the position, it is worthwhile to analyse it. If a player prints out such positions or saves them in his own positions database, he will have excellent exercise material which he can use repeatedly.

Pattern recognition is the basis of chess, and repetition is the mother of learning. A thematic position is a certain type of position with individual characteristics which occurs regularly in games. A grandmaster has thousands of thematic positions stored in his memory. If a position is thematic, a youth player will not always recognize this. However, it may come to light during an analysis with his trainer. If a position is saved in a database it will be available

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at a later stage and can be studied again. By regularly repeating thematic positions, a chess player will recognize similar positions earlier in a game.

If a chess player consciously thinks about which positions he wants to save in his database, and why, these will be better stored in his memory than if he only observes certain positions superficially. Only if a chess player recognizes a certain position or a tactical motif, will he be able to take its characteristics and its dangers to heart. The next step is developing the skill to create such positions on the board himself.

The illustrated position is taken from an Internet game by the then sevenyear-old Thomas Beerdsen from Apeldoorn, who won a national youth title at nine. Analysis with the programs Fritz and Rybka mercilessly brought to light that the game would have been immediately over after the move lO . . . Pb4. In a Monday evening training group in which Thomas took part, the position was discussed. During the discussion, various thematic characteristics of the position were labelled and various variations were played out until the end. Ambitious youth players will do themselves a favour if they check in every game they play whether there was an interesting moment which is suitable for storage in their own positions database.

Guest62S220 - Thomasb!l8. Vtlendsmappelijke partll. 7m + o. 200S 000,0-1 ,,'W �2:9 J 1:J G • 11ft � �

Notatie I Schaakformulier I Boek I Ouesl62S220 - Tholft&sb981284 0-1

DOD Vrlendschappelijke portij. 7m + 0. 03.12.2005 [on, Oms} BI�z:7' 1.d4 3 PI6 6 2.LgS 4 dS 4 3.Lx16 8 exl6 3 4.e4 1 Le6 6 S.eS 9 b6 5 Thc",,,sb9S doe! een remise .onbod 6.Pe3 4 bxeS 3 7.dxcS 13 LxeS 2 8.e3 10 Pe6 11 9.D&4 1 3 Ld7 ell!lll2!I1l4 0-0 5 11 .Dh4 22 US 1.16 12.e4 37 Lxe4 2 13.Dxe4 4 Te8 4 14.PxI6+ 34 Oxl6 10 IS.0xe8. 9 Txe8+ 3 16.Le2 2 Ox12+ 3 17.Kd2

6 Ouest62S220 doe! een remise •• nbod Pd4 9 Ouest62S220 Opgeven? (Log: AvcO.2Ss. ",ox-07s) 0-1

Rybka 1.0 Beta 32-blt I 10 ... Pb4 (1/35) � -+ (-2.65U Oiepte=16 I 0:01:27

:1

10 ... Pb4 11.0b3 PlId5 12.0-0.0 c6 13.e4 Pf4 14.[� -+ (·2.&4) OleptB. 13 00:00.29 8;8k��

10 ... Pb4 11.0b3 PlId5 12.0-0.0 c6 13.e4 Pf4 14.£ .+ (·265) Oiep!B 14 00 0103 1931 �N

176' � SOOop

I . -;i �---I�--�--�--��F7��<'0>��--�I---- � � 1�ply 2 4 12 14 16 18

-=:�=-=----I�� KIMr • Kiok venster _

. Start I <:> c& m • � B I!/ll I!/ll Verzonden �ems .. ·II .. Gue�t625220 -n' [ii Thomas Beerdse . .. 1 1 « � !!! ." 1 2:4 3

Position Thomas Beerdsen in database. Screenprint of blitz game between Guest 655220 and Thomas Beerdsen

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Thematic positions

Chess thinking is largely based on pattern recognition, i.e. recognizing basic patterns in positions with a certain theme. A thematic position has typical characteristics. Those characteristics offer certain possibilities and restrictions. Often there are various themes that simultaneously play a role. A plan can

be founded on the characteristics of those themes.

White is to move. He has 8 possible moves. Then it's Black's turn. He has 10. Together this makes for 80 possible continuations. On each next half-move (=ply), the number of possibilities grows explosively. Soon it will become impossible to calculate all the continuations. If a chess player recognizes patterns and themes in a position, he can focus on a limited number of continuations and calculate them through. He can build his plan on the results of these calculations.

In this position there are three themes:

the black king is within the square the black pawns can protect each other king + two pawns versus king wins

Now what remains is to arrange the themes in the right order: first collect the white pawn, then promote your pawns and give mate with king + queen. In other words, you have to think in phases. Sometimes it is also possible to transpose from a certain position into a known theme. Again, a simple example: White to move draws by playing Ne3+. White exchanges his knight against the rook and we are left with a thematically drawn position. The bishop is of the wrong colour, and if the white king goes to h1, Black can never win.

It is important for a chess player to know the characteristics of as many positions as possible. To a large extent, knowledge is recognition. What you do not know, you will not recognize. A chess player cannot take into account possibilities that he does not see in a position. Thematic positions can be found in games, in books, and during trainings. It is useful to write them in a notebook or enter them in a database. By regularly repeating thematic positions, a chess player will be better able to recognize them, and to create similar positions in games.

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85.3 Dangers of computer usage

The computer is an extremely useful aid in all kinds of areas (see elsewhere in this chapter), but it also involves a number of dangers. In the paragraph about analysis we already indicated that it is important to first analyse yourself before you look with the computer. All the conveniences of the computer can easily make you forget that during a game you will be on your own again.

Firstly, your own calculating skills will weaken, and working with the computer will provoke laziness. Secondly, you should not indiscriminately accept everything that the computer says. Just as the written word is not the gospel truth, neither is the computer's verdict. An engine like Rybka is reasonably reliable, but especially the early versions of Fritz used to change their assessments of positions every other minute. It is good to realize that the primary task of the engine is to calculate moves; the assessment of the position is secondary and more or less arbitrary. So the computer's verdict can never be used as a compelling argument. Moreover, the computer doesn't explain anything in words, it only spits out moves. The moral of this story is that you should always keep thinking for yourself and make your own assessments. An engine is only as strong as the player who works with it.

Even professionals at the highest level sometimes have trouble with the dangers of the computer. In the eighth match game for the World Championship between Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko (Brisago 2004), Kramnik put all his trust in a computer analysis that had been rounded off under great time pressure that same morning. However, the variation turned out to contain an enormous hole, which was beyond the computer's horizon. The entire variation appeared on the board, and even though Leko had to think up everything overthe-board, he managed to put his finger on the sore spot and won the game in grand style. In fact, Kramnik lost that game without having made a single move by himself.

85.4 Chess magazines

There are all kinds of chess magazines available. In The Netherlands, the English-language magazine 'New in Chess' is published. In chess magazines, strong players discuss games from tournaments and competitions. They also often contain book reviews and interviews.

85.5 Chess books

An enormous amount of books have been written about chess. Many books are about openings, tactics or game analyses. A good advice to youth players is to take a look at chess books at the home of chess friends or in the library, and study the subjects that they find interesting. If you find something interesting, you will learn as you go along, and the offered information will be in tune with your own level. Some chess clubs have their own libraries. This is really helpful for youth players who do not yet have many chess books themselves. Depending on the reader's level, certain authors can be recommended. It must be kept in mind that young players will largely depend on books in their mother tongue.

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Young players may have trouble with the language used by some authors. In Dutch chess literature, Max Euwe's use of language can sometimes be a little difficult for young players, but 'Judgement and Planning in Chess', 'Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur' and 'Chess Amateur becomes Master' are instructive works. A magnificent book about Dutch chess culture is Donner's 'The King'. Elsewhere in this book, other examples of instructive chess literature have been mentioned. There is a great English-language supply of chess books. Good authors are John Nunn (who has also written several titles for beginners), Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yusupov (for advanced players), Jeremy Silman, Yasser Seirawan, and Lev Alburt.

Youth players should steer clear of reading material that is too difficult. A book which is full of complicated variations can keep a young novice without guidance away from chess for twenty years. If your budget is limited, but you still want to have chess books, you can go to a market. These often have book stands where you can buy second-hand chess books for a few euro apiece.

B5.6 Browsing

Fascination is the best possible motor for development. That which you like most, you will learn easiest and best. Browsing is another word for 'rummaging about'. It is a pleasant and useful activity. A trainer can make his pupils aware of this by asking them to go to the library and choose a few chess books. At the next training the pupils can take their books and tell something about them. The trainer can add remarks and advice.

B5.7 Chess movies

There are various chess movies around that are suitable for youth players, like 'Long Live the Queen', 'Searching for Bobby Fischer', and 'Chess Fever'. The latter movie dates from 1925 and is in black-and-white. Throughout the movie there are shots from a tournament in Moscow that was held simultaneously, and world champion Capablanca plays a small role in it. Especially the young kittens of the protagonist are a guarantee for great succes if this movie is shown to young children. It can be found on the Internet for free. A chess club can purchase such movies, which are fun and sometimes also instructive, and show them, or lend them out at trainings. School clubs can also show chess movies. For example, on a 'chess day', when there is also a simultaneous display or a blitz tournament, or a strong player who discusses a game in an entertaining way on the children's level.

B5.8 Chess CD-ROMs and DVD's

Publishers are putting countless chess CD-ROMs and DVD's on the market, with chess programs, and containing material about openings or games collections of famous chess players. A useful DVD for learning tactics is 'The Step-by-Step Method'. On this DVD there are around 100 subjects that are clearly explained with texts and examples. For each subject there are several dozens of exercise positions. A great advantage of DVD's is that they give direct feedback by showing the right answers. The DVD of the chess program Fritz, published by Chessbase, also contains video footage. In the Dutch version there is a film

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on which Merijn van Delft explains the chess rules. There are also a number of fragments from videos where grandmasters explain games. Various publishers, like Chessbase, have published a series of DVD's on which (grand)masters discuss games. On the screen, the chess student can watch the master, who gives explanations. There is also a chessboard on display, on which the moves are executed. Watching these videos is an efficient and leisurely way to learn. Every year Chessbase puts out a 'Megabase' with around three million games, 60,000 of which are commented. Strong players make use of such databases when preparing for their opponents. In order to stay up-to-date, they replenish their databases weekly with games downloaded from the Internet. This can be done, for example, on the English website The Week In Chess (www.chesscenter. com/twic/twic. html).

85.9 Internet sites

There are thousands of Internet websites about chess. They give information about clubs and tournaments, but also about many other aspects of the game. A great advantage is that most of the information is free and easily accessible. Recommended is the website by the Dutch fiction writer and endgame specialist Tim Krabbe. There are also Internet sites where a player can solve tactical exercises and gain points for them, like the Berlin Emrald site. Websites of national chess federations often contain extensive chess calendars. Other interesting websites are www.chessbase.com and www.chessvibes.com by Peter Doggers. The SBSA has its own Dutch-language website: www. sbsa.nl.

85.10 Chess on the Internet

On the Internet there is always an opponent ready to play. There are all kinds of chess servers - a number of them are free of charge. Many top players play via ICC, for which payment is required (there is a reduced tariff for youth players and students). If you purchase the program Fritz, you can play for free against people from all over the world via the Chessbase server. A trainer can give a brief explanation to youth players of the way these servers work. It is even better if youth players explain this to each other. This will save the trainer time, the youth players will learn to communicate better, and they will contribute to the good of the collective.

86 Training procedures

86.1 Pawn structure

For beginners, a pawn is only an insignificant little thing. Nevertheless, pawns have been called 'the soul of chess'. A trainer can make the importance of the pawn structure clear to young novices with an exercise: asking them to play a blitz game and stopping the clock after a few minutes, when material is still even. The trainer asks the players to assess the position. Then he removes the pieces from the board and asks them again to assess the position. Then the trainer gives his own assessment and tells the students about passed pawns, backward pawns, pawn islands and other pawn structures.

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86.2 Seven-column notation

Chess players write down their games. Youth players are well advised to learn this as quickly as possible. If necessary it can be done step by step, writing down first ten, or fifteen, or twenty moves. Training games can also be written down on a scoresheet. This has the advantage that the games are saved and the player can later analyse them - by himself, or also with the help of a computer, or with another chess player or a trainer. As a rule, young novices play the first move that seems reasonable to them, without looking for better alternatives. Also, most of the time they hardly pay any attention to the opponent's possibilities. A trainer prefers his pupils to assess various candidate moves, not playing the first reasonable-looking move that comes to mind.

During a training game, a trainer can ask his pupils to write down games on a so-called seven-column scoresheet. The first three columns are for White, the next three are for Black. For the white player, column 1 is for the move played by White, column 2 is for an alternative move by White, column 3 is kept open and reserved for a good move that the trainer will later indicate, column 4 is for the move played by Black, column 5 is for Black's expected move, column 6 is again kept open and is reserved for the move that the trainer will later indicate. Column 7 is for remarks during the post-mortem. For the black player, column 2 is for the expected move by White, and column 5 is for the alternative move. Youth players acquire new ways of thinking more quickly if they gain experience with an inspiring exercise than if a trainer explains his noble intentions with an abstract story. We can compare this with behaviour in traffic. A car driver will sooner slow down to 20 mph before a speed ramp than before a warning sign. With the present exercise, the trainer will gain more insight in the thinking process of his pupils, especially if he analyses the game with his students afterwards. The exercise will teach the student to improve his ability to search for various candidate moves, and to anticipate his opponent's actions.

This exercise should not be done too often, for that would become boring. It is superfluous if the students are already good at weighing up alternatives against each other and anticipating the opponent's play. Of course you could work with more columns - for example, a column where the time use can be noted. But this is not recommended as it will mean too much 'paperwork'. Moreover, it is preferable not to raise too many issues at once. This is confusing and it reduces the learning effectiveness. However, a player can write down his time use during competition. This is officially allowed by the world chess federation FIDE. Such information gives the trainer insights in his pupil's time management.

86.3 Correspondence chess

Correspondence chess is a form of chess where opponents send each other moves in turn. In former times, this was mostly done by mail, but today correspondence chess is mainly played by email. This chess variant has separate organizations and tournaments, and there is a separate world championship. The players send the moves before an agreed time limit. Usually, it is permitted to use different aids, like computers, books, and even advisors. Even though such aids can be very useful, the influence of the player himself remains

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important, since for many moves strategic choices have to be made of which the consequences can only be calculated a few moves deep. Correspondence chess can be a useful training form and an interesting new experience. It can also stimulate enthusiasm for the game. School teams can play other school teams. It is nice to play school teams in other countries. The proposed move can be discussed weekly in training groups with strong players. In Apeldoorn, a group of youth players, among them Merijn van Delft, played correspondence chess by mail for two years with the strong Dutch Premier League player Nico Schouten. Every week they were anxious to know what new moves there would be in the mail !

B6.4 Visualization of move sequences

Visualization means: to make something visible for yourself. In a mental training, visualization means that you imagine how a future situation may look, in what way you will act, and which role you will play. In chess we speak of visualization of a sequence of moves. This means: to calculate a move sequence by heart and to view the position that results from this sequence with your mind's eye. This is an important skill for a chess player. Young chess players develop this skill spontaneously as they play more serious games. After all, you have to think ahead in chess, which involves making plans and calculating variations. It is possible to exercise visualization. By doing this, a chess player simultaneously trains his concentration as well as a serious mentality. There are various visualization exercises that a trainer can present as a game in the form of a competition. During a training, the trainer slowly announces a number of half-moves one by one, starting from a position that is put on the board. The number of half-moves depends on the level of the group. Next, the trainees are asked to take turns playing half-moves on the board. Each correct half-move is worth a point. If you make a mistake, you're out. In another exercise, the trainer mentions a number of squares on which pieces and pawns are standing in an ending. This exercise can be done 'blindfold', without a board, or with an empty board. Then the trainer asks on which square a certain piece should be placed. Obviously, the level of difficulty can be varied by selecting positions with more pieces and pawns or less, or with more complications or less. Chess players can also exercise visualization by reading a scoresheet and playing through the recorded game in their mind, or playing it on the board. In a session with advanced players, a trainer can sum up a sequence of moves and then ask them to assess the position. This gets more complicated if there are more possible variations.

Some trainers now and then resolutely wipe all the pieces off the board. Then they ask their pupils to put the pieces on the right squares again. It is doubtful if this will make a trainee a better player. But the extent to which they succeed will provide an answer to the question how well the students understand the position - unless they have a photographic memory. A variation on this theme is to set up, or have the students set up, a previously discussed interesting position at the end of a session, after which the trainees explain what is going on in that position. Research shows that chess masters only have to look for five seconds at a logically built-up position, and then they will be able to set it up correctly again. Bad players do not manage this. If the pieces are randomly

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placed on the chessboard, neither of the two groups will be able to reconstruct the position. The explanation of this phenomenon is that good players recognize certain patterns in a position. They do not memorize the placement of separate pieces or pawns, but chunks of information. For example, they do not see five loose pieces of wood, but a castled king's position. Since they also recognize the logic in a position (with certain possible striking differences), they only need to memorize a few characteristics.

86.5 Theme tournament

A theme tournament is a tournament where the participants are obliged to play a certain opening or variation. This is a suitable method to acquire a good knowledge of such an opening. Participants are given an A4 sheet beforehand, containing information about the opening and sample games with added comments and variations. The trainer can also send them a pgn-file with opening traps. Before the tournament, the participants can play this opening in a few games against the computer or via a chess server. If the tournament lasts only one day or an afternoon, time is limited, and a rapid tournament is the obvious form to choose. It is useful to play more than one game, as then various aspects will come up for discussion.

A tried-and-tested training procedure is when a trainer starts a rapid tournament by introducing the theme on a demonstration board for about twenty minutes. Then the participants play three rapid games - changing colours after every game, of course. The trainer walks around and observes the games. After each game the participants analyse with their opponent for a few minutes. After each round, the trainer takes half an hour to discuss instructive moments from the games that have just been played. After the third game, the concentration of many youth players will start to fade. Then, instead of analysing for half an hour, the trainer can give a clock simul with the obligatory opening moves.

86.6 Game quiz

A trainer can discuss a game with students and ask them at various crucial moments what is the best move. The students can earn points for giving the right answer as well as for managing to give good grounds for these answers. The game under discussion can either be a game by the training participants, or an interesting game by a well-known chess player, or a game with a clear theme. Youth players often enjoy looking at a game by their own trainer. The advantage of a point sytem is that this simulates a competitive situation. Youth players very much enjoy getting the chance to earn points during trainings. They will concentrate better, and this will increase the success rate of the training.

86.7 Training decathlon

Athletes perform in decathlons. These are competitions where they pit their strengths against others on ten items. Chess players can also use the decathlon procedure for training. Inspiring and effective trainings have certain characteristics: the participants are active, they are allowed to choose their own short breaks, they learn by discovery, and they enjoy what they are doing.

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A well-built-up training decathlon can meet these criteria. A decathlon consists of ten different items. For every component the trainer can award pOints, depending on the performance level. We will give an example below, but on this theme countless variations are possible.

The winner of the decathlon may win a small prize, or it may also be a battle for honours. If there are many participants, several trainers and coaches can divide the programme between them. The groups then circulate along the different trainers. The best trainers can take care of those items where the level of the trainer counts. Experience shows that well-motivated children, starting from, say, ten-year-olds, can easily sustain a decathlon that lasts a full afternoon. Once after such a decathlon, the then ten-year-old Gillian Visschedijk from Apeldoorn said: 'Well, we haven't done a lot' to her mother, who had been worrying about the length of the training day. More than five hours looks like a lot, but there had been two fifteen-minute breaks. During the components of the training programme, the participants had been allowed to take regular short breaks. For example, they could remain idle for a while during the completion of a questionnaire, or wait after their move until the simultaneous player came round again. Gillian, who later became Dutch girls' champion just like her sister Marijn, didn't notice how much she had learned. It is comparable to the amount of energy that children spend on play during the day: they can go on forever, it seems. If a training has a playful character, children will enjoy spending a lot of time on it, and without noticing it they will learn many things.

Here is an example of a decathlon programme:

1. Play through a classic game from a book by Euwe, 30 minutes. The trainer gives comments on this game on a demonstration board, or, if the group is small, on a normal playing board. At five pOints during the game, he asks them to come up with a crucial move, and to explain their choice. The participants write down their moves and their explanations on paper. Each correct answer is good for one point, and a good argumentation (which may consist of either a variation or a verbal explanation) also nets them one pOint. During the discussion of the game, the trainer also answers questions that crop up spontaneously. In addition, the trainer explains to them the importance of studying classic, well annotated games, and the best way to go about this.

2. Playing out an endgame, 30 minutes. The teacher plays out the position(s) simultaneously, with the losing colour. After that, he explains the correct plan. Ten pOints for a win - and also a few pOints for every partially correct solution.

3. Clock simul, 60 minutes.

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The trainer and the participants each receive half an hour on the clock. The participants write down the first fifteen moves on a seven-column scoresheet. First, the procedure for this sheet is explained. Seven columns seems a lot, but during the game you only have to fill in four - two more than you normally do. Afterwards, the trainer discusses several positions from the game. A win is good for twenty pOints, a draw earns you ten pOints. A player can also earn points for the quality of his game.

4. Short analysis questionnaire, 30 minutes. About the simultaneous game that has just been played, the participants fill in a shortened version of the analysis questionnaire (see elsewhere in this book) with ten questions. Seven questions are about technical aspects, three are about a psychological subject. The teacher then discusses the answers from the completed questionnaires and, if necessary, sets up some positions from the games on the board. He also explains the function of the analysis questionnaire. For every adequately completed question a participant gets one pOint.

5. Two blitz games, 30 minutes. The trainer makes as balanced a pairing between the participants as possible. The participants play five-minute blitz games, using a clock. They can play against the same opponent all the time, or also against varying opponents. A win is good for ten pOints, a draw for five pOints.

6. Exercise sheet with ten tactical exercises, 30 minutes. The participants get fifteen minutes for these exercises. The trainer corrects the exercises and discusses the mistakes made. Every correct answer is worth two points. The trainer discusses the use of exercising tactics and the best way to do this.

7. Quiz with ten questions about study tips, 30 minutes. In the first ten minutes, the participants fill in a questionnaire which verifies if they handle their self-study efficiently. The questionnaire can consist of a mixture of open questions and multiple choice ones. The trainer spends twenty minutes on a discussion of the answers. Each correct answer is worth one pOint.

8. Indicating the crucial move in two opening traps, 30 minutes. The students must determine what the crucial mistake is in two miniatures (= games of maximally twenty moves). The trainer tells them something more about the opening in question. A correct answer is good for five pOints.

9. Five quiz questions on general chess knowledge, 15 minutes. This item consists of questions about chess rules, the participants' own club, the name of the national champion, etcetera. Discussion after five minutes. Each correct answer is worth two pOints.

10. Visualization, 15 minutes. The trainer shows the opening of a spectacular game on the board - for example, a game by Greco or Morphy.

Next, he asks the students to visualize ten half-moves toward a crucial position, i.e. they must find those moves without playing them on the board and then write them down. Then the trainer executes the ten half-moves from the board position. Each correct half-move is worth one pOint. Anyone who makes a mistake drops out.

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86.8 Chess puzzles

A child's interest in chess increases if it continues making new discoveries in a nice and playful way. Varying the methods helps create an instructive and inspiring learning climate. As a form of training, chess puzzles are a suitable variant. Chess puzzles are easy to make. You print out a big diagram with a chess position, cut the sheet into four pieces, and provide all four parts with both a number (for the position) and a letter (for the quadrant). For every puzzle the order of the quadrant letters must be different. The task is as follows: lay the four quadrants on the table, arranged in such a way that a logical chess position is created, and then solve the position. Of course, the positions can have different degrees of complexity. The trainer can write the correct order of the quadrants and the solutions on an answer sheet. Such chess puzzles will look more professional if you paste cardboard on the backs of the puzzle pieces and plasticize them.

86.9 Psychological tips

Youth players can take profit from numerous psychological insights about study procedures and self-management. The better they understand the importance of an insight, the more motivated they will be to apply it. Insights sink in best if they are acquired via discovery learning. The trainer can provide many insights in a playful way during trainings, by connecting them to concrete events in games played by his trainees. During each training, the trainer can ask questions about psychological aspects, and the trainees can discuss these. This should be done in a well-balanced way. Too much information at once will have a confusing effect. The trainer can conclude the discussion with a summary and the answers to his questions. Youth players will not acquire all these psychological insights at once. In a future game they may take them into account, but it remains a question if they will apply these insights well. Here also, the adage applies that repetition is the mother of learning. For a sample list with questions, see the appendix 'List of psychological tips'.

86.10 Simultaneous display

A simul(taneous display) is a form of competition where one strong chess player takes on a number of different opponents at the same time. As a rule, the simultaneous player is White, and he is allowed to take back his move as long as he has not made his move on the next board. As soon as the simul player, who circulates from one board to the next, returns to the board, his opponent must make a move. The opponent is not allowed to make a move until the simul player is standing at his board. All sorts of variations on this basic form are possible. For example, the simul player can take Black, or allow his opponents to skip their turn a few times. The simul player's rounds become shorter as time passes, because gradually other opponents will be forced to lay down their kings. There are also simuls where all the boards are occupied all the time. The players who have been beaten are replaced by new participants. The clock simul is another variant, where the simultaneous player and his opponents receive a limited amount of time on the clock. The participants push their clocks as soon

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Simul by Merijn van Delft. (photo Cocky van Delft)

as they have made a move. In this variant, the simul player is well advised to go criss-cross from one board to the other and to divide his time well between the stronger and the weaker opponents.

Simultaneous exhibitions against (grand)masters are often organized during festivities when a club celebrates a jubilee, or as a means to promote the game - for instance, on a market or during a tournament. Adult players or strong youth players can also give simuls on club evenings, or to the youth section of a club. Strong club players can give simuls on primary schools in order to give more exposure to their club, for example during a school festival. All that is needed for such an activity are a simul player, a simple announcement on a poster, and a space where chess boards with pieces can be put on tables. The simul player will do many opponents and the audience a favour if he discusses a few game fragments afterwards.

A spectacular variant is the blitz simul, where the simultaneous player takes on four opponents with the clocks set on five minutes for both sides. Another strong player might give live commentary. Yet another variant is the blindfold simul. Here, the simultaneous player plays 'blindfolded' (i. e. without seeing the pieces) against several opponents who do have boards with pieces before them.

An assistant calls the moves out loud, and as a rule the audience is suitably impressed. Apeldoorn player Johan Wolbers once played blindfold on three boards with a paper bag over his head and with his back to his opponents, on a sports and culture manifestation on the Market Square in Apeldoorn.

Many club players enjoy taking on a top player in a simultaneous exhibition. Many youth players will also consider this quite an experience. Forty years after the event, one of the authors vividly remembers how his position collapsed

10 1

against grandmaster Robert Hubner, when he had forgotten for a moment that capturing en passant was possible. As strong players quickly recognize patterns and combinations, know their openings, calculate fast and also possess a good endgame knowledge, they are often able to find a strong move within a few seconds. A ninety percent score is quite normal for a simultaneous player. Often they concede a single draw as a reward to a player who has defended tenaciously.

The simul is suitable as a form of training. For example, a trainer can play a certain opening simultaneously against his pupils, and discuss the games afterwards. Young children learn best if they immediately get comments on their moves. A simul player can immediately tell them what he thinks of their moves, and combine this with a bit of explanation. A player may, for instance, be allowed to take back his move five times. The simul is also a useful device for a trainer to practise middlegame and endgame positions with his pupils. An advantage of this is that the trainer can see how his pupils play, and thus how they think; another advantage is that the students stay focused on the subject, since they are actively taking part. A variation on this theme is when students take part in a simul in twos and are allowed to consult each other about the game. Chess players can also play each other simultaneously. Bronstein was a great champion of this variant - preferably in a theatre accompanied by music. Sipke Ernst and Arthur van de Oudeweetering once demonstrated this idea during a chess festival in Apeldoorn. They played blitz on four boards at a time. This is spectacular to watch and good for the physical condition of the players!

86.11 Tactical exercises contest

It is important to exercise tactics on a daily basis. It is advisable to alternate between easy and difficult positions. This can be done in different ways; for instance, on certain days you take only easy diagrams, and on other days difficult ones. Another variant is to make ten easy and two difficult exercises every day. Variety is the spice of life. A youth player can work on a different theme each day. He can also exercise tactics in different ways. There are books with tactical diagrams, and on the Internet you can find all kinds of free-ofcharge tactical gamebases that can be downloaded in a computer database. The Step-by-Step Method on CD-ROM contains a lot of good tactical exercise material. Doing a tactical exercise-solving contest with a training partner can have a motivating effect. For example, both partners have to solve 20 diagrams within a certain time span, and then they count who has the most correct answers.

86.12 Talent day

On a talent day, young talents can get a foretaste of more serious group trainings. A talent day can be useful to stimulate participation in top trainings, and it can also be one of various good selection methods for scouting possible talents. 'Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn' has organized several talent days in order to promote its youth trainings to school chess players in Apeldoorn. In consultation with the chess clubs in Apeldoorn, SBSA organizes a youth training in which talented and motivated young chess players participate. There is space

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for both youth players with great ambition, and second-rank players who want more training than their own (school) club can offer them. There are a few national-level youth players who no longer participate in the group trainings, as it is not possible to form a homogenous group with a sufficient amount of players. That would become too expensive, since the trainings are paid for with contributions by the participants. Furthermore, those strong youth players already attend national trainings with the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB. SBSA does offer them possibilities to join workshops with (grand)masters. In return, they sometimes give individual trainings to young talents.

Over the years, SBSA's talent days were created in various ways. In the spring of 2005 a series of three free-of-charge meetings was organized, for which participants could subscribe separately. This was partly made possible by a grant for talent development from the Dutch Olympic committee NOC*NSF, which was received by mediation of the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB. One of the talent days consisted of an evening where multiple Dutch champion Loek van Wely gave a simul against nearly fifty opponents. He walked around the Apeldoorn Mind Sports Centre in a square, and parents were allowed to stand behind their children. To each child the simul player spoke a few friendly words. Of this simultaneous display a film has been made, which has been put on a CD-ROM. All the participants received a copy.

On another talent day, more than fifty participants were divided according to level into a morning group and an afternoon group. Each group was divided further into four groups of six or seven children. These groups circulated along four trainers, who each discussed a certain theme for 45 minutes. Lucas Smid discussed openings and opening traps, Martin van Dommelen did endgames, Merijn van Delft analysed a game by Kasparov (a player whom most youth players will know), and Mark Brussen used a computer to explain the possibilities of the chess program Fritz. The participants also played a few blitz games with him, and they did a little quiz with questions on chess knowledge. Of this talent day, a CD-ROM with films and pictures was made for the participants.

The third talent day was organized as a theme tournament. Dozens of participants were asked to play three rapid games with the King's Gambit. Beforehand, they were given an introduction in two level groups by SBSA trainers Lucien van Beek and Martin van Dommelen. During the playing rounds, the trainers walked around and observed the games. After each round they discussed games with their own group. On these last two talent days, the presence of parents was also allowed. Of course, the latter were not allowed to interfere with the trainings.

After these talent days, a selection was made, in consultation with the trainers, of players that were to be invited to the regular SBSA youth training. This training consists of eight meetings on Fridays and eight on Sundays, and is divided into several groups.

The programme also involves a workshop day called 'Youth Meets Masters', two theme tournaments around certain openings, four SBSA rapid tournaments, and several incidental activities, like simuls and game discussions by (grand) masters. A trainer cannot make judgments about youth players after a single match or training - except in the case of a super talent. For some players, it may just not be their day. A reasonable assessment is only possible if you look at a player's games at different pOints in time. It is useful to observe a player while

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Participants of the talent day.

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he is playing. In a conversation, a trainer can learn more about the player's motivation and his way of thinking. Also, trainers, leaders of school chess clubs and parents can sometimes provide useful insights in the child's personality, as well as details about particular circumstances. For the assessment of a youth player's talent, it is important to take into account how long he has been playing and how much - or how little - training he has received so far. Additional information can be gained via rating lists and achieved diplomas. Moreover, some children are late-developers, who start to perform at a later stage than others.

Premature conclusions can easily lead to 'false positives' (wrongly selected) and 'false negatives' (wrongly not selected). Actually, 'talent day' is a somewhat unfortunate term. There are many examples of young chess players who, on the basis of motivation, have grown to perform better than others who were natural talents. In a selection there will soon be drop-outs. These things happen in top-class sports. The organizers of a talent day may ask themselves how a child emotionally will experience rejection. Of course, a child must learn to cope with setbacks, but it is a completely different thing to needlessly frustrate its motivation and its talents. In any case, a talent day can be organized in such a way that all participants will experience that day as an inspiring and instructive one. Perhaps it is possible to organize follow-up trainings for all the motivated children, for example, by dividing them into a top group and a sub-group. You can call these groups 'A' and 'B'. A motivated second-rank player of today may be the organizer of a talent day in the future.

86.13 Chess variants

Several different variants of the chess rules have been thought up, like 'Bughouse chess' and 'Janus chess'. These variants can make a nice change now and then. They may also be useful as an exercise in piece coordination. Via the Internet you can find a lot of information on chess variants.

86.14 Fairy-tale books

Chess can be promoted to children in many different ways. It is important for beginners to discover the game's secrets in a playful way, and to derive pleasure from it. There are chess courses for absolute beginners in the form of fairy-tale books. There are also nice CD-RaM's like 'Fritz & Chesster'. After that, Step 1 of the Step-by-Step Method can be used as a repetition. At the start of the course the movie 'Long live the queen' can be shown.

86.15 Winner stays on

'Winner stays on' is a chess version of square soccer. Two players play blitz while the others watch. The losing player has to give up his seat to another player. In case of a draw, the black player remains seated. Prompting moves is absolutely forbidden, but cheering one of the players on is permitted.

Star soccer player Edgar Davids said in an interview with the Dutch magazine Rails: 'In the end it's all about respect. Street soccer players don't need a referee. Look, such humiliation will give you food for thought. If you've been nutmegged

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and made fun of, you will work on your skills. Practise-practise-practise, traintrain-train. That's how it worked with me. ( . . . ) We used to organize square soccer tournaments. Then you would play very good guys, three against three, and you would get a lot of resistance. You can show off, but when you were down 1-0 the fire got into it, you know. Because the winner stayed. Then you'd be the one that got the sneers. I didn't fancy that.' Just like street soccer, blitz chess can be a good education. 'Winner stays on' is also popular at parties due to its social character.

87 Miscellaneous

B7.1 Monday-evening training

The 'Monday-evening training' is a suitable training variant for a trainer with a group of youth players. While lending itself well for variation, this training method does not demand great technical qualities of the trainer, since the students mainly work with prepared material. A trainer's motivation is more important than a lot of Elo points. The key to the story is that you embark together on an adventurous journey into the wondrous world of chess.

On roughly twenty to thirty Monday evenings every year, several youth players from Apeldoorn, aged seven to thirteen, visited Karel van Delft at home. In recent years these players were Armen Hachijan, Thomas Beerdsen and Martijn van Blitterswijk. The training lasts more than an hour and a half. During a short break there are three-minute blitz games and soft drinks. The training takes place in a study. The participants are seated at a chess table with an inlaid board, and the trainer is seated next to it at a desk with a computer on it. Discipline during the training is important. Jokes are OK - it's good to alternate exertion with relaxation, otherwise you cannot last for an hour and a half, and the training won't be any fun. Excessive chatter and fooling around are not accepted. This will needlessly shorten the training time, and the trainer also has better ways to spend his time. These training sessions are regularly attended by one or two parents. They do not interfere with the training - still, this is unusual. There is hardly a chess trainer in the world who allows parents to attend trainings. Practice shows that both the trainer and the pupils often feel inhibited by their presence.

The training is aimed at technical subjects, learning to express what you think (which stimulates systematic reasoning and thinking in concepts), and also at an increase of self-knowledge and self-management. As a rule, one training consists of six to eight items. It's important that the participants have fun. They are working very actively and interactively during these sessions.

The training is built up according to the principle of discovery learning. The subjects have a degree of complexity that the participants can handle with a little effort. In case a subject turns out to be too difficult, the trainer reduces the problem to various sub-questions. Apart from this training, the boys do their tactical training at a club or by themselves, and they take part in the SBSA youth training. There, trainers at Premier League level discuss their games with them. Also, two of the boys discuss many of their own games with a private trainer.

The Monday-evening training starts with a brief inventarization of recent

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Karel van Delft g ives a Monday-even ing trainin g .

games and experiences. The trainer gives tips and asks critical questions, for example about their time use and their concentration. He also stimulates the

participants to react to each other. Tactics are important. Before every training session, the participants are given twenty tactical positions from a tactics database to study. During the training session, a few minutes are spent on the solution of six of these positions on a sheet. Each good solution is worth a pOint. This competitive element is popular, and it stimulates the boys to practise tactics at home. Youth players want to attack. Regularly positions are put on the board from manuals on mating attacks. A good book for young players is 'How to beat your dad' by Murray Chandler. Most of the discussed positions are put on the board. This can be done at a fairly quick pace. One participant sets up the white pieces, the other the black pieces - the others watch carefully if the position is correct. The advantage of this is that variations can easily be played through until the end and that a real practical game is simulated.

The training is made as varied as possible. Between the discussions of two items with board positions, the trainer discusses the weekly SBSA email messages for a few minutes. Often these messages contain photographs of well-known players or tournaments. Now and then, an interesting link to a

website is passed on, or a book is referred to. The trainer also discusses with the pupils which tournaments will be held in the coming weeks. Sometimes the programme includes a fragment of a chess video or a DVD. Regularly, a classic position (e.g. Saavedra) or study (Pogosiants, Afek) is put on the board. In many training sessions, several positions with frequently occurring themes are

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shown. Lev Alburt's 'Chess Training Pocket Book' is a rich source. When solving exercises, each participant first has to think for himself. Then

the trainees discuss the possible solutions. The group members give answers to relevant questions like: what's going on here, what patterns do we see? A good question is half the answer. Participants are not allowed to propose moves until the trainer considers that all of them have had enough time to develop an idea. If a solution appears to be at hand, it is played on the board, and the trainer reveals if the exercise is solved correctly. If the trainer isn't a strong player himself, he should prepare well in order to be able to give expert comments. With the help of concrete positions, lots of chess concepts pass the review - for example, a 'sea-snake' or a 'tempo' - as well as psychological insights (why do you attack forward?). This is preferably done with questions. If possible, the other participants give the answers - not the trainer. The trainees enjoy helping their training partners to make discoveries by asking directed questions.

Interesting game fragments by well-known players are a recurring theme. Sometimes the boys investigate a position first on the board, and then with Fritz. Experience is the best teacher for them to work with this program. The positions may be obtained from the Internet, like e.g. some fascinating endgame position by former Dutch champion Loek van Wely. Often the positions are derived from games by the players of Schaakstad Apeldoorn's first team, which plays in the Dutch Premier League. A position by a (well-)known player like Sipke Ernst will appeal more to the boys' imagination than a position by an unknown grandmaster. They know Sipke because, like other Schaakstad Apeldoorn players, he regularly gives youth trainings in Apeldoorn. At the end of each training session, each participant mentions one position or

SBSA youth training by Yochanan Afek. (photo Cocky van Delft)

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insight that has been instructive for him. This stimulates them to reflect on the contents of the training. The trainer makes a brief report on each training and sends this to the participants by email. Sometimes he will add game fragments in pgn format. During the break and after the training, players and parents always have the opportunity to have a private talk with the trainer. Now and then the trainer will also communicate with the parents by email.

B7.2 SBSA

SBSA is an abbreviation for Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn (Foundation for the Stimulation of Chess in Apeldoorn). This foundation was established in September 1998 by Cees Visser, Merijn van Delft and Karel van Delft. Later there were several mutations within the board. The foundation's aim is to stimulate chess in Apeldoorn - on top level as well as recreational level. The observation that the existing clubs in Apeldoorn did not radiate a great urge for innovation at the time triggered the establishment of the foundation. SBSA has a small board that meets only a few times per year. The tasks are divided between the board members, with the secretary coordinating things where necessary. Volunteers lend a hand with various activities. The foundation organizes various tournaments every year (a weekend tournament, a blitz championship and five rapid tournaments) , organizes a training series for the strongest youth players named 'SBSA Youth Academy' and incidental activities like simuls and workshops, gives advice when asked, and spreads information about chess

Children of the Makula chess club . (photo Cobie Joustra)

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activities as well as chess content. This is done on a website, with free-ofcharge weekly email newsletters, and a free-of-charge yearly chess paper (which appeared nine times untill 2008. Sometimes SBSA also gets attention in various media.

Activities are largely paid for by participants and sponsors. Sometimes a little extra money remains, which is then used for another activity. SBSA exchanges ideas and experiences with chess players outside Apeldoorn in all kinds of ways. The weekly SBSA email newsletters are also sent to several hundreds of chess players outside Apeldoorn. There are even several dozens of readers in other countries. Regularly, guest trainers from elsewhere are invited. Following world

Children of the Makula chess club. (photo Cobie Joustra)

chess foundation FIDE's motto 'Gens Una Sum us' (We are one people), SBSA has introduced school chess in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. This is done on the school for poor children of the Makula Foundation, which was established by Rogers Mutebi and Cobie Joustra. SBSA has found several sponsors and sent chess material, and with the money the Makula Foundation pays its teachers: first an ICT student, later former students.

SBSA enjoys a good cooperation with the chess clubs in Apeldoorn. A number of players from Schaakstad Apeldoorn's first team give youth trainings. The SBSA is of the opinion that it is important for the development of a local chess culture that several members of a club's first team are youth trainers. If youth players have regular contact with strong players, they will learn from them. Such contacts also stimulate their fascination for chess, and their motivation to

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train. Now and then SBSA is having its cake and eating it: a (grand)master is hired to give trainings to adults and strong youth players, and in turn the latter give free workshops. This way trainers are created, and there is an increasingly active involvement of the stronger players from your city or town.

At the intercession of the Dutch national chess federation KNSB, SBSA has received a subsidy from the national sports federation NOC*NSF. Partly with this money, a series of (partly experimental) activities were started to develop youth chess in Apeldoorn. A report on these activities has been made by Willy Hendriks, who has been following the project on behalf of the KNSB. His final report has been included as an appendix in this book. In The Netherlands, an increasing number of chess foundations are established, alongside the regular clubs. As it turns out, this leads to more activities.

87.3 Two- or threedimensional training

During trainings and self-study, games and positions are investigated twodimensionally (with diagrams) as well as three-dimensionally (on the board). The question is if it makes a difference in training effect whether a position is studied in a diagram or on the board. Karel van Delft devoted a brief research project to this question in 2006. A search in chess literature did not yield any information; strong players are predominantly of the opinion that the impact of a board position could be greater than that of a position on paper or on a demonstration board. As part of the experiment, participants of the SBSA youth training solved tactical positions and filled in a questionnaire. This research is included as an appendix in this book. The tentative conclusion is that both two- and threedimensional presentations contribute to chess development, but it is easier for a player to become immersed in a position if it is presented on the board. Here also, it pays to think about the information on offer, to dare to experiment, and to apply what you can use in practice.

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B7.4 Training with Dvoretsky

Mark Dvoretsky is regarded as one of the best trainers in the world, and he

has educated a lot of players on their way to grandmastership. His best-known pupil is Artur Yusupov, with whom he has always maintained cooperation - the two are a well-known duo. In the past years, Dvoretsky came to Apeldoorn for trainings several times, and he has become a member of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. In 2003, all experiences with Dvoretsky were recorded on a CD-ROM called 'Mark Dvoretsky in Apeldoorn', an SBSA publication.

Dvoretsky regards himself as a trainer for advanced players, starting from a 2200 rating. His books (often written together with Yusupov) are simply a must for players with title aspirations. Their five-part cycle 'Training for the tournament player', 'Opening preparation', 'Technique for the tournament player', 'Positional play' and 'Attack and defence' is well-known. 'Dvoretsky's Endgame manual' is a classic. His approach is based on skills (variation calculation) and a certain way of thinking rather than on concrete knowledge. The books contain many tough exercises. A good way to train is by putting the starting positions of these exercises on the board, giving yourself 10 or 15 minutes time on the clock, and then concentrating and trying to calculate as much as possible. In short: forcing yourself to work hard, racking your brains, and then comparing your results with the solution. This has a technical training effect, but it also enables you to acquire a good competitive attitude.

By using his books a training session with Dvoretsky can be simulated quite faithfully, but of course it is much more inspiring to attend a training session with the man himself. In Apeldoorn there have been workshops with Dvoretsky where he explained his approach to a broader audience, as well as trainings that concentrated on a certain concrete theme. His collection with thousands of training positions is famous. They are arranged according to theme, which enables students to concentrate on weak points. Merijn van Delft has also received individual trainings by Dvoretsky a couple of times, in which they analysed his own games. One of the most instructive moments from these trainings was the following:

Merijn van Delft - GM Maris Krakops Groningen, December 1997 Analysis: Merijn van Delft

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46. Rb7?

The text move seems very logical and obvious, but it fails to grasp the crux of the position. Here is a brief overview of what this position is about:

White's passed b-pawn will bring him the win, but it is vital to keep the black king out of play. The very strong pawn on g6 is also potentially very weak, and therefore it needs some support. In short, the rook belongs on the sixth rank!

During the game I understood that I could harass the black king with a Ba3 check, but what I didn't grasp was that a white rook on the e-file would really keep the black king imprisoned. In other words, e6 is the ideal square for the white rook. Some more general laws propagated by Dvoretsky:

• Good positional play consists of building your own plans and preventing your opponent's plans.

• A prophylactic move is a move that removes the threat of your opponent and at the same time improves your own position. The latter is essential, as otherwise every defensive move would be prophylactic.

• In general, but especially when converting a technically winning position, prophylaxis is an important (i.e. necessary) resource.

I assume that after the above, the short move sequence 46. Rb6 KfS, 47. Re6 Be7, 4S. Re4! is no wizardry for anyone. I have analysed more than ten games with Dvoretsky, and we enjoyed many instructive moments along the way, but I think this was my most enlightening experience with him.

46 . ... Kf8 47. Ba3 Ke8 48. Bc5 Rd5 49. b4 Rg5 50. Kc2 Rxg6 51. Kb3 Rgl 52. Kc4 Rcl 53. Kd5 Rdl 54. b5 Rxd3 55. b6 Rb3 56. Kc6 d3 57. Rd7 Bg5 58. b7 d2 59. Rd5 Bf4 60. Bd6 Bxd6 61. Rxd6 Rc3 1/Z-1f2

Mark Dvoretsky g ives a training to Irina Gorshkova, Marijn Visschedijk and Merijn van Delft.

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Mark Dvoretsky plays Viktor Kortchnoi for Schaakstad Apeldoorn .

Mark Dvoretsky and Karel van Delft.

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B7.S Chess and autism

Chess is a suitable sport for many children and adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Scientific research on this subject is lacking, also on an international level. Experience indicates that chess stimulates social, emotional and cognitive development.

A 'super championship' for Jaap de Vries

'Mate', Jaap de Vries (9) announces firmly. After an attack on the enemy king, Jaap manages to score his third full point during the national chess championships for pupils in Gouda. 'My rating is rocketing sky high!', he shouts.

Jaap is not very keen on a conversation with a total stranger. But this changes if he is allowed to play a game of chess with him. Then he talks incessantly between moves. 'If I play chess, I keep learning more and more. It's a fun sport, actually.' Jaap wants to learn to play good chess. 'This is a super championship!', he says.

Jaap is suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. Because of this, he has few social contacts. In between tournament rounds, he plays games on his Nintendo. In fact, this is precisely what does allow him to make contact with other children, who come to him to see what game he is playing. 'If you share his interest, he is open for contact', his mother Annemieke has noticed. 'These games look individualistic, but for Jaap they are an opportunity to make contact with other children.'

Jaap de Vries

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Jaap takes in sounds much more strongly than others, says his mother. 'His brain does not filter away these background sounds.' That is why he wears custom-made earplugs when he plays chess with other children. He keeps his kinetic unrest under control with a toy snake that he can fiddle with.

Jaap plays chess every week, in the youth section of De Wijker Toren. Trainer Jan Sinnige teaches a group of four beginners. 'Jaap has a good contact with the other children of the group, but not with children from other groups of the

youth section', he says. 'At the chess club he can gradually build up contacts', Jaap's mother says.

'He has no friends in the neighbourhood. At the chess club he feels at home.'

Maarten Beekhuis: contacts through chess

In the coming season, Maarten Beekhuis (26) will make his debut in the second team of Homburg Apeldoorn. He has an Elo rating of 2126. 'I've been playing chess for almost twenty years now. During a game I'm fanatical, but I don't study very hard. I think that I like chess because I'm good at it.'

Maarten suffers from the classical form of autism. After a stay of several years in the Leo Kanner House (a centre for treatment of young people with autism) in the Dutch town of Doorwerth, he is now living in a protected housing unit in Twello. There he works half-time in the public library. 'The rest of the day I'm doing everyday business like shopping and cooking. I also occupy myself with the computer, I read, and I play Scrabble.'

Maarten Beekhuis

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As a chess player, Maarten has achieved some successes. He became Dutch champion with the E-team of De Schaakmaat and with the school team of the lower classes of the City Gymnasium in Apeldoorn. At one Dutch individual junior championship (under 12), he came fourth.

'I'm probably more self-involved than most people, but I like to have social contacts. My autism makes this difficult.' Autists take language literally. 'Sometimes people mean something else with what they say, and I often miss that. That makes me uncertain.'

Autism occurs in different forms. 'In any case, autism is hereditary, and there are certain symptoms - in my case, a need for structure and clarity. My perfectionism makes it difficult to separate main issues from side-issues. And new things are scary for me.'

During a chess game Maarten is in his element. 'I'm very good at focusing. Via the health institute GGNet I play indoor soccer. That's fun, but it's also hard. I am a slow thinker and I cannot size up a situation at a glance: should I pass the bail or make an action myself?'

Tom Meurs enjoys strategic thinking

Tom Meurs (17) has Asperger's. This pre-university education student has been playing chess since he was eleven. 'They needed a player for the school chess team. So I quickly learned the rules, and it was fun.' Soon he became a member of the chess club in Ermelo, and he joined the chess camp of De Schaakmaat at

Tom Meurs (left) with his trainer Merijn van Delft.

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the Open Dutch Youth Championship. Tom trained with the Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn (Foundation for the Promotion of Chess in Apeldoorn), and now plays in the second team of Homburg Apeldoorn. His Elo rating is 2175. 'I want to cross the 2300 mark within a year. 1 train with 1M Yochanan Afek for two hours every week, and via email with 1M Tibor Karolyi, with whom I have stayed in Hungary for a week.'

Tom often doesn't understand exactly what other people mean. 'Sometimes I attach too much meaning to it.' An advantage of his Asperger's Syndrome is that he is good at concentrating. 'Especially during trainings. A disadvantage is that during a tournament I sometimes feel less at ease, which is bad for my performance.'

In recent months he has taken up boxing. 'That's a strategic sport. Taking blows, fighting back. You become self-confident, because you have to dare to attack as well. It is very much like chess.'

The nice thing about chess, Tom thinks, is that it is a very strategic game. 'It offers you full scope to apply all your understanding and your creativity. You really have to work hard; analyse, make plans, look deeper than your opponent.'

Tom has a tip for chess trainers. 'At De Schaakmaat they wanted to slow me down when I had finished Step 4 in one week. Other children finish two pages in a week, but a kid with Asperger's, who is enthusiastic, can do a lot more. Such kids should be allowed to go ahead.'

His social skills have improved a lot compared with ten years ago. 'Whether this is because of chess, I don't know. I've also learned a lot from the support of my parents.'

What is autism?

Autism is a congenital neurological disorder. Symptoms are: limited social skills, a need for structure, and problems with emotions, empathy, self-image, language, imaginative powers and locomotion. Autists have trouble internalizing sensory stimuli as a coherent whole. Autists often have a limited field of interest, in which they can specialize strongly. To cope with the complexities of the outside world, autists seek refuge in fixed habits and patterns. We speak of the Spectrum of Autism Disorders. Category classifications are: classical autism, MCDD (Multiple Complex Development Disorder) , the Asperger's Disorder, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified).

Approximately one in every 200 persons has an autistic disorder. Boys suffer from it six times more frequently than girls. The better their environment is geared to their needs, the more autists will be able to develop their qualities.

Chess is suitable for autists

'Chess is definitely a suitable sport for autists. The rules of the game are clear, there is no physical contact, it's nice and quiet', says Heleen Kers from Apeldoorn. Via Heleen, a dozen children of De Ambelt - a school for special education - have joined the school chess club De Schakel. 'You can teach them in a normal way, but you must give them individual attention. And the teacher must use straight language.'

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In Putten, the 'Foundation for Groundbreaking Talents' organizes chess lessons for young people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is done in cooperation with the local chess club PSV DoDo. Initiator Jacqueline van den Brink: 'They are often able to think very logically, and this fits in well with chess, which is a game that is very structured and surveyable. Autists are often perfectionists. When playing chess, they have a grip on what they are doing.' The experience of Poulien Knipscheer, a chess trainer and pedagogue from Rotterdam, is that as a trainer you have to express yourself very clearly, and give a lot of information. 'To autistic children who learn to play chess, it's better to explain everything in one go than to introduce the rules and their exceptions step by step.'

Chess is a good means for creating mutual contact, is the conclusion of recreational and leisure activities coordinator Wicher Struik of the Leo Kanner House. 'By joining this little club they belong somewhere, and that strengthens their identity.' Peter Hamers gives chess lessons in the Leo Kanner House as a volunteer. 'When giving chess lessons to autists, your group should be small and surveyable. You must state clearly what you are going to do during the lesson and you must stick to that. Their mastering of the game adds to their self-respect. It also makes them feel more appreciated.'

Four autistic boys between seven and twelve years old receive one-hour chess lessons from Willem van der Hulst, who is on an Early Retirement Scheme, on a weekly basis. 'The most important thing is to have patience. Now and then they are very busy and impulsive. You must tell them clearly what is expected of them. Also, you have to motivate them, as they often find it hard to take initiatives by themselves. You can see how much fun they're having. I have the impression that chess is very good for their development - intellectually, socially and emotionally. It also gives them self-confidence, as they learn to be good at something.'

Walk-in Centre InsideAut in Alkmaar has a chess club. Many people with autism like to play chess and they do it well, says professional employee Carola Zwartjes. 'It is safe and structured here. At a 'normal' club, people with autism often miss social association with other club members.'

The Australian 1M Alex Wohl has trained the talented Trevor Tao in the 1990s. 'You have to explain everything as simply as possible', he says. 'You should not assume that certain knowledge is present, or that something will be understood. You have to check all the time if what you say is getting across. With many autists you can communicate really well, but it's different than with most other people.'

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C - ORGANIZATION &

COMMUNICATION

Cl Organization

Cl.l Top-class sport and recreational sport

Top-class sport and recreational sport are often worlds apart. But this does not always have to be the case. Of course you do not have to bother a sevenyear-old girl who attends lessons and plays a weekly game at the school's chess club with information about grandmaster games. But a simul with twenty other children against a strong former student of the school can be a lot of fun. Children will be amazed that such a boy or girl can play so many opponents at a time. Parents who come to watch will also think of it as a marvellous achievement. Their amazement will grow when they watch a blitz game - they never imagined that chess pieces could fly over the board so quickly! In The Netherlands people have never played chess as massively as when Max Euwe became World Champion. People clung to the radio massively. We are talking about a time when there weren't any computers - there wasn't even television.

Even though hardly any Dutchman will understand the difference in level between the World Champion and the Dutch number 1000, still having a champion can stimulate many people to start practising a sport. Although, people are not always up to date everywhere. Once grandmaster Artur Yusupov, a member of Schaakstad Apeldoorn, visited the town house of his home town in Germany. He mentioned his name to the civil servant, who frowned: 'Yusupov, Yusupov ... , that's a well-known name.' A chess grandmaster nods politely in such cases. 'Ah, now I remember', said the civil servant. 'Of course - you are the husband of the coach of the school's chess team that took second place in the national championships!'

Many top-class chess players enjoy the experience of now and then giving workshops to well-motivated youth players. This not only applies to top players at the local club, but also to international masters and grandmasters. In order to analyse a game, an interest in children is the chief didactic prerequisite. If necessary, a more didactically experienced person can be asked to assist. The children will have a field day. Actually, top players are more often than not willing to do this. It's just that nobody asks them. In fact, that was exactly what grandmaster Jan Timman replied when asked why he was hardly involved in the education of young top talents. The authors of this book know from their own experience that he was already prepared to give workshops years ago.

For talented youth players, teaching is a good possibility to develop

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communication skills. It also forces them to reflect more closely on the matter at hand.

By the engagement of stronger club players, masters, and talented youth players for regular trainings or guest trainings, more youth players will get the opportunity to further their development.

For years Apeldoorn has known a primary school competition, in which more than twenty primary schools play against one or more other teams. This competition was an initiative by a few enthusiastic chess club members, like Hessel Visser. In the past, once in a while a talent would break through, but he would have to find his way to the top (or not) all by himself, with only his parents' support. After Marc Jonker, Renate Limbach (as trainers), and Karel van Delft (as an organizer) had set up a top training programme for youth players, many Apeldoorn youths developed quickly and achieved regional and national titles. This has resulted in a dozen or so players having a 2000 rating - or much higher - who play in the foremost teams of Schaakstad Apeldoorn today.

The trainings did not get off the ground without a struggle. A number of club members feared that top-class sport would be at the expense of the pleasant atmosphere at the chess clubs. Practical experience shows that a number of youth players who received extra trainings in the past have by now become active chess organizers. A number of these former youth players, such as Martin van Dommelen, Stefan Kuipers, Sjef Rijnaarts and Roeland Pruijssers, give trainings themselves today.

C1.2 Chess club or foundation

Dutch chess clubs often have a weekly club competition, and club teams participate in competitions against other clubs. Sometimes there is an entertaining evening with, for example, a blitz tournament. Clubs have -less and less - club bulletins, and more and more clubs have their own websites. Many clubs have a youth section of their own. Many of them organize tournaments where players from other clubs are welcome. A limited number of clubs play on top level, with or without the support of a sponsor. Here and there, chess foundations are established by people with ambitions that reach beyond those of the local club(s). Some clubs cooperate under the umbrella of a foundation for part of their activities, like tournaments and trainings.

One reason for establishing a foundation may be that many fellow club members aren't interested in more than their weekly game. Sometimes they fear the financial risks of extra activities. Often they just prefer things to stay as they are. A foundation with a few enthusiastic people often turns out to be more decisive than club boards, which have often grow indolent over the years and do not have a clear vision of their possibilities and their future. It can be finanCially advisable to separate the relatively large tournament budgets from the modest club funds. Obviously it is a good thing for chess clubs and foundations to cooperate where possible.

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Armen Hachijan during a club evening of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. (photo Cocky van Delft)

Karin Pruijssers during a club evening of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. (photo Cocky van Delft)

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C1.3 Policy plan

In a policy plan, an organizaton writes down its aims and how it wants to achieve them. This can be combined with an organizational set-up including a division of tasks. For example, a club can make a policy plan which states that it aims to realize top-class sport, recreational sport, talent development and promotion of their sport. This involves a wide array of activities. These can be put on a list, which also contains the names of the responsible board members and other staff members who are responsible for the activities. Using such a policy plan, the board can evaluate regularly and give account at general meetings. The chairman or the secretary can keep an eye on the day-to-day proceedings. The advantage of a policy plan with an added organizational scheme is that the activities are clearly structured, the various responsibilities are put on paper, and if something goes wrong this will quickly become clear.

Cl.4 Costs

In comparison with many physical sports, chess is a cheap sport. Weekly club evenings and walk-in hours for novice youth players are not expensive. Talent development, however, does have a price. That's normal. Why should it be free of charge? Nevertheless, where chess is concerned, some club members and parents have a different opinion. They are, of course, fully entitled to this, but as a rule their objections will hamper youth players in their development. For the organization of good trainings and the achievement of good results, good trainers are needed. And they tend to cost money. Why should a chess trainer earn less than a music teacher or a tennis coach? And an ambitious youth player also needs books and a chess computer program.

Cl.S Volunteers

With all kinds of sports, many tasks are performed by volunteers, and only trainers receive payment. Some organizations suffer from a lack of volunteers, whereas for other organizations this is much less of a problem. The difference is not only a question of 'good or bad luck'. It turns out that every organization that has a sufficient or even a large number of volunteers, fulfils a few specific conditions. It is important that one single person or a small group of people act(s) as (an) enthusiastic pioneer(s). Volunteers like to be taken seriously by their organization. They do a better job performing their tasks if they feel that their opinions are listened to, and if they themselves bear the responsibility of giving shape and content to their tasks. More people will be willing to volunteer

if their tasks are clearly described, and if a club asks them to do activities they are interested in, and/or which do not take too much time. It is a good thing to express your appreciation for the volunteers with a nice activity. This may be, for instance, a simul with a strong player, or a fun tournament between them. SBSA was once involved in the organization of a tournament where supervisors of the more than twenty school chess clubs in Apeldoorn took part. Volunteers can also have limitations or bad character traits. They may forget things or be a little casual with their appointments. It is fatal to a club, and certainly to top-class sport, if volunteers view their activities as being free of obligations.

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It is important that someone bears the final responsibility for each activity. In consultation with volunteers, he can see to it that appointments are kept, and communicate regularly by email or telephone, or verbally.

L. to r. Sipke Ernst, Manuel Bosboom, Arthur van de Oudeweetering and Merijn van Delft win the national KNSB cup for Schaakstad Apeldoorn in Groningen.

C1.6 Calendar

Planning activities per year is convenient. It enables everyone to know timely what is on the programme. It also enables a good changeover of activities. It is useful if everyone involved knows where they can consult the calendar - on a clubsite, for example.

Cl.7 Evaluation, second opinion

An organization will function better if the board evaluates its activities regularly. This involves making an inventory of experiences and opinions, and establishing what can be improved the next time around. It will lead to a better commitment if all the staff members of an organization get the chance to give their opinion and see that the board takes them seriously. A board should also explicitly involve youth players in the youth policy of the organization. Evaluation can be done in different ways: in passing, during brief conversations, in meetings, or via inquiries. Anyone can make a mistake. Therefore, people who perform a task do well to

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regularly ask others for a second opinion. For example, it is not a lot of work to have someone else read through a press release via email before you send it around. It may contain spelling mistakes, or the author's intentions may be unclearly formulated, or he may forget to mention the time schedule or the playing venue. The same goes, for instance, for tournament scenarios or training programmes. Never forget that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A sound board is also useful. In SBSA's early years Petra Stellwagen, Daniel Stellwagen's mother, actively thought along with the foundation via email about the development of activities.

Analysis in club venue 'De Brinkhorst' after the m atch Schaakstad Apeldoorn - HSG.

C2 Communication

C2.1 The importance of communication

A chess organization that wants to function well, should communicate well. This should be taken into account with all its activities. It is rather unfortunate if at the start of a Premier League game two boards remain unoccupied, if these players do not take the trouble to call the team captain and the latter does not have their mobile phone numbers at hand. Appointments about such things are no luxury. Good communication leads to better involvement. A club board confers with the members at the annual general meeting.

But a chairman can also occasionally make a short speech at the start of

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a club evening, bringing the members up to date on topical issues in a few sentences. Bulletins, a website and email newsletters are different means to involve members and other interested people in your organization. The board of a club can hang announcements and information about tournaments on a notice board which also displays the club competition results. Good communication is two-way traffic: you tell people things and you listen to them. Organizers will gather a lot of information if they regularly ask committed people for their opinions.

L. to r. Arthur van de Oudeweetering, Lucien van Beek, Merijn van Delft and Manuel Bosboom win the Dutch b litz team cham pion ships for Schaakstad Apeldoorn in The Hague.

C2.2 Inquiry

With an inquiry, a chess club board can gather information from its members. This can also be a useful instrument for the development of an active youth section. Since a club board can bring all kinds of questions to the attention of youth players and parents with such an inquiry, this also has the effect of an activating research project: by presenting possibilities you will hand people

ideas. In the appendix section we have included an inquiry that was once held at De Schaakmaat when we were setting up a youth training programme there.

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C2.3 Contacts with the media

Via media like radio, tv, newspapers, local papers and Internet sites, a chess organization can generate free publicity and in this way involve more people in its chess activities. Sponsors are always interested in publicity. A triedand-tested recipe to get sponsors mentioned in the media is by connecting the sponsor's name to that of a club or an event. Schaakstad Apeldoorn, for example, has acted under the artist's names of BIS and Homburg Apeldoorn. In full, the Apeldoorn weekend tournament is called ROC Aventus Open Apeldoorn Chess Championship. A chess organization can generate exposure in the media via contacts with journalists. It is practical to first make a press release, then contact journalists in person or via telephone, and then send them the press release. It is important for an organizer to think about the question why a journalist should want to receive his information, and to keep his message concise. A journalist will only be interested if he thinks that his readers or listeners will be interested. This may be the case if, for instance, a well-known chess master takes part in the tournament. A journalist is always looking for news, that is: information that is new and interesting for the public.

C2.4 Press release

A press release should be short and sweet. The receiver should get an answer to six questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. The information should be actual. A press release should contain information about the sender, his phone number and email address. This allows a journalist to contact him without trouble if he wants to have more information. Producing pieces of beautiful prose doesn't make much sense. Usually, journalists write down their own version of a story, though editors from local papers sometimes copy the delivered texts in full. It is wise to timely contact journalists personally (two weeks before the event) to make practical appointments about the sending of a press release or a report on an event. It is practical to make a press list (with names of contact persons where possible) of media that may be interested in chess activities.

C2.S Email newsletters

Via email messages, an organization can keep in contact with relations in a quick and cheap way. An example is SBSA's weekly email newsletter. It has a standard format. On top is the SBSA logo and the heading 'SBSA email newsletter', followed by the number of the newsletter and the date. The next line mentions that earlier email newsletters can be read on the foundation's website www.sbsa.nl. For non-Dutch-speaking relations, a summary in English is given first. This is followed by a table of contents and a list of attachments. These attachments are mostly pgn files with interesting games that are connected with an article in the email newsletter. The editor of the SBSA email newsletters is SBSA's secretary Karel van Delft. He writes a number of texts himself, but every year there are around 70 different people who also send in texts, photos and games. Every now and then the editor will slightly edit these texts to make them more reader-friendly.

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The articles are presented in the order indicated by the table of contents. Under a heading in bold letters the text is given. An article often starts with a picture, and sometimes it contains a chess diagram. Articles and photos are accompanied by the name of the author or the photographer, unless the text or picture has been made by the editor. Pictures serve to illustrate the texts and brighten them up. They are highly appreciated by most readers. Furthermore, players' faces will become known to those who do not know them yet, and those who do know them will enjoy recognizing them. Also, pictures will liven up the atmosphere of the described events. There are several calendars at the end of the newsletter: a general calendar of chess activities in Apeldoorn, the competition dates of the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB, a youth calendar, and a calendar with SBSA youth training dates. Then there is a list with data of Apeldoorn chess clubs and their websites. The articles range from extensive tournament reports to results and tournament announcements with lists of applied participants. The reader can quickly find his way in the newsletters by their clear, standardized lay-out. One reader may only be interested in a workshop by a grandmaster, another may want to read an extensive report on a tournament where a youth team took part.

The editor arranges the texts in a Word file. After the newsletter has been sent, the Word file is cleared of all the information that is no longer topical, and this file is used as a basis for the next newsletter. Throughout the next week texts are sent, and the editor often places them in the next newsletter on the same day already so as to have less workload on Sunday evenings, when the messages are sent around. Pictures are scaled down with a thumbnail program (50 to 200 kb) and then copied in Word with the Paint program. This way the newsletter will be less than 2Mb even if it has twenty pictures. pgn files are mentioned in the list of attachments and are ready for use on the computer's desktop. Before the editor sends the newsletter on Sunday evening, he copies everything from Word into Outlook. Attachments are added, and the newsletter is sent with the help of several mailing lists.

The newsletters keep SBSA's relations up-to-date about events and developments. There are around 600 recipients, about one-third of whom are inhabitants of Apeldoorn. Of the others, several dozens are contacts outside The Netherlands, or chess players from the rest of the Netherlands. Many of these are people who regularly participate in events in Apeldoorn, or chess organizers. Attracting participants to events is partly done with the email newsletters, which saves us a lot of correspondence work.

C2.6 Internet site

An Internet site is an effective means of spreading information. It can contain texts, pictures, films, game collections, and tournament calendars. The webmaster may be a member of the board, or a volunteer who simply enjoys the work. Websites are very cheap these days. For a few tenners a year you can already make one. A weblog is a simpler version of a website. It consists of one single page upon which pictures and texts can be placed. This is often free of charge. Ruben Kuijper, who participates in SBSA youth trainings, has his own weblog on which he reports on his experiences, his favourite chess books, and his games.

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C2.7 Flyer, poster

Flyers and posters are approved means of attracting participants to join activities - even more so if they are made up in colour, with an attractive illustration. It is easy to make a flyer on A4 format on a pc. Such a flyer should contain information, a contact address, possibly a logo, and sometimes a picture to attract attention. Excess information is not advisable. The marketing formula AIDA is a good guide for design and content. The formula stands for Attention (which it should attract), Interest (which it should arouse), Desire (it must be desired) and Action (it should inform which action can be undertaken to make use of the offer). Chess organizers can also design a poster themselves on a computer - they are often made on A3 format. It can be put on paper either by printing it out yourself, or by handing in a digital file on a usb stick or a CD-ROM in a copy shop. Organizers of bigger tournaments often engage professional printing companies, but this is only possible with a sufficient sponsoring budget. Spreading flyers and posters can be done by fellow club members. The organizers can hand out the information at tournaments and clubs. They can, for instance, pin up posters in libraries, at tournaments, in community centres, on the windows of private houses, in shops, and in schools.

C2.8 Making a CD-ROM or a DVD

A chess organization can make a report on CD-ROM or DVD about a jubilee evening, a chess tournament, a workshop day, or various other activities. One disc can contain pictures, films, pgn files with game collections, and texts. A short preface may be given in a Word file. There is a lot of free-of-charge study material on the Internet. A trainer can gather useful material and put this on a disc for his young pupils. With software that can be downloaded free-of-charge on the Internet, a picture can be made into a box sleeve. In the same way it is possible to make a sticker to put on the DVD or CD-ROM. The making of such a disc doesn' t have to cost more than one euro apiece.

C2.9 Club bulletin

A club bulletin is an opportunity to involve members more strongly with their club. It can contain actual communications, but also enjoyable stories and reports on competitions. The club bulletin can also contain actual information about, for example, the club board, membership dues, a calendar of activities, or other pieces of information. Club bulletins on paper are increasingly giving way to email newsletters and/or websites. ASV, in the nearby Dutch city of Arnhem, for instance, has been publishing a weekly two-sided A4 sheet with information and game reports for decades. This can combine perfectly with other publications. The advantage of such an information sheet, which is literally handed out, is that it will be quite hard for club members to miss the information.

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C2.10 Sponsors

Sponsors are important to help a club pursue a sport on a certain level. Sponsors provide money with which strong players can be hired for a team, or a tournament with an attractive prize fund can be organized. By attracting strong players, a team will be able to play on a higher level. Also, their contribution will help raise the level of young talents in a club. As a rule, youth talents will not be able to develop much further than the level of the best player of their club. The higher the prize money, the greater the chance will be that strong players visit a tournament. If it is known that a few strong players, e.g. (grand)masters, take part, this will attract more other players as well.

It is not easy to attract sponsors for chess activities. Chess is not a mass sport, and chess organizations - club boards, but also regional and national chess federations and the world chess federation FIDE - are often rather amateurish. A sponsor wants to get something in return for his money. A chess organizer who wants to bring in sponsors must think of motives why a sponsor would want to give money or, for instance, provide a playing venue. The organizer must create a win-win situation. Practice shows that chess sponsors often have affinity with the sport themselves, or they sympathize with the volunteer work of the organization. Often relatively small amounts of money are involved: a few hundred euro. Such sponsors find it advantageous to sponsor a chess activity or, in any case, they do not mind spending a small part of their sponsoring budget on it. With bigger tournaments that generate more publicity, the sponsorship will fit in with their public relations policy and then the grounds for the sponsorship will be more commercial.

In Apeldoorn, our weekend tournament has been sponsored for years by the local ROC (i.e. Regional Education Centre), which advertises as a sports education centre. The workshop event 'Youth Meets Masters' is financially supported by a shop-owner in Apeldoorn whose son is a chess player. With his working days, this shop-owner cannot do any volunteer work, but sponsoring enables him to make a contribution. His son is not a youth player any more (he is a chess organizer in another town now), but the shop-owner is still sponsor. Often organizers mainly look out for their own interests - they need money. It is advisable to also look at sponsorship from the other side and to investigate what can motivate potential sponsors, and how the organizers can approach them personally. It's more effective to have one pleasant conversation than twenty unanswered begging letters. A talk with a sponsor will go better if the organization describes the activity that is to be sponsored concisely on half an A4 format sheet beforehand, listing also their promotional activities. In general, not a lot of money goes around in chess. This is where many boards of chess clubs pay for being too amateurish. In order to spread the risks, it is advisable for a chess organization to find a different sponsor for each activity. This also reduces the amount of money that is needed per activity, and increases the chance of getting more sponsors interested.

C2.11 Live commentary

Live commentary is the explanation by a (mostly strong) player of a game to an audience with the help of a demonstration board. This may, for instance,

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be a competition game that is being played at that moment. A commentator may also discuss a game from an international elite tournament in a cafe. On a school club evening, players can show a game they have played against another school team. Live commentary is an approved form of explaining the game of chess to people - especially to motivated youth players. This can be interlarded with amusing anecdotes.

During Premier League home matches, Schaakstad Apeldoorn always tries to organize live commentary. Many strong players will not be available on these days, because they are playing themselves. However, there may be strong players who are no longer active in competition, like Jeroen Noomen in Apeldoorn, who are willing to give live commentary. Every now and then, a player who has quickly finished his game gives comments. Sometimes also a strong reserve player can do the job.

Since the Fall of 2007, Schaakstad Apeldoorn organizes commentary sessions before the club competition on Tuesday evenings. These 'Buro Post' game analyses (named after its sponsor) last 45 minutes. In the first year they were performed by turns by the eighteen-year-old club members Roeland Pruijssers and Stefan Kuipers, who also give SBSA trainings. They discuss their own games, and also games from the club competition, taking into account that there are weak as well as strong players in the audience. This is known as a 'layered presentation', i.e. a presentation given on various levels at the same time. At the beginning of the session there are roughly ten people present. This mounts up to around 30 right before the beginning of the games. At the end of the first season, it was decided to reserve the final 15 minutes for a presentation by a youth player who participates in the club competition. Here, the commentators function as assistants. The first youth player to do this was nine-year-old Thomas Beerdsen, who showed a game that had won him the brilliancy prize at the Dutch U-12 championship.

C2.12 Chess newspaper

A local chess newspaper can inform many people about activities, and with sufficient advertising sales it can even bring in money. It can be a good visiting card for a chess organization, and also a means of education. Since 2000, Schaakkrant (i.e. Chess newspaper) Apeldoorn annually appears in september as a removable section in the tabloid-format local newspaper 'Apeldoorns Stadsblad'. This chess newspaper is an initiative by SBSA, with the intention to bring chess in Apeldoorn to the attention of a large audience. The paper is an eye-catcher, with several large pictures, a coloured front page, and a stateof-the-art layout. The wide diversity of chess life in Apeldoorn finds expression in this publication. It contains, for example, tournament announcements, some attractive fragments from games by Apeldoorn players, interviews with youth champions, and stories about school chess and computer chess. A list of addresses of chess clubs in Apeldoorn is included, as well as a number of links to websites.

The circulation of this newspaper is 68,000. 2000 extra copies are printed to be distributed at chess events. The 'Schaakkrant' usually has eight pages, half of which are in full colour. Almost half of the pages are filled with advertisements, which pay for the paper, and the other pages are available for content. Some of

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Berby Hanekamp does the layout of 'Schaakkrant Apeldoorn'.

the advertisements are related to chess. SBSA takes care of editing, attracting advertisers and collecting pictures. Printing and distribution is done by the publisher of Apeldoorns Stadsblad, with whom a contract has been drawn up. The layout is done by the communication agency Nijsen Media B.V. The advantage of cooperating with such small agencies is that flexible working arrangements are possible. The budget has been fixed with the publisher of the newspaper. The company makes invoices for those advertisements that cover its expenses. The other advertisements are invoiced by SBSA. Usually there is a small profit, which is utilized for chess activities.

It takes some work to make such a paper. It is important to have good copywriters and photographers. SBSA often manages to get free or cheap services by professional volunteers. Quality is important - a text should be a good read, and a picture should please the eye. Advertising space is sold to companies and institutions with which SBSA has - often personal - relations. In an agreement, clear arrangements are made about prices and in which form the advertiser should send his material to the layouter. For the making of the paper, a well-worked-out editorial set-up as well as a good production plan are important. Since it is volunteers' work, it is important to start on time. By putting all the activities on paper you will not forget anything. The editor sends the production plan to various people involved, asking them to make a critical judgement.

Contacts with the publisher are maintained via a regular paper manager. SBSA draws up a contract with the paper manager, and a few weeks before publication

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the latter sends a technical memorandum.Such commercial publications are only profitable if three-quarters of their content consists of advertisements. The use of volunteers will lower the costs, and the paper will be financially feasible with only one-third in advertisements. After publication of the paper, a pdf version is also published on the SBSA website by webmaster Marco Beerdsen. Traditionally, our chess newspaper appears approximately one week before the Apeldoorn championship weekend. When they think about the contents, it is important for the editors to realize who their readers are. The larger part of the audience is not anxious to read extensive club board reports, or to look at portraits of board members. A deliberate choice has been made in favour of as many large advertisements as possible. For a volunteers organization it is virtually impossible to attract a large number of small advertisers and keep in touch with them.

C2.13 Chess stand on a market or a festival

A chess club or foundation can reach a large audience at markets or cultural festivals. Club members can, in a stand or simply by putting down a few tables, play blitz against the public or give a simultaneous exhibition. In a flyer for the public you can briefly describe what goes on during an evening at the chess club. A collage of pictures on a board will have great attention value, and it can provide a sneak preview of a club evening.

Johan Wolbers gives a blindfold simul on the market square in Apeldoorn.

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C3 Tournaments and events

C3.1 Weekend tournament

A weekend tournament consists of six rounds with a four-hour time control (maximally two hours per player per game). One round is played on Friday evening, on Saturday there are three rounds, and the final two rounds are played on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. The players are often divided into two level groups. Usually, participants are allowed one free round (a 'bye'), for which they get half a point. In Apeldoorn, two byes are possible in the first four rounds. For churchgoers it is possible to take a bye on Sunday morning, for pub-crawlers it isn't. One of the advantages of two byes is that youth players do not have to play in the evenings, or if, for example, they have a soccer game on Saturday morning, they won't have to give that up. Youth players tend to gain a lot of experience during weekend tournaments. If they finish their game quickly, they can spend their time analysing, or watch the stronger players at it, or play blitz with each other.

A strong chess player can give live commentary on the top boards on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoon. He can also discuss a game by a promising youth player. The organization of a weekend tournament is quite extensive. It is essential to have a good scenario. It is important for the organization to have enough staff members who can take over the tasks of others if necessary. It is also important to start early with the preparations. With an organization that works with volunteers, a lot of things can go wrong. Staff members may fail to meet their commitments, or there are differences of opinion. In any case, the coordinator of the event should possess a good deal of patience and endurance. Artur Yusupov, who is also a chess organizer himself, is of the opinion that every chess player should work in a tournament organization once in his life. For certain players it will be very revealing to see what the organization of such an event entails.

C3.2 Blitz tournament and rapid tournament

As a rule, a blitz tournament lasts one day. The time control of the games is usually five minutes per player. A rapid tournament usually also lasts one day, with seven rounds. The time control is usually 20 or 25 minutes per player. For both of these tournament variants it is important to have a good scenario. Its items can be taken from the scenario for a weekend tournament. SBSA organizes four or five rapid tournaments per year in the Apeldoorn Mind Sports Centre, and the blitz championship of Apeldoorn is held in a cafe - for instance, the local Art Cafe 'Sam Sam'. These tournaments are made financially possible partly by sponsors. The blitz championship is held in a cafe every Sunday after Schaakstad Apeldoorn's first team match in the new calendar year. As a rule, several international masters take part. Before the blitz tournament, a (grand)master, who also takes part in the blitz tournament, gives a simul to participants of the SBSA youth training, who also take part in the tournament. As the international (grand)master is there for the blitz tournament anyway, he will be willing to give such a simul for a modest fee.

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Sipke Ernst during the ROC Aventus weekend tournament.

Sebastian Siebrecht playing Friso Nij boer during the ROC Aventus Open chess championship of Apeldoorn.

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Staff members of the ROC Aventus weekend tournament: I. to r. H enk Scholten, Paul H am and Marco Beerdsen.

H enriet Springelkamp during ROC Aventus.

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Tom Smid w atches Alexander Kabatianski play during the MuConsult rapid championship. ( photo www. fredlucas. eu)

Merijn van Delft playing Martin van Dommelen during the MuConsult rapid championship. ( photo www. fredlucas. eu)

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C3.3 Tournament scenario

The organizing committee of a tournament has to think of many practical things. In the appendices there is a list with keywords and an extensive scenario for a weekend tournament. It is useful to include all sorts of practical tips in such a scenario. At a number of tournaments, for instance, the tournament director will make a short speech. As this speech will escape the attention of many of the players, it is more effective to also include important announcements in the tournament bulletin. The organization can make or break a tournament. It is, for instance, advisable to keep spare material at hand. It will be frustrating to discover that the printer cartridge is empty and, consequently, pairings cannot be printed out. Often, doors will be rattling during tournaments. A towel around the door-handle or a foam rubber frame will damp the noise.

Freddie van der Elburg versus Armen H achij an during the MuConsult rapid championship. (www.fredlucas. eu)

C3.4 Chess festival

A chess festival is a nice way to bring chess to the attention of a broader audience, and to offer adults and young players a few pleasant hours. The programme can consist of various items. At an SBSA festival in the Mind Sports Centre in Apeldoorn, international master and TV host Hans Bbhm gave a lecture to more than one hundred attendants about a book that he had written together with grandmaster Jan Timman. On that same festival, Johan van Mil and Erika Sziva from the Dutch company 'De Beste Zet' sold chess books, Harold van der Heijden had a stand where he gave explanations of endgame studies, the Apeldoorn correspondence chess grandmaster Jacques Kuiper gave information about correspondence chess, Merijn van Delft played 'opening doctor' at a table, the board of the Lightning Chess Foundation organized two-minute chess tournaments, videofilms were shown on pc's, there was a cosy bar, there were

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chess lessons for beginners, a blitz tournament for youth players, and simuls. On two occasions there was a sponsor who connected his name to an SBSA festival. It generated quite a lot of publicity for them. If all staff members are working on a volunteer basis, the costs will not be high. A scenario is very useful to have at a festival.

C3.S Chess party

If now and then the members are having a good time, this will improve the atmosphere in an organization. At a club enjoyable meetings can be organized, with food, drinks, blitz, a simul, or a nice chess movie.

C4 Youth chess

C4.1 School chess club

The organization of a school chess club can be quite simple. There are enough children who want to play chess. It is important that there is at least one adult who wants to spend a few hours on the club every week. Often school chess clubs hold weekly one-hour meetings. During this hour, children play a game with each other for half an hour (with or without a clock) and they receive a lesson during the other half hour. With the pairing program Sevilla, which is free downloadable, it is possible to quickly and easily make a competition pairing. The lessons usually follow the Step-by-Step Method. This instructive and structured method does not require much chess knowledge from the teacher - certainly not with the first two Steps. This is just as well, since school clubs often depend on well-meaning parents who are not strong chess players. It is a good thing to regularly discuss games with children. A school chess club can inCidentally invite guest trainers to do this if necessary; for example, an uncle of one of the children, a member of a chess club, or a former student. Regular trainers who can analyse with children are often hard to find. There is a much greater chance that a strong player agrees to visit once in a while or, for example, four times a year. Having a handful of these people over will already secure a number of worthwhile trainings. If there are several level groups, two adults can divide the tasks: a chess-playing parent can give lessons to two groups by turns, while a non-chess-playing parent keeps a look-out during the competition games.

Schools teams can compete against each other. Apeldoorn has a school competition where dozens of teams play. Another possibility is a 'mass meeting', where two school teams with, say, fifteen children play each other. A school chess club should be fun. It can be even more fun when, for example, movies are shown, simuls are given, and blitz tournaments or twosomes tournaments (child teams up with parent) are played. Not much material is required to start a school chess club: a few boards with pieces, chess clocks, and perhaps a demonstration board. If there are a few chess boards in the school hall, children can also play chess with each other during breaks. They will spontaneously teach each other the game. The school can download the Step-by-Step Method on pc's. Then, children who want to spend more time on chess can peruse lessons themselves now and then, or solve exercises. Enthusiasm is the

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mainstay of the functioning of a school club. In Apeldoorn, Carla van der Hulst has led the school chess club at a primary school called 'Sjofar' for years. This nursery school teacher never got past Step 2 herself, but that did not stand in the way of her success at all. At a certain point, 140 children were playing chess at her school. There was no shortage of teachers. A few weeks before the summer vacation, young children could follow a few sample lessons to see if they enjoyed chess. If after the summer they went on to do Step 1, their parents were invited to attend lessons as well. A number of them came to like it, and after a while they became teachers themselves. You can set up a school chess club with very limited means, and one teacher will be enough already. Some schools have an extensive organization with many trainers, a wide range of activities and an own website. In both situations, organizers can draw inspiration from experiences gained elsewhere. You can easily gather such information by visiting a few school chess clubs and entering a few keywords in a search engine on the Internet.

C4.2 School competition

Schools can play each other in competitions. Often this is done with teams consisting of four players. This takes a little organizing. Someone should take up the coordination and the communication - for example, via a website or an email newsletter. You need a pairing, competition rules, every school must have a contact person, and someone has got to buy prizes (trophies) and hand them out. It is useful to organize an annual meeting with everyone involved, and to draw up a scenario. Apart from - or instead of - a school competition, an annual local school championship can be organized in the form of a tournament.

C4.3 Youth chess tournaments

Many clubs regularly organize youth chess tournaments. Usually the time control is 20 or 30 minutes per game, so seven games can be played in one day. In a number of regions, clubs cooperate to organize a Grand Prix series. Children quite enjoy being able to accumulate points in an overall list of rankings. Organizers will do themselves a favour if they draw up a good scenario with a clear division of tasks. Before the first time that you organize such a tournament, you are well-advised to take a look at the organization of another tournament. Many organizers will gladly share their experience with others.

C4.4 Chess camp

Various clubs in The Netherlands organize chess camps at tournaments that last more than one day, like for example the Open Dutch Youth Championship in the region of Twente. The young participants camp there and are accompanied by their parents. Often there is a strong player present, who regularly analyses games with the children.

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CS Miscellaneous

CS.l Creative Tournament

Creative thinking - what does this mean anyway? - is quite a hard thing to do. This conclusion was drawn by participants from the 'Creative Youth Chess Tournament' held in Apeldoorn in 1994. This was an initiative by what was then the top youth training section of 'De Schaakmaat'. The tournament had various sponsors, notary office Dijkstra de Graaff being the main sponsor. The starting point of this two-day tournament was that creativity is a thinking skill that can be developed up to a certain pOint. By way of a warming-up, participants were given a summary of the book 'Creative Chess' by Amatzia Avni before the tournament. A tournament book was made afterwards, entitled 'Op zoek naar het onverwachte' (i.e., 'In Search of the Unexpected'). In the event, twenty strong youth players took part - some of them from Apeldoorn, others from elsewhere in The Netherlands. On the list of participants were today's grandmasters Erik van den Doel and Sipke Ernst, as well as the international masters Lucien van Beek, Martijn Dambacher and Merijn van Delft. Most of the participants were of the 1979 vintage, which is the most succesful one in Dutch chess history. Perhaps this is a coincidence (after all, by definition one vintage will have to be the strongest) - on the other hand, the fact that these youth players did many things together and stimulated each other may have contributed to this success. In the tournament, the participants played six rapid games, and in between they attended lectures by the chess masters Joris Brenninkmeijer (a psychologist), Leon Pliester (a psychologist), Renate Limbach, Herman Grooten, and Dharma Tjiam. General practitioner Kees Gorter held a lecture about physical condition and nurture. Karel van Delft, also a psychologist, was the tournament coordinator. The lectures were about themes

Renate Limbach gives a lecture during the Creative Tournament.

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Participants of The Chess Experience. ( photo Ferdi Kuipers)

like the development of creativity in chess, the thinking (process) of the chess player, creativity and endgame studies, the power of pattern recognition, and the history of the theoretical development of chess.

CS.2 The Chess Experience

In July 1999, six strong youth players from Israel, six from Germany and twelve from The Netherlands gathered together in Apeldoorn for almost one week. In the evenings they played matches, and during the day they trained together with Artur Yusupov and Mark Dvoretsky. There were also recreative and sportive activities, such as an indoor soccer tournament. A rapid chess tournament was also on the programme. The players stayed with host families in Apeldoorn. The team coaches were Yochanan Afek (Israel), Uwe B6nsch (Germany) and Loek van Wely (The Netherlands). The latter made his debut as a coach for the occasion free of charge. The event took place under the name of 'The Connection 1 Chess Experience'. With this name, the main sponsor PinkRoccade honoured the memory of its predecessor, the Rijks Computer Centrum (i.e. 'National Computer Centre'). Its founder, Willem Jan Muhring, had been a chess player who had promoted chess as a sport in The Netherlands together with Dutch World Champion Max Euwe. The organization of the event was in the hands of PinkRoccade and SBSA. The website www.sbsa.nl has a report on the event. The city of Apeldoorn and the Dutch chess federation KNSB were subsponsors.

This formula was inspired by meetings between coaches together with their pupils representing different republics in the former Soviet Union. The

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idea came up in a conversation between Mark Dvoretsky and Yochanan Afek, when both were staying at Karel van Delft's home. The participants quickly became enthusiastic. The formula turned out to be attractive, and when the strongest players agreed to take part, it became an attractive challenge for the others as well. Later, this event led to similar meetings between youth teams from Germany and The Netherlands. Participants in this event were (including the titles they had at the time) GM Boris Avrukh, 1M Alik Gershon, 1M Alex Rabinovich, Michael Kobrin, Nati Ribshtein and Yevgeni Rapoport (Israel), FM Fabian Dettling, Jan Gustafsson, 1M Heiko Machelett, Florian Grafl, Stefan Bromberger and WFM Jessica Nill (Germany), GM Erik van den Doel, 1M Ruud Janssen, 1M Dennis de Vreugt, 1M Sipke Ernst, Lucien van Beek and Maarten Solleveld (The Netherlands A), and Merijn van Delft, Tom Middelburg, Nico Vink, Marten Wortel, Jeroen Willemze and Daniel Stellwagen (The Netherlands B).

CS.3 Three-day chess event in Apeldoorn

Starting in 1997, an annual three-day chess event was organized in Apeldoorn for ten years on end. This originated at the top training of De Schaakmaat, later it was done by SBSA. The event (of which the first edition even lasted four days) consisted of various activities in which strong youth players from Apeldoorn took part, but also players from the rest of The Netherlands and sometimes Germany. Players from 'outside' stayed at the homes of chess players in Apeldoorn. One of the first participants was eleven-year-old Daniel Stellwagen, who later, as a grandmaster, participated as a trainer. Each year the items on the programme changed. Sometimes the event was combined with a home match by Schaakstad Apeldoorn, a chess festival, or the Apeldoorn blitz championship. In another year, an exposition of chess photos was held in the city hall during the event. Tournaments, simultaneous exhibitions and workshops were almost without exception part of the programme. There were also lectures.

In the first year, pupils of national karate coach Jaap Smaal (white), who lives in Apeldoorn, and pupils of the Fred Groote kempo school (black) performed a living chess game in the city hall in Apeldoorn - they played the famous Anderssen-Kieseritsky game. On their heads they wore paper chess pieces. Frans van Veen, chairman of De Schaakmaat, gave a few chess lessons on every school for the occasion. Former draughts World Champion Ton Sijbrands announced the moves to the public that had come flocking in. In the second year, the Apeldoorn choir The Musical Selection Singers sang songs from the musical 'Chess' in the city hall. After that, Johan van Mil and Merijn van Delft played a blindfold game (and drew). Youth players made their moves on a garden chess set, which made it easy for the audience to follow the games. Chess composer Cornelis Siagmolen from Apeldoorn, who was already past ninety, composed tournament problems for various editions of the event. One time the organization discovered a dual solution. In such cases you can ask for a new problem, but a simpler idea was to ask the audience to name both solutions. A few elderly men knew why this was done. 'These days you have computers and of course they don't want you to use them to find the solution', one said to the other. The Three-day chess event was the precursor of the later 'Youth Meets Masters' event. After ten editions this formula was abolished. Every now and then it is time to take a new course.

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Living chess game in the Apeldoorn city hall.

Ton Sij brands reads the moves during the living chess game in the city hall, Apeldoorn.

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Merij n van Delft plays a bl indfold game w ith J ohan van Mil in the Apeldoorn city hall.

Merij n van Delft gives a training during 'Youth Meets Masters'. ( photo www. fredlucas. eu)

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Manuel Bosboom during 'Youth Meets Masters', ( photo www,fredlucas,eu)

CS.4 Youth Meets Masters

Youth Meets Masters (Y MM) is an annual event in Apeldoorn that is organized by SBSA on the final Friday of every Christmas holiday. During Y MM, a number of groups with youth chess players attend a workshop given by a strong player, often a (grand)master. The idea of these workshops is to pass on knowledge and insights, to give tips for study, and also to create a fascination for the game. The workshops enable people to make contact with each other, and friendships are struck up. Youth players from Apeldoorn as well as the rest of The Netherlands take part in Y MM. The workshops have a duration of approximately five hours. The players are of roughly equal strength in every group. Each group is a mixture of youth players from Apeldoorn and from outside. Some sessions are given in English, because some of the trainers are from abroad. Sometimes there is a group consisting exclusively of girls, with a female trainer. In recent years, the training is often held in the Mind Sports Centre in Apeldoorn. Most of the groups are seated in one big hall.

The programme consists of various items. There is a basic set-up, but a trainer is free to deviate from this pattern. Some of the items are: an introductory round (the trainer asks questions like: who are you, how do you train), a (clock) simul with analysis after the games, and other themes to be selected by the trainer. Some trainers show one of their own games, others take a classic game. Explanations are given to the participants, and they are questioned about certain moves in the game. Sometimes a study-like endgame is discussed, sometimes chess problems. With the youngest age groups, the simul player gives comments during the game itself. During such a performance, Manuel Bosboom once made quite an impression by showing how good he was at piling up pieces.

In the appendices there is a list of questions that can be used in a talk about (self-)training. The participants get a score form (see appendices), where pOints can be scored on each item. Each group winner receives a chess book. The participants are enthusiastic about Y MM. This can be gathered from the texts that 49 of the 59 participants sent in for the CD-ROM about the event that was made in 2005. It is quite an experience to train with a master, and YMM is an inspiring event with a pleasant atmosphere, where participants can also get acquainted with players from elsewhere in the country. There are costs involved - trainers, hallrent and organization expenses must be paid. These are covered by a participant's contribution of ten euro supplemented with a sponsor's contribution by Van der Mey Jewellers. Parents of participants are allowed to watch during the workshops, provided they keep their distance. Some parents also make themselves useful by making sandwiches and helping behind the bar. On a number of occasions, the participants were offered homemade soup and snacks made by parents and volunteers. Eating together tends to create an excellent atmosphere. Originally, blitz chess was an item at the YMM workshops - in recent years the Apeldoorn youth blitz championship has been held in the two final hours. This is a seven-round Swiss event played in one single group. There are various (rating) prizes in the form of chess books. During this day, digital photographs and a film are made. These are later put on a CD-ROM, along with the material used by the trainers and a selection from the games. Participants, trainers, staff members and the sponsor later receive the CD-ROM

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Alexander Kabatiansk i gives a training during YMM. ( photo www. fredlucas. eu)

Sipke Ernst gives a training during YMM. ( photo www. fredlucas. eu)

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Artur Yusupov gives a training during YMM.

Manuel Bosboom gives a blitz simul during YMM.

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as a concrete memory. During the day itself, the participants receive an issue of the Apeldoorn Chess Newspaper of that year. SBSA sponsors regularly provide small presents for all the participants. The day is organized by a working group of the SBSA. The scenario contains the following items: date, time, playing hall, bar staff, chess material (boards, pieces, clocks, demo boards), trainers, attracting participants and pairing them (participants can apply via a notice in the SBSA email newsletters), ordering scoresheets, chess books as prizes (for groups and for blitz), making score forms, making photographs and a film, making CD-ROMs, bringing along Chess Newspapers, budget (collecting contributions, contact with the sponsor, payments).

Not only the participants, but also the trainers find the Y M M formula inspiring. Alexander Kabatianski, who takes part every year, emphasizes how he can always read the inspiration from the children's faces. He calls this the 'inner chess flame'.

The late Rob Hartoch told us about his experiences as a YMM trainer in an interview given elsewhere in this book. The trainers are largely recruited from among the players of Schaakstad Apeldoorn's first team. In 2005 the workshops were given by Artur Yusupov, Daniel Stellwagen, Sipke Ernst, Alexander Kabatianski, Manuel Bosboom, Arthur van de Oudeweetering, Merijn van Delft, Rob Hartoch, Lucien van Beek, and Evi Zickelbein. Nine out of these ten trainers are members of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. Daniel Stellwagen started years ago as a participant in a precursor of YMM and now he has given several workshops himself. The trainers frequently dine together after the workshop. On several occasions, Artur Yusupov gave a training to the Y Mf\.1 trainers themselves in the same weekend.

cs.s Match of Champions with live commentary

In June 2008, SBSA organized the KV DC Match of Champions in Art Cafe Sam Sam in Apeldoorn. Four rapid games were played between Dutch champion Jan Smeets and Dutch U-20 Champion Roeland Pruijssers from Apeldoorn. The audience could watch the games in a small room in the back of the cafe. The champions played on a DGT board, which was connected to a laptop in the front of the cafe. There, Merijn van Delft gave live commentary. After the match, Smeets and Pruijssers gave explanations to the audience. Afterwards, the games were also shown on the Internet via the SBSA website. Chess organizers can organize similar matches between, for instance, an international master and a local youth talent.

CS.6 Lightning Chess Foundation

A local chess culture will really blossom if initiatives are developed in various places. In 2002, former Apeldoorn youth players Thomas de Hoop, Barend Tempelman and Youri Gerritse started the Lightning Chess Foundation, which has successfully organized the official Dutch Lightning Chess Championship ever since. In this chess variant both players get two minutes for the entire game. The tournament is held in the Apeldoorn city hall, a top location in the heart of the town. The organization is well-worked-out, the staff consists of many active volunteers, and thanks to a range of sponsors a sizeable prize

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fund is guaranteed. Internationally recognized specialists like Roland Schmalz, Manuel Bosboom and Daniel Fridman are on the roll of honour. All information, including tournament reports with films, can be found on the website www. I ig htningchess. nl.

Lightning Chess.

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David Bronstein and Peter Boel.

David Bronstein plays Dharma Tjiam.

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o - INTERVIEWS D1 David Bronstein

'Researching, developing possibilities. That's what chess is about. '

'You shouldn't solve problems, you should create them', said grandmaster David Bronstein (72), who gave a guest training in Apeldoorn on October 8, 1995. Good calculation of variations is useful, but what matters most in chess is the way you approach problems. That is also what chess trainings should be about. By researching and discussing together, you can increase your understanding of chess and derive joy from it. Various strong youth players joined the workshop: Tim Lammens, Merijn van Delft, Jochem Snuverink, Tim Remmel, Dennis de Vreugt, Joyce Fongers, Joost Hoogendoorn, Vincent Deegens, Joost Mellegers en Jaap Houben. Freelance journalist Peter Boel made a report for the local newspaper 'Apeldoornse Courant', and guest trainer Dharma Tjiam of De Schaakmaat was present as a listener. The training session was organized by Karel van Delft with financial support by local waste paper trader Schrijver.

Bronstein is positively brimming with ideas about creativity and coaching. He shows great respect for the Dutch World Champion Max Euwe. With Euwe, Bronstein shares the urge to let others share his passion for the game. We haven't been able to report any positive utterances about today's Dutch chess prominents. Money and pOints, that is what they are after, Bronstein thinks. Dr. Euwe was of a different mould; at least he loved chess and he wanted to teach it to young people. 'I wonder if these boys here would have learned to play chess if there had been no Euwe', Bronstein said. A weekend with Bronstein is overwhelming. What an abundance of energy this man has! And his understanding of the game is stupendous. Obviously, without this understanding he would never have been able to off-handedly produce so many games and positions that corresponded to the questions put forward by the training participants.

One time, in 195 1, Bronstein was almost World Champion, but when the match ended in a 12- 12 tie, Botwinnik kept the title. However, with 'Zurich 1953' Bronstein did put the best tournament book of all time to his name. This book is still available.

Bronstein is not exactly charmed by the current generation of top players. They prepare the game to death and hardly dare to tread new paths. He plainly calls Kasparov and Anand 'gangsters' who do not stoop to cashing 1.5 million dollars for games where hardly anything new is tried out. 'It has never happened before during a world championship that in a game, the players repeated the previous game with changed colours and then agreed to a feeble draw.' Bronstein thinks this is outrageous, and he thinks that Karpov's games are more instructive than Kasparov's. Bronstein thinks it is even more outrageous that he himself has been given an Elo rating of 2400-something. 'I am being judged by my current competition results. As I am getting older, I'm not so good at visualizing (calculating by heart) any more, and because of this I lose a

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game now and then. I don't want to be judged by my results, but by my ideas.' And there is nothing wrong with his original ideas, as this training session has made clear. Still, at many tournaments free boarding and admission is given only to 2500+ grandmasters. 'Because they have stuck a low rating on my mind, I now have to pay to participate. As if I have no ideas any more. It's preposterous, there is no more respect for older players like Smyslov and me. Take the Donner Memorial, last year they even put us in a separate group there.'

Obviously you have to study technique, understand positional play and know something about openings, but in Bronstein's opinion the most beautiful thing in chess is the combination. For youth players he has a crystal-clear piece of advice: winning games is not important. You will, eventually. Enjoy the game, try to confront your opponent with problems. Points are not important, the main thing is that you learn new things about the game every time. You should think independently, develop your own ideas and not rehash theory. Studying endgames and, at crucial points, first trying out for yourself what is possible, is the best way to find out what you can do with the pieces.

Bronstein was also critical during the training session. To his mind, the youth players too frequently asked for concrete solutions, for example to opening questions. Such knowledge can be found in books. It is more important to develop your own way of thinking. By playing through creative games, you can pick up many themes that you will be able to use in your own games. That is, if you have the guts to think independently and make decisions.

He made a compliment to Joyce Fongers ( 15 years old, and the Dutch U-20 girls champion). Technically her game has many flaws, but at least she tries out ideas and goes on the attack, showing the right attitude. Bronstein found it tiresome that the players hardly entered any discussion with him, so that he was the only one talking for most of the time. The participants eagerly absorbed everything he said - they hung on his lips and were deeply impressed by everything he dished up. But discussion and research are the basis of development, Bronstein claims. That's what a training should be about; it should not be one-way traffic from teacher to student. A chess player who wants to develop should ask questions and come up with ideas. Investigating all kinds of issues will help you think independently. Only then will you be able to find beautiful questions yourself, and will the game come alive for you. The 'secret' of his creativity is very simple, Bronstein says: 'Just keep on searching for interesting ideas and don't worry about results.' Often magnificent combinations are possible if you look further than your nose ('The secret of the Russian Chess School is that we studied a position until its very end').

Bronstein thinks it is terrible that many chess players are so afraid to lose that they do not play interesting games any more. Without reason, they go through life as nervous wrecks instead of inventors. He has a pOint of advice for those who want to get rid of this attitude, which was followed up during the training: play each other on four boards at a time, then analyse the games together. This way the result may be 3- 1 or 2,5-1,5, which will do more justice to the balance of powers. Bronstein is charmed by the fact that on the digital chess clocks the option of the 'Bronstein system' has been included. With a time increment after every move, you never have to lose on time. Analysing together after a game is very important, Bronstein claims. You can push each

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other to new heights. By confronting your ideas with the your opponent's, and both of you will get new ideas that neither of you would have found separately. 'I like to play against computers, because at least they do not come up with all sorts of excuses when they have lost a game', Bronstein says sarcastically. Again, he means that many players attach too much importance to gathering pOints. Instead, they'd better look for what other moves were possible during the game. Even the winner has probably missed all kinds of marvellous ideas, and therefore a little modesty is in order. Being ashamed of a lost game is about the most stupid thing Bronstein can think of: what matters is what you can learn from your games! You will be doing yourself a bad turn if you never dare to try something new. 'These days, many chess players prepare entire games at home, and they try to beat each other that way. That's not chess. You have to try and discover new possibilities at the board. You are not fighting a human being, you are fighting to develop new ideas.' In other words, in fact you are fighting yourself and pOints on the scoreboard do not matter - the only thing that matters is what you learn.

In chess, what matters is how well your pieces cooperate. Bronstein calls this 'energy'. In various positions he indicated on cards which squares were controlled by the pieces. With this aid, you can check if the pieces cooperate well. In a game you search for possibilities to pinpoint the weak spots in the position of your opponent. Bronstein's aid helps you to understand certain types of position. Players follow the fashion too much, i.e. the issues of the day, and because of this they only play certain openings. Bronstein thinks it is shortsighted nonsense to claim that a move is no good because it is not in the books. And even if a position is no good, you have to know why this is so. Rehashing other players' moves will not get you anywhere - you must investigate positions critically and make your own judgement. Only if you have found out yourself why certain positions are good or bad, you will know how to handle them and be able to play a proper game of chess.

Bronstein claims that chess is more than just calculating variations. He applauds the fact that during trainings at De Schaakmaat there are regular discussions about all kinds of views and experiences. He thinks it is highly important to learn to think independently and to solve problems on your own. By exchanging thoughts you will gain new insights - not only factual knowledge, but also a 'philosophy', a way of thinking. Playing against a computer together and discussing what happens is an excellent training method, Bronstein thinks. He also considers playing through annotated games where ideas are explained verbally to be an excellent exercise. 'You have to look between the moves', he says, and you can formulate your ideas in words. That's what it's all about. It's not about variations, because they are only elaborations on ideas. Of course, it is useful to train variation calculation - for instance, by putting an interesting position on the board and then calculating all kinds of continuations in your head. The best way to develop this skill is by starting at a young age, and doing it regularly.

Creativity means using your imagination. Fear will only paralyse your fantasy. Only if you look in every direction with an 'open mind', you will see many things. That something may go wrong and you may lose a point now and then, is a price that you should be willing to pay for conceiving beautiful ideas. And Bronstein has proved that this attitude may get you a long way too. You can develop

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your imagination by taking inspiration from interesting games by players like Tarrasch, Simagin, and Boleslavsky. Bronstein himself loves flexible positions, where the pawn structure is not fixed. By playing through a number of his games, you will see how a pawn mass may 'suddenly' get rolling (although you should keep in mind that there can be no attack without proper preparation), opening many lines, along which the pieces execute the sentence over the opponent.

By just rehashing moves you will not learn anything. That is why Bronstein advises to regularly look first what you yourself would play in a certain position when playing through a game. This will make the game come alive for you, and you will understand it better. In order to become a really creative player, you must learn to investigate and to reason independently. 'First think for yourself, and only then ask, or look up in the book, what's going on.' It is quite unwise to adopt things indiscriminately. 'You shouldn't believe anyone just like that, you shouldn't believe me either. I don't want to give you advice anyway, I only want to make my convictions clear.' Bobby Fischer may have been talking about 'crushing the other guy's ego', Bronstein's approach is much more friendly. 'You do not beat your opponent. He makes wrong evaluations and that is why your position is better. But the winner also makes all kinds of mistakes. You have to have respect for your opponent. After the game you can investigate all the possibilities together. Investigating, and developing possibilities - that is what chess is about.'

Karel van Delft, October 1995

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02 Loek van Wely

'Believe in yourself and keep on fighting. '

Name: Loek van Wely. Born: in Heesch. Age: 23. Rating: 2605. World ranking: 56. Title: GM (since November 1992). Profession: chess player.

Loek van Wely has played chess since he was four years old. His father taught him the moves, and Loek even managed to take his chess board to nursery school ('That's when things had already gone wong'). He thinks that he has become such a good player because he has played so many games and he always analysed with his opponent afterwards. Apart from that, he has read many chess books. He thinks Max Euwe's 6-part series is very good, and the same goes for the 'Master versus Amateur' triptych. Van Wely has also learned a lot during KNSB trainings with Cor van Wijgerden, and from individual trainings with Herman Grooten.

Last year, David Bronstein called Kasparov and Anand 'gangsters' because

Simul by Loek van Wely at he start of the SBSA Youth Academy.

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in their PCA world championship match they pocketed 1.5 million dollars without doing anything creative on the chess board. Van Wely thinks that this assessment of the match is correct. However, he also thinks that Bronstein's version of the story is a little too black-and-white. 'Kasparov does create new ideas, even if he has prepared them at home.' Van Wely thinks that Bronstein has become somewhat embittered because young players have little respect for the old guard. 'Glory fades quickly. Jan Timman also complains about this, he is sometimes seen as an old man past his prime.' Van Wely himself knows perfectly well what the qualities of both grandmasters are, even if their Elo rating is not so high any more. By the way, in his opinion a good book to study is Timman's 'The Art of Analysis'. Bronstein's Zurich '53 (the best tournament book of all time according to the connoisseurs) is probably also excellent, but Van Wely does not know that book. He has played Bronstein once. 'He came up with a quite original idea and he could probably have drawn. But he wanted to play a beautiful game and then he got what was coming to him. You have to be

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realistic. If you want too much, you can lose.' Van Wely does not believe that the current generation of elite players only plays for money. 'Sportive honour is also definitely at stake', he argues.

Van Wely does not say very much about his stay in Elista with father and son Kamsky. It struck him that Gata is a very nice lad who works very hard. Van Wely also had to work very hard as his second. He wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life that way. Moreover, Loek wonders whether it is useful to study more than eight hours a day. At a certain point you are no longer able to absorb information, so then it is better to take up other things, like sports. 'Kamsky senior arranges things with an iron hand, which is not always a very pleasant experience', he has found out after two months of cooperation.

On the basis of a few blitz games Van Wely draws the conclusion that things do not look so bad for the top youth players of De Schaakmaat. 'There is still hope', he ventures. Just like with many Dutch youth players, the opening knowledge of some of the 'Schaakmates' is 'heavily overdeveloped'. 'It is better for them to acquire a better understanding of the middle- and endgame by studying books. It irritates me now and then. They know all kinds of opening lines - as if they are reciting a lesson. And then, as soon as some real chess has to be played, they do not understand anything of the opening. Take the Sveshnikov. With my rating, I hardly understand it. It's better for them to play Dragons or King's Indians. They can learn from those. I didn't study openings seriously until I had a 2400 rating.'

Van Wely thinks that his own strongest point is also his weakest: 'My optimism. Also, I can put up a great fight. Sometimes that's unwise, sometimes I want too much when I should be happy with a draw. That would allow me to divide my energy better during a tournament.' Van Wely doesn't smoke or drink, and he does a lot of fitness sports. 'I notice that this often gives me more energy during the last two games of a tournament than I had before. Moreover, I think I will last longer this way. If you look at Anand and Gelfand, you'll see that they are becoming fatter and fatter.' In an interview with 'New in Chess', Van Wely once said that psychology was nonsense and does not play any role whatsoever in chess. Dharma Tjiam claimed that Van Wely said this to 'avoid all the fuss'. Van Wely has to laugh when he hears this. 'Did Dharma say that? Yes, that's about right.' On top level, psychology does play a role, as he knows from experience. 'You have to be able to handle the tension if there is a lot at stake. You have to be able to cope with defeats, and your irritation threshold is also put to the test. Some players try to bamboozle you in all kinds of ways. Don't think it's all wine and roses at the top. Instead of popping off for a pint together, they play with the gloves off. That said, there is a good deal of camaraderie between the Dutch top players.' For Van Wely the most important psychological rule of thumb is: keep believing in yourself and keep on fighting, then you will go a long way.

International chess master and psychologist Joris Brenninkmeijer thinks it is a good thing for top chess players to deepen their knowledge of psychological factors. His lament that where psychology is concerned, it's easier to talk to a piece of wood than to Van Wely, is duly confirmed by the latter. However, Van Wely's grin leads us to suspect that he does indeed recognize the importance of psychological issues, though he does not necessarily want to chat about them with Brenninkmeijer. Suddenly Van Wely starts to laugh. Psychology - yes,

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actually he does apply it now and then. In the Germany Bundesliga he once blundered a piece after nine moves of theory in a quiet opening. His opponent sank into thought for half an hour. Van Wely whispered to one of his opponent's team mates that he had blundered a piece. As expected, the player duly passed on this information to Van Wely's opponent, who fell into even deeper despair. In the end, he did not dare to take the piece and lost the game.

At the moment, Van Wely occupies 56th place on the FIDE rating list. He does not know when he will reach his ceiling. But he does think that a 2680 rating, and with it a place in the top-ten, should be within the range of possibilities. 'Adams is also in the top-ten, and he's quite a heavy boozer. He isn't exactly a model of hard work. I think that strong nerves, the right attitude and talent can get you a long way.' As is well known, many Russian grandmasters have had the opportunity to work with a master three or four times a week during their youth. Van Wely and other Dutch top players had to make do with a few individual trainings and a few group trainings per year. 'But I compensated for that by working through many chess books by myself. If you want to reach the top, it's largely up to yourself.' But working hard is not enough, Van Wely thinks. It also depends on what you do. 'Today, young players are mainly busy keeping their databases up-to-date. The importance of this is relative. It does not automatically improve your understanding. It's better to play a few lesser moves and understand what is going on in a position.' Understanding is largely based on the recognition of themes in a position, Van Wely supposes. You grow familiar with these themes by playing and analysing many games, and also by playing through many commented chess games. He also stresses the importance of regular tactical exercises. 'Your level will drop very quickly if you don't do that. If you do practice regularly, you will recognize tricks more easily and you will be able to weave them into your own positions as well.'

In general the level of chess journalism in The Netherlands is reasonably good, Van Wely thinks. Especially Gert Ligterink (de Volkskrant) and Hans Ree (NRC) are very good in his opinion. At New in Chess they are too tame sometimes. 'I had reluctantly agreed to write comments to one of my games with Timman. I wrote, among others: 'it's my turn to kick Timman's ass', but they left that out. I don't much care for that kind of censorship. Ten Geuzendam wants to remain friends with everybody. That is why (the Dutch magazine) Vrij Nederland had such a namby-pamby interview with Piket, Timman and me.'

The Netherlands is a good country for chess, with many good tournaments and many books. However, the Dutch training culture is heavily underdeveloped, Van Wely thinks. He does not exclude the possibility that he might have gotten much further with better training and coaching facilities. 'What's more, the 'country', i.e., everything outside the two bulwarks of chess, Leiden and Amsterdam, is being discriminated against. The KNSB is now drawing up contracts with a few strong youth players. This means that a lot of money will go to a few players from Leiden and Amsterdam. I think this is a bad thing, since a number of other good youth players don't get any chances this way.' Van Wely is partly drawing from his own experience. Twice he wasn't able to take part in a world junior championship because he had to pay for expenses himself. 'The next time, when they noticed that I had a good chance to win the world title, suddenly there was money. But then I stood firm and didn't go.'

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There's one misunderstanding Van Wely wants to clear up. The story went that he hadn't called the federation to announce that he would not play in the Dutch championship until he was leaving for Kalmykia. 'That's not true. I told them a week-and-a-half earlier. But then they threatened me with lawsuits and exclusion from other tournaments. That's why at first I agreed to play. But when I spoke to a lawyer friend of mine, and some things turned out to be different. Then I called it off on account of having been unduly pressed.' By the way, Van Wely has been restored to favour again by the KNSB. For that he had to lay 2, 100 euro on the table. '900 euro because a new flyer for the Dutch championship had to be made, and a fine of 1,200 euro. This money will be put in a youth fund, which means that I will be paying for trainings of youth players from Leiden and Amsterdam.' If only for this reason, he enjoys going to Apeldoorn to draw the attention of a bunch of youth players to their deficiencies, we should understand. He explicitly refuses to accept even travel expenses.

Looking back on his own development, Van Wely points to the fact that it is highly important to visit tournaments with a group of youth players. You will enjoy yourself, and that is important if you want to learn to play well. Moreover, you will do a lot of analysing in an enjoyable way, learning a lot while you play. Van Wely himself has made many trips to foreign countries with, among others, Joris Brenninkmeijer and Dharma Tjiam. On those occasions, the young gentlemen didn't mind teasing each other where possible in a playful way. Any small defeat was a good occasion to rub salt into the wound. Just to keep the spirit high, of course.

Karel van Delft, June 1996

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03 Artur Yusupov

Yusupov and the road to your own top

'Every human being has talents, this is my convict ion. The only question is: which talents, and how should you develop them? It is healthy to have ambitions, but you have to ask yourself what price you are prepared to pay for them', says chess grandmaster Artur Yusupov (4 1), the former world number 3 in his sport. Yusupov travels up and down to Apeldoorn a few times a year, where he occup ies f irst board for Schaakstad Apeldoorn, a team that plays in the Dutch Premier League. On Friday, 24 March 200 1, he managed to combine this with an appearance in the sports cafe organized by local chess sponsor ROC

Simultaneous exhibition by Artur Yusupov. ( photo Cocky van Delft)

Aventus during the 'Plenty Jobs' jobs market in the 'Americahal' in Apeldoorn. Artur Yusupov was born in Moscow, as the second of four boys. Both his parents were mathematic ians. At home they played chess on amateur level, as was done in many Russian families. When Artur was s ix, his father taught him to play chess, and soon he began to devour chess books. He was utterly fascinated by the game.

'My parents didn't mind this at all, and I was lucky to grow up in a country where the state strongly stimulated chess. There were many good trainers available, and you could play a competition game every week. When I was fifteen, the famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky, who has remained a fr iend, started to train with me, and on my seventeenth I became Junior World Champion. In 1986 I occupied third place on the world l ist, behind Kasparov and Karpov. Nobody

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A game analysis with Artur Yusupov during an SBSA youth training. ( p hoto Cocky van Delft)

ever forced me to do anything, 1 very much wanted to reach the top myself. And 1 have never regretted it. 1 have been able to visit dozens of countries, and have a lot of life experience.' After finishing secondary school, Yusupov started a university study in economics. 'The level of education in Russia was definitely not worse than in Western Europe, but the Soviet system had deteriorated into an absurd, paranoid social order.' After two years, Yusupov dropped out. 'I could no longer combine my study with top-class sport.'

To achieve results, whether in top-class chess or in graduating at school, you have to believe in your goal, Yusupov claims. 'You have to be focused, you have to be totally committed to your goa!.' W hich mean that you have to develop self-discipline and reserve sufficient time to achieve your aim. 'Looking back, 1 think 1 could have made more out of my career. Probably I've been enjoying life too much. And perhaps 1 should have started giving lessons sooner. If you give trainings yourself, you begin to think more deeply about things than if

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you only study them for your own use.' To have ambitions is healthy, Yusupov claims. 'But you have to ask yourself what you want and what you are prepared to give up to get it. You can study night after night, but if this is at the expense of your family life, you have to either make good arrangements or adjust your goals.' Yusupov is well-known for his great sportsmanship: 'A bad character is not a prerequisite for achieving a world top position. 1 think that you also have to have respect for the people around you. To reach the top you must be hard on yourself, not on others. But there is a dilemma here: you have to invest a lot of time and energy into your ambitions if you want to get the maximum out of your capacities. You have to find a balance between your ambitions and your social life.'

Ten years ago, after a robbery at his flat where he got seriously injured, Yusupov decided to leave Russia. Now he lives with his wife and two children in Germany, where he has founded a chess academy. 'I play for clubs in four countries, 1 write books together with Mark Dvoretsky, 1 have created the commercial website www.chessgate.de together with a few people, now and then 1 organize a tournament and 1 give trainings.' These days, Artur Yusupov occupies 50th place on the world ranking list, which means that he is still getting along fine in his sport. However, he spends a lot of energy on trainings. 'I very much enjoy training with amateurs. The level is not so important - if people are motivated I'm enjoying it as well. And 1 think it is a fascinating job to coach young talents.' When Yusupov gives trainings to young talents, he offers them more than pure technique and understanding. He creates an easy-going atmosphere where all the participants immediately fee! comfortable. He asks questions and stimulates people to think and to consult each other. Top-class sport has everything to do with self-management, and with his attitude, his questions and his remarks, Yusupov contributes to the education of his pupils. He feeds their faScination, teaches them to relativize, and passes on a love for research.

'A good coach is important. You can do a lot on your own, as Bobby Fischer has shown us, but a good coach can help you to study much more efficiently, and he can help you develop your social skills. Good education is not just delegation of knowledge, you also educate your pupils as human beings. With a good talk and some critical questions, for instance, a coach can help you become more decisive. He can help you develop a vision, and improve your self-management. But a coach cannot do everything. The most important thing for students is to have a strong character. They must be longing to achieve something themselves and they must spend energy and time on this. Every human being has talents, and the thing is to determine your own goal, your own ceiling, on a realistic level, and to determine how you can reach it.'

Karel van Delft, Spring 200 1

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04 Jan Tim man

Grandmaster Jan Timman signed his book 'De macht van het loperpaar' (this book was later combined with 'De kracht van het paard' into the Englishlanguage book 'Power Chess with Pieces') in March 2004 in bookshop Nawijn & Polak in Apeldoorn. Roughly forty chess players purchased one or several of his books. Afterwards, Jan Timman spoke with SBSA secretary Karel van Delft in the local La Paz restaurant.

Timman is still full of ambition

The 'best of the west', Jan Timman (52) was called in 1982, when he was second on the world's rating list behind World Champion Anatoly Karpov. In 2004 he can still compete with the greatest players in the world. That is what he says himself, and he demonstrated it in the latest Corus Tournament, where he drew with Vladimir Kramnik . However, despite splendid play, he squandered winning positions against Van Wely and Leko, and Timman ended up at the bottom of the list. 'I was very nervous and I had too little energy', says Timman candidly. 'I've had his before, but never so often during one and the same tournament. This was extreme. I don't know how this could happen. I will have to work on it.' With an Elo rating of 2578, way below his standard, Timman is ranked seventh on the Dutch rating list. It would, however, be a mistake to think that in his fifties, Timman is ready to be written off. 'I've had temporary setbacks before. I can still compete with the strongest players, and I expect to perform better again in the near future.' That might happen in Almelo, where, during the Easter weekend, Timman will play a short match of four games with the Dutch champion, grandmaster Loek van Wely. Timman will also probably be taking part in another summer tournament, in Amsterdam.

Jan Timman has been a professional chess player ever since he left school. 'I do this mainly because I'm good at it, I think. The game still remains interesting, but if you have been playing for so long, you cannot always perform on top level.' His life as a professional player has broug ht Timman many interesting encounters with lots of people, and he has been to a great many countries. 'I haven't counted how many, but I have never been in Australia or China yet, for example.' He says this one day before his umpteenth visit to Iceland, where he will take part in the Reykjavik Open.

Timman has written many chess articles, among others in New In Chess, the best chess magazine in the world, of which he is editor-in-chief. He is also the author of roug hly a dozen chess books, and of an autobiographical collection of articles called 'Een sprong in de Noordzee' (i.e. 'A jump in the North Sea'). He considers 'Het sma lie pad' (i.e. 'The narrow path') to be his best book. In it, he discusses games and describes how he fared in various matches for the world championship in the period 1972- 1986. Of this Dutch-language chess book, approximately 7000 copies have been sold - less than your average regional novel. You cannot make a living out of writing chess books, says Timman. However, he is utterly captivated by the analysis of games, in search of the ultimate chess truth - and writing chess books challenges him to reflect on the game. Besides 'De macht van het loperpaar', Timman recently wrote the book 'Briljant Schaken 2003' ('Brilliant Chess 2003') together with international

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J an Timman signs books in books hop N awijn & Polak.

Merij n van Delft gives a simul during Timman's book presen tation.

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master Hans Bbhm. In this book, the two authors discuss ten beautiful games and ten brilliant endgame studies. If this formula catches on, the book will get a follow-up in an annual series.At the moment, the grandmaster is also working on a book on the famous Candidates-tournament Cura<;ao 1962. As a writer of chess books, Timman is doing many chess fans an immense favour, following in the footsteps of World Champion Max Euwe. 'Euwe was more of a didactician, his books were more aimed at instruction than mine', Timman says. 'The difference is that I write more about clearly defined themes. But I try to make them accessible to a wide audience.'

In a recent radio talk with Hans Bbhm and the greatest Dutch talent Daniel Stellwagen, Timman claimed that he didn't know for sure whether he would want to be a professional player if he were a young talent today. 'The problem is that these days, a lot of preparation is done with the computer', he explains. 'You must first acquire an enormous amount of knowledge in order to keep up the pace nowadays. That makes it less attractive. 'The last time Jan Timman participated in a Dutch championship was in 1998. Of the fourteen championships in which he took part, he won nine. 'I would like to participate again', he says. 'But the problem is that the KNSB refuses to give conditions.' As a professional player, Timman has his principles, and as long as the Dutch chess federation does not meet his wishes, the chess fans will have to do without him during the Dutch championship. And then there is also the issue of the antidoping test. Like grandmaster Artur Yusupov, Timman thinks that such tests are irrelevant and to his mind, peeing in a cup and handing it over borders on the embarrassing. 'Still, this is a problem that can be overcome, and this law will probably be abolished one day. 'The greatest obstacle for his return to the Dutch championship is KNSB board member Sytze Faber, Timman says. 'There is no talking to that man.'

The Dutch writer C. Buddingh' once wrote in his Dagboeknotities (i.e. 'Diary Notes') 1977- 1985 that Timman would never become World Champion. 'He is way too friendly, too sophisticated, too amiable, too creative even. To become a World Champion in this day and age, you need to be an android connected to a computer.' Confronted with this quote, Timman smiles. 'I don't know if that's true. I can be friendly and also professional. But one thing is true : Karpov, Kortchnoi and Kasparov have a certain fanaticism, they can focus on one thing. I don't have this characteristic by nature, I would really have to arouse such an attitude within myself.' The grandmaster, who lives in Amsterdam, is highly interested in endgame studies, and he also composes them himself. He can talk enthusiastically about this subject. 'It is the way of thinking that appeals to me, also because of its kinship with practical chess. Endgame studies have paradoxical, counter-intuitive and esthetic aspects. In the near future I want to think up something for the celebration of Pal Benko's 75th anniversary. Chess problems appeal less to me, they are often not practical.'

Timman has never played a match in Apeldoorn. He did stay in Hotel De Keizerskroon in 1993, during his world championship match with Karpov in Zwolle. In 1976, 1977 and 1978, he stayed in Apeldoorn three times with, among others, Donner, during a training camp of the Dutch national selection. Even then he did not believe that physical training as a means of preparation for competition would pay off. Fitnessing in a gym, as Loek van Wely does, is not his cup of tea. 'I swim and I play tennis for fun. Anyway, did Van Wely get

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very far with it?', he laughs. On the argument that without fitness, which is also something that Kasparov swears by, Van Wely might have come less far, Timman replies benevolently: 'That's true.'

For youth players with ambition, Timman has no tailor-made recipe. 'It is hard to give a general answer to this question', he says. Of course, tactics should be practiced regularly, and it is important to play through annotated games. 'Especially Keres's game collections are instructive. 'Studying opening books has even less sense - this is more suitable for advanced players. 'Of course you have to study the basics, you also have to do that if you want to learn to play the flute. But you have to watch out that you don't start playing cliche moves.'

As a youth trainer there is no great future awaiting Timman, at least not in the near future. Now and then he trains with two members of the Dutch national youth selection at a time, among whom Smeets and Stel lwagen. 'We analyse games for four hours. The last time was in December, and arrangements have been made for another training in April. Of course, this is not nearly enough. The federation has all kinds of training plans for Stellwagen, and I have expressed my willingness to cooperate. This can be useful - Kasparov has also trained with Geller, for instance. I hope it is not too late, as Stellwagen is already 17 years old. But I don't know if something will come of it. I don't want to have any more contact with the member of the board who is in charge of top-class chess - Sytze Faber. That man does not know anything about chess. He calls me late at night in Wijk aan Zee when I have to play Shirov with black the next day. I think that he has to leave, but he will only leave if he is forced to. He enjoys power.'

Karel van Delft, March 2004

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Rob H artoch gives a training during YMM.

05 Rob Hartoc h

'This formula is great, they should adopt it everywhere. '

Rob Hartoch looks back with great pleasure at the latest edition of Youth Meets Masters, where he was in charge of the youngest age group for the third time. Hartoch tells his story two weeks later in the canteen of De Moriaan, during the Corus tournament, where he takes part in one of the two highest reserve groups. Most of the seven children in his training group in the Mind Sports Centre in Apeldoorn were around eight years old. These four girls and three boys had one or two diplomas from the Step-by-Step Method. To discuss an entire game takes up too much time, Hartoch thinks. 'You have to keep it playful.' The training lasted five hours, minus two half-hour breaks. That is perfectly feasible as long as your approach is interactive and varied, as Hartoch has found out. 'This formula is great, they should adopt it everywhere.'

The training in Hartoch's group started with a presentation of five problems to the children. In one position a piece had to be won, in another a positional advantage had to be achieved. The children were allowed to take independently quite a few decisions during the training. For example, they could choose whether they wanted to solve a problem on their own or in twos. 'Whatever they like best. I give them this freedom.' Hartoch first explains the intention of a theme, and then he lets the children toy with the problem. 'I walk around and answer questions. It's fine this way, it allows me to step outside and smoke a cigarette now and then.'

The atmosphere in the group was quite jolly during the entire day. It was a good thing, Hartoch thought, that his group was placed close to the exit. This way the children could go to the canteen section without having to walk past other groups. 'The other groups may have been bothered by my rather loud

17 1

voice', Hartoch supposes apologetically. But this turned out not to be a problem. In the hall there were 59 children, 10 trainers and some more staff members of the organization, as well as a few parents who occasionally took an interested look at the proceedings in the various groups. The oldest, strongest groups trained in the back of the hall, and as you got closer to the exit, the average age and rating lowered.

Parents and children gave Hartoch many compliments, he says, visibly pleased. Not a word of this is untrue, as observations of the group and reports sent in by the children afterwards showed that the children considered themselves enormously lucky to have been in Hartoch's group. 'They thought I was a friendly gentleman and a good chess player as well', Hartoch relates with a smile. Another training item was a blitz tournament. Six children played a single-round competition with each other, while Hartoch took on Emma, the smallest of the group - and tasted defeat. She beamingly accepted a booklet with a handwritten foreword by Hartoch after the training.

In 1965, Hartoch came second at the junior world championship in Barcelona, and he played for the Dutch team at two Olympiads. He has played against the giants, and beaten, among others, Paul Keres. There is a whole world of difference between that level and that of the children. For the international master from Amsterdam this is by no means an obstacle for enthusiastically playing chess with the children for an entire morning or afternoon: 'They have so much fun, it makes me enthusiastic as welL' It reminds Hartoch of the time he learned to play chess himself. 'I was six. My father was the best teacher I could have wished for. He wasn't a strong player, but he had fun and explained the game to me with much pleasure.' Soon he became too strong for his father. 'Then I went on the streets, looking for opponents, and later on I searched the entire neighbourhood. At secondary school, in the afternoons, I would set off running to the Leidseplein, because that's where the strongest players in the city were to be found.' He is grinning. 'But when I tell this to children, I also tell them that they should make their homework first.' Hartoch has also told this story to the children in his Y MM group. 'We started by introduCing ourselves and telling each other how we learned to play chess. I also told them who I am and what I have done in chess.'

Hartoch abolished the notation of the moves during simuls this year. 'Last year one of the kids started to cry - he could play chess but he couldn't yet write.' Nor has he given any tips to the children about how they should train: 'They are still too young to overlook such things.' In between events, he did regularly present quiz questions to the children, with which they could earn bonus pOints. Questions like: Who is the Dutch champion?, or: Which is the strongest chess club in Apeldoorn? With older children he discusses the simul games afterwards. You shouldn't do that with young kids, Hartoch knows: 'They immediately forget the games, and then they are no longer interested.' You have to strike the iron while it's hot, which is why Hartoch analyses during the games. 'Important moves I discuss with them right away. They are also allowed to take back their moves. This way they can learn something, and it remains fun. If you want to stimulate chess, children should have fun. You should make a social thing of it.'

'If children offered me a draw, I could not refuse', Hartoch says. 'But when I offered one, there were even some who refused. Then I had to win. Except

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against Emma, she was too strong for me. So she got the most pOints. Because she was so good, she participated hors concours, as I agreed with the other children.

That's why, as the youngest, she got a special prize.' Children find these Y MM days very inspiring. As young as they are, they can be quite fanatical. Marike had gathered five zeros in blitz, but she kept her drive. 'Touch-move', she would tell her opponents. 'Well, she lost all games, but judging by the level of the games the result could have been the opposite in every game. The winning chances were swinging at every move.' Apparently, Marike wasn't traumatized by her series of zeros. Hartoch and her father, Gerrit, are friends. 'He called me on the next day, a Saturday, to tell me that she had won a big trophy at a youth tournament.'

Four hours nett of chess training is no problem whatsoever for young children if the YMM formula is followed, as Hartoch has found out several times already. 'You should allow them to be active - give them free rein. But you must also indicate clearly what they should do, and be at hand in case they have questions or they cannot make headway with a certain problem.' The children could gain pOints on the various items. One year earlier they even got three points for picking up pieces from the ground. 'They were all fanatically trying to gain pOints. The element of competition is important for them. That makes it more exciting. Of course I also give away pOints, but I will always be fair and take care that the strongest player gets the most pOints in the end.' Hartoch repeats that he values the YMM formula highly, as it gives every trainer the freedom to introduce his own methods and subjects. 'We should keep it this way. Everybody enjoys it. It is also unique that virtually the entire first team of Schaakstad Apeldoorn gives trainings. I will be back next year.'

Karel van Delft, January 2005

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E - APPENDICES

El Ana lysis Question naire

By analysing your own games, you will learn from your experiences. This will provide you with insights which you will be able to use in the future. An analysis questionnaire can help you analyse your games thoroughly. When you analyse a game, you have to think of a lot of things. The most important pOints are mentioned in this list. Not all questions apply every time. Analysing games takes time. But it has the advantage that you discover what your strong and weak pOints are. Keep in mind that it is better to analyse one game thoroughly than ten games superficially. First fill in the questionnaire by yourself, and then discuss it with a strong player. It is also useful to analyse a game with your opponent afterwards. Your opponent may be able to explain certain things to you. It may also be instructive because he/she may have thought about the game in an entirely different way than you. This also applies to games you have won! On the basis of your experiences you can make additions to the lists. You can also make a list of points of attention that you want to keep in mind in the future.

Tech nica l questions

1. Which opening was played? Do you play it more often? Why? Do you know the ideas behind the opening? Do you know the tricks? Is it a quiet opening or an aggressive one?

2. Until which move did you know the opening (suggestion: look what you can find in opening books)?

3. Were there any remarkable situations in the opening (e.g. transposition of moves, unnecessary loss of tempo)?

4. Which moves took you a lot of time? Why?

5. Which of your opponent's moves surprised you? What did you expect and how did you plan to react?

6. Which of your and your opponent's moves do you find very good? Why? (you can describe this in variations and/or in words. Did you mainly play actively (with initiative) or passively (waiting)? Why?

7. Which of your own and your opponent's moves do you find very bad? Why?

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8. Look at Steinitz's list. Were there any moments in the game when you or your opponent obtained one of these advantages? Which mistakes were the cause of this? What were the consequences for the game?

9. Which of your moves marked the start of the execution of a plan? Can you describe the contents of this plan in words? Do you think now that this plan was good or bad? Have you changed plans at a certain pOint? Why?

10. Do you know which plan your opponent followed? Do you think you have given this enough attention during the game? How do you assess this plan?

11. Were there any moments in the game when you had no idea which plan to follow? Why did you play the move you eventually played? (suggestion: it is better to have a small or a mediocre plan than no plan at all)

1 2. Were you familiar with the type of position? If so, describe how you have come to know it. If not, was it difficult to find a plan? Why?

13. Were you able to sacrifice anything? Why did or didn't you do that?

14. Did you at any moment have a choice between a tactical and a positional struggle? What did you base your choice on? Did you take the strength of your opponent into account?

15. Which tactical means have you used?

16. Were there any possibilities to simplify into a certain kind of endgame? Why did or didn't you do that?

17. Did you at any moment think of alternative moves? What were these alternatives and to which type of position would they have led?

18. What was the decisive mistake of the game? Why?

19. Which suggestions did your opponent make after the game?

20. Which subjects are you going to study (again) as a result of this game?

21. Which technical rules of thumb can you derive for yourself from this game?

22. What did you find the most instructive about this game?

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Tactical means/combination motifs

These means and motifs are aimed at acquiring the advantages mentioned in Steinitz's list.

1. advantageous exchange 2. twofold attack 3. pin 4. removal of the defender (taking/chasing away) 5. double attack 6. discovered attack/check 7. X-ray attack/check 8. interruption 9. decoy/deflection 10. blocking 11. magnet combination 12. attack on the king 13. occupying the 7th rank 14. hunting and aiming 15. line or square clearance 16. tempo gain 17. tying and/or overburdening pieces 18. zugzwang 19. quiet move

Elements of Steinitz

Permanent adva ntages:

1. material advantage 2. bad king position 3. passed pawn 4. weak pawns 5. weak squares 6. weak colour complex 7. pawn islands 8. strong pawn centre 9. bishop pair in open position 10. control of a file 11. control of a diagonal 12. control of a rank

Temporary adva ntages:

1. bad piece position 2. inharmoniously placed pieces 3. advantage in development 4. concentration of pieces in the centre 5. space advantage

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Psychological questions

1. What expectations did you have at the start of the game? Why? Were they fulfilled?

2. How did you feel? Why?

3. What did you know about your opponent? Have you taken that into account? How?

4. Did you have any psychological problems during the game (nervousness, doubts, recklessness, eagerness, fear of failure, failing willpower, etc.)?

5. Do you suffer from 'vices' during a game (e.g. touching a piece too quickly)?

6. How was your self-control? Were you self-confident?

7. How was your ability to concentrate?

8. How was your time management (and your opponent's)?

9. Were you disturbed by things that happened around you?

10. Did your opponent use any psychological tricks? How did you react?

11. Were you tired (before, after)? If so, why?

12. Were you too focused on your own plan or did you also take your opponent's plan into account?

13. Was it easy for you to make decisions?

14. Have you relieved effort with relaxation?

15. Were you afraid of your opponent? If so, why?

16. How creative were you in this game?

17. Did you show your opponent how you felt (e.g. did you show uncertainty)?

18. How was your mood? Did that influence your play?

19. Did you panic during the game? And your opponent? If so, at what moment? What could be the reason for this?

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20. Did you do any 'wishful thinking' during the game ('I play this, hoping that my opponent will play that')?

21. Were you occupied by the game or were you thinking about the result, the public, your opponent, or doubts?

22. Were you in the mood to play well? Why/why not?

23. What did you do when things got difficult?

24. Did you concentrate on a good result (1-0) or on playing a good game?

25. Did you commit blunders? If so, what was the cause?

26. Did you play the game in your own tempo or were you influenced by your opponent's tempo (slow, fast)? Was that wise in this game?

27. Did you fight until all the possibilities had been tried?

28. Did you divide your time well? Did you take enough time to think deeply at the crucial moments of the game?

29. Did you stop looking at certain continuations because you 'felt' that they were impossible?

30. Did you in any way allow yourself to be influenced by your opponent's behaviour?

31. Can you say goodbye to a finished game?

32. Were you annoyed by your opponent? Why?

33. At certain moments, did you look what you would do if you were your opponent?

34. What will you do differently next time?

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E2 Score form Youth Meets Masters

Youth Meets Masters, Friday, Ja nuary 7, 2005

Mind Sports Centre Apeldoorn, Dubbelbeek 24, Apeldoorn 11.00 - 17.00h Organization: SBSA (www.sbsa.nl) Coordination: Karel van Delft (k. [email protected], 06-22226928) Sponsor: Van der Mey Jewellers

Progra mme

Time schedule and contents of workshop can be arranged differently, according to own judgement

11.00

11.15 - 12.15

12.15 - 13.15

13.15 - 13.45

13.45 - 14.45 14.45 - 16.00 16.00 - 16.30 16.30

entry, payment (10 euro, SBSA youth participants have already paid), forming of groups everyone introduces themselves, discussion of own game by trainer + explanation about opening blitz tournament, trainer joins if amount of participants is uneven talk about the best way to train, have participants tell their own story, trainer as well (here the list of points of attention from the coaching talk can be used) simultaneous exhibition (write down the games) discuss games extension, various (for example: endgame) soup

Name workshop giver: Name participant:

For each item you can earn pOints, with a maximum of 90 points. The participant with the highest amount of pOints in a group wins a chess book.

Duri ng the game discussion you wi l l be asked five questions, you can gain a maxim u m of six poi nts for each.

Question 1 .. .. pOints Question 2 .. .. pOints Question 3 .... pOints Question 4 .... points Question 5 . . .. points Total game discussion: .... points

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Blitz tourna ment:

Loss 0 paints, draw 3 paints, win 6 points. The workshop giver joins the tournament in case of an uneven number of participants;

Pairing based on numbers. Workshop giver gets no. 6.

1 st round 1-6 2-5 3-4 .... paints 2 nd round 6-4 5-3 1-2 .... paints 3 rd round 2-6 3-1 4-5 . .. . paints 4 th round 6-5 1-4 2-3 .... paints 5 th round 3-6 4-2 5-1 .... paints Total blitz ....... points

Simultaneous exh ibition :

If with clock: Simul player and participants get half an hour each. Writing down game is obligatory. Loss 0 paints, draw 10 paints, win 20 paints. Number of points: .... Mark for level of the game (maximum: 10): .... Total for clock simul: .... . paints

Total number of paints for these three items: ....... . paints

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E3 Points of attention for consu ltation a bout (self-)tra i ning

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1. How much time do you spend on chess every day/week? What do you do?

2. Do you have trainers? 3. Do you have a training partner? 4. Do you keep a chess diary, or do you make notes of the things you do? 5. Do you work with a week schedule, or do you plan the things you have

to do in another way? 6. Do you store your chess information, for instance, in a binder? 7. Do you write down your games during (rapid) tournaments and

matches? 8. Do you save your own games in a computer? 9. Do you analyse your games on the board and with Fritz? 10. Do you analyse your games with your opponent afterwards? 11. Do you ever play through annotated games? 12. What chess books do you have? 13. Do you read chess magazines? 14. Do you play chess via the Internet? 15. Do you ever play theme tournaments with a certain opening? 16. Do you visit tournaments regularly? 17. Do you make tactical exercises daily? Which ones? Do you know the

collection of 3500 tactical exercises? 18. Which openings do you play? How do you practise them? 19. Do you give trainings yourself? Where, which, to whom, and how? 20. Do you play correspondence chess? 21. Do you know what 'CIEPC' means? When can you apply it? 22. During a game, do you ever wonder what you would do if you were in

your opponent's shoes? 23. In which school team or club team do you play? 24. Do you ever write reports on chess for a school paper or a club bulletin? 25. How is your time use during games? 26. What is the best way for you to concentrate? 27. During a game, do you apply energy management? 28. Do you know the SBSA Analysis Questionnaire? (see www.sbsa.nl)

E4 List of psychologica l tips

Questions

1. If you want to learn something, which is better: to spend a lot of time on it in one session, or during various short periods?

2. In what way will you learn to understand something better: by working on it in the same way all the time, or by working on it in different ways?

3. What is the advantage of playing together against a computer? 4. Why is alternation of procedures important during a training? 5. If you have studied something, you have to ask yourself: 'what have I

learned here?' Why is that? 6. Why should you analyse games together with others? 7. What is the result of feeling insecure? 8. How should you react if you blunder during a game? 9. What use are mistakes to you? 10. Lasker always tried to create as much tension as possible in a game,

working on his opponent's nerves. What do you think were the consequences of this?

11. Tal was known for his daring combinations and sacrifices. How do you think his opponents reacted to this?

12. How did Fischer surprise Spassky at their 1972 match for the world championship?

13. Why is creativity important for chess players? 14. What did the blind man say? 15. In a chess diary you can keep score of new things you have learned.

Name four advantages of a diary. 16. Why is it important to make tactical exercises on an (almost) daily basis? 17. Why is it useful to collect thematic positions in a computer database? 18. Is it good to quickly learn new things right before a tournament? 19. If you find a position very difficult, it is not clever to panic. What should

you do instead? '

20. Is it good to constantly concentrate on the position throughout the game?

21. What is wishful thinking? 22. During a game, circumstances are different than during a training

session. Conflicting interests are at stake, there is an opponent, there is an audience, there can be noise in the playing hall. Many players are self-focused in such cases, which leads to doubt and tension. What is the best thing to do?

23. What does it mean if you lack self-confidence? How many opponents does this give you?

24. What are mnemonics and what use are they to you as a chess player? 25. Why is it important to analyse your own games? 26. Which are the factors that determine your performance ability? 27. What is the intention of psychological tricks? 28. Is it a bad thing to lose form? 29. What can you do if you are regularly in time-trouble? 30. Why is it useful to talk about your functioning with fellow team members

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and a coach? 31. How useful is it to look for solutions to problems? 32. Do people always look at (chess) problems objectively? 33. Is good planning important? 34. Is it useful for a chess player to give lessons? 35. What is experimenting? Is it useful? 36. What is the best way to internalize all these insights?

Answers

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1. Several short periods is better, as this will allow you to memorize the information better.

2. By working on it in different ways. 3. When you play together, you learn from each other as you go along. For

example, about the way you analyse (divide a problem into parts and assign meaning to those) and the way you reason (if this, then that).

4. It's more fun and your attention won't fade so quickly. If something is fun, it will be easier for you to learn.

5. In this way you force yourself to check if you really understand it. You can write the most important things in a chess diary as rules of thumb ( =

general rules). By writing it down, you acquire your knowledge actively instead of passively, and it will remain in your memory. By going through your diary now and then, you can refresh your memory. This is useful during championships!

6. This way you can learn from each other's insights. Moreover, others may ask critical questions about things you wouldn't realize by yourself. Everyone has his blind spots. Moreover, you cannot see what you do not know.

7. You will more easily make mistakes. A little fear of failure is understandable before or during important games, but it is not useful. You cannot do the impossible. It's best if you intend to make every game a beautiful one, and, in any case, if you try to learn from each one. This mentality will lead to the best results in the long run. It's no use only worrying about the result.

S. Stay calm and take your chances. Always keep in mind that your opponent can also make a mistake. Very often, players get over-confident in better positions. This is at the expense of their concentration and will soon cause them to make mistakes - especially if you try to take the initiative and complicate the play as much as possible.

9. Mostly they will not make you happy. But you can learn from them. So do just that, and show your lost games to a stronger player. Nobody's perfect.

10. His opponents tended to make mistakes sooner. 11. They often got into time-trouble. 12. He changed his opening repertoire. You have a better chance of success

if you are unpredictable for your opponents. 13. You practise creating surprising solutions to problems for which many

others think there is no solution. Einstein said: 'Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else has ever thought.' Creativity

can also be described as finding connections between things that appear to have nothing to do with each other. Creativity consists of a number of thinking skills which can be learned.

14. 'First seeing, then believing.' Everything is not what it seems at first sight. An apparently losing position can sometimes be won by a creative turn.

15. A. It allows you to reconsider what you have learned and experienced, B. You build up a good survey of the things you know and can do, C. You can enter rules of thumb in it, D. It's fun to read it again after a while; you will see what you have learned.

16. Our memory has limitations. You have to keep skills like recognizing and executing tactical combinations up to date.

17. Because if you look at these positions regularly, you will sooner recognize similar positions and be able to make use of your knowledge of the characteristics.

18. No. You have to learn all year long. It is much more efficient to repeat certain things right before a championship, like thematic positions in a computer database, your diary, tactical exercises, and refreshing your opening repertoire.

19. Think of your opponent. He just might perceive the position as being even more difficult.

20. No. You have to alternate exertion with relaxation. On balance this will yield the best results.

21. Thinking what you would want to happen. This is not really useful. It is better to think realistically about the possibilities offered in the position, and to make a plan that offers you opportunities and your opponent restrictions. Wishful thinking is a well-known pitfall. Many people mainly look at what they want to see, and that is what they verify; i.e. they check if it is correct. They do not try to falsify (i.e. refute) their own ideas.

22. Working in a task-oriented way: you have set yourself a goal (to play an interesting and instructive game) and you will seriously devote yourself to this task. You cannot do the impossible. You know what you can do and that is what you will show. A surgeon is not going to fall into doubt during an operation, and complain that he was out of form if the patient dies. Working task-orientedly pre-empts cramped thinking, as you will be using all your energy for constructive thoughts.

23. That your self-esteem is too low. This gives you two opponents: the other player and yourself.

24. Mnemonics are thinking tricks that help you structurize your thinking. For example: CCAP = Check, Capture, Attack, Plan. If one of your piece is attacked: CIEPC = Capture, Interpose, Evade, Protect, Counterattack. When assessing a position: MIKOPCP = Material balance, Immediate threats, King position, Open files, Pawn structure with strong and weak squares, Centre and space, Piece Development.

25. You do not learn from books only, but mainly by internalizing your own experiences: what are your weak pOints, which themes and techniques should you study more closely?

26. Talent, trainings, motivation.

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27. To mislead the opponent and make him insecure. It's best not to pay attention to your opponent and to play your own game. If an opponent becomes really annoying, you can either tell him that or call the arbiter. Chances are that this has a boomerang effect and your opponent becomes insecure himself.

28. No. Each growing and learning process has stagnations and temporary setbacks. See if you can find the causes for your loss of form. Perhaps you have too many other things on your mind, or you have trained too much or too little. If you have learned many new things, it will take a while before all those things have found their places in your thinking system, and this will sometimes cause your thinking system to falter. Possible solutions: do not worry about your results, look for distractions now and then by doing something completely different, take a rest and start training again after a while (analyse games and take pleasure in learning from your mistakes).

29. Note the time used for each move. During the analysis in a training session this allows you to check if you really divided your time well, i.e.: if you have used the larger part of your time on crucial moments. Often time-trouble emanates from indecisiveness, i.e. the inability to make decisions. As an exercise, you can resolve never to think more than three minutes about a move, regardless of the consequences for the result of the game. Also promise yourself that playing instructive games is more important than winning at all costs.

30. Keep in mind that he who judges himself is subject and object at the same time. Therefore, he will have blind spots. Don't be afraid to appear vulnerable and to learn from other people's comments.

31. Of course you do want to have a solution to a problem. But it has to be a good solution. The famous natural philosopher Isaac Newton already said that it is important to ask the right questions. By first looking what the problem is, you will find the best solution. Moreover, this will allow you to trace pitfalls that you would otherwise miss.

32. No. What moves people is not the things in themselves, but the way people look at them. Often their state of mind (for example fear, wishful thinking, or determination to win at all costs) determines which possibilities a player sees in a position.

33. Yes. Often people have many things on their minds, and too little time. By drawing up a programme you can make a list of the things you want to do and add how much time you have for them. This will give you more peace of mind and enable you to take an effective and efficient approach.

34. The experience of several good chess players is that they have become stronger by giving trainings and writing articles, since this forces you to think more systematically about things. In your games you will reap the fruits of this.

35. To experiment is to try out ideas. That is certainly useful. By experimenting with playing styles, as well as with your behaviour, you will gather experience. This will give you a better insight in your strong and weak points. As a result, you will have a number of extra possibilities at your disposal. For instance, you may not know for certain whether it is better

to remain seated on your chair for the entire game, or to take regular short walks. In that case it is best to try both procedures five times and write in your diary how you liked it. After ten games, re-read your diary and decide what you will do from then on.

36. By re-reading them regularly. Write down the numbers of tips that you still have trouble with. Select the most important tip that you want to keep in mind, and write down in your diary how you get on with it. You can discuss this with your trainer or with a training partner. If you have learned to put the tip into practice, you can try your hand at a new one.

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ES Keywords tou rnament planning

- date - location (rent) - starting time, end - organizational form (working group) - which age categories/level groups - amount of players - invitation policy, maximum number of participants - playing material (boards, pieces, clocks, demo board) - press releases - pairing system (Swiss) - arbiters - present for participants - sponsor(s) - competition forms (pairings/who plays who; results) - scenario on paper, divide tasks among staff members - organizational time schedule before the event - set up tables in the playing hall - notice boards for round-by-round results - competition rules - presentation (big board at the entrance?) - microphones for announcements - First Aid - organization space - recreational space (comic books?) - how many rounds - opening (by whom) - time-control - general supervision on order/quiet - pins: staff member of organization - which own contribution, how to collect - draw up an estimation - computers, operation, pairing program, transportation - way of registration, contact addresses, final date - prizes - who gives prizes - treasurer, budget - rent of playing hall - cleaning - printing (invitations) - round schedule (playing times), breaks - eating/drinking - scoresheets

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E6 Scena rio weekend tou rna ment

The below scenario is based on the ROC Aventus Open Chess Championship of Apeldoorn 2007, which was organized by SBSA. The tasks have been anonymized, and for the sake of readability the text has been slightly abridged.

SCENARIO ROC AVENTUS OPEN CH ESS CHAM PIONSHIP OF APE LDOORN, 2007

Version 7 September 2007, name of author

1. Date, location 2. Organization 3. Sponsor 4. Layout of location 5. SBSA website online 6. Layout of playing hall 7. Participants, entering participants in the program, boarding possibilities 8. Bulletin for participants 9. Registration on the first day of the tournament 10. Opening 11. Programme 12. Live commentary 13. Arbiters and computers + organization utilities 14. Playing material 15. Order, safety 16. Recruitment and pr 17. Financial matters 18. Catering 19. Cleaning 20. Announcing the tournament to OSBO (i.e. the regional federation) /

KNSB and submitting results 21. Prize-giving 22. Booksellers 23. Chess newspaper 24. Checklist of actions before, at the start of, during and after the event 25. List of telephone numbers 26. Various

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1. Date, location

7, 8, 9 September 2007, De Brinkhorst, Ritbroekstraat 2, Apeldoorn

Arrangements with location manager, confirmed by email Dates: Friday 7 (starting 17.00h), Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September (until 18.00h) Manager brings keys on Friday Rent for a socio-cultural tariff (shifts, not all hours) Send invoice to sponsor (contact person, telephone number) Halls no. 14 (big playing hall), 13, 9 and 5 for post-mortem analysis and hall no. 12 for organization Use of entire building, no other tenants Manager can be reached via telephone number, email address Sufficient amount of tables and chairs in the building Maximally 130 participants Reserve coordinator: name, telephone data, email Refrigerators arranged by SBSA with Schaakstad Microphone arranged by SBSA with welfare organization 'Wisselwerk' (contact person) Container for litter is available Coordinator can be reached by mail and telephone

2. Organ ization

Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn Coordination and name of tournament director (mobile phone number) Communication via email (save copies in Outlook), telephone, verbally Keeping things up to date in documentation portfolio Annually extensive documentation of the tournament on CD-ROM, especially concerning organizational matters.

Division of tasks:

Explicitly mention names for the various tasks. Where there are no names, the coordinator takes care of the task (or asks someone else to do this).

Coordination: two names Staff members for various tasks, with mention of names, tasks, times Catering Setting up/cleaning up Digital board Registration/pairing Substitutes in case of odd number of participants Arbiter Report in Schaaknieuws Live commentary:

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SBSA website Various staff members Organization present: fill in times [Name] makes table numbers for A-group (with SBSA and ROC Aventus logos)

3. Sponsor

Coordinator maintains contact with sponsor

Arrangements with sponsor: Tournament is held on 7/8/9 september in De Brinkhorst, Ritbroekstraat 2 Coordinator arranges use of the building with the manager Last year's tournament has been documented on CD-ROM - give several copies to sponsor Further consultation about future tournaments SBSA treasurer sends an invoice Invoice De Brinkhorst directly via Accres 100 posters. Same procedure as last year, updated Digital file with new poster in jpeg to put on website and in email newsletter. Useful to send a proof 150 presents for participants (120 small for participants, 30 bigger for staff members) Aventus Communications asks chairman of the board to do prizegiving Afterwards coordinator sends digital pictures with text for Aventus website Before the event, Aventus does internal pr via its magazine Aventijn and its own website Digital version of flyer with tournament data is mailed by coordinator SBSA generates publicity for the tournament via various media (see scenario) Coordinator can collect posters and presents at Aventus Contact data Aventus

Chess newspaper

Date of publication. Who signs advertisement contract Chess newspaper (full page, full colour, price: see agreement). Quarter page advertorial is delivered by Aventus, as well as tournament announcement.

4. Layout of location

Play in big hall (top boards on the stage, long rows of tables). Analysis in three small rooms. Organization in small room.

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Bar next to reception in the hall. Inner court and walk-around for recreation. Live commentary in the back of the hall on the left + pc connected to digital board. Borrow microphone via 'Wisselwerk'. Refrigerators and spare catering via contact Schaakstad (keys of refrigerators and storeroom). Take First Aid kit along.

S. SBSA website onl ine

Report on the tournament with result lists (Sevilla), reports, pictures and games. SBSA webmaster coordinates. Games of masters in A-group online after each round, if possible. Who enters the games in Chessbase? Webmaster uses SBSA laptop. Work in the organization room. Coordinator checks possibility of fixed telephone line - if not, wireless or from home. Also laptops for pairing (via fellow club members).

6. Layout of playing hal l

Friday 16.30h: layout of playing rooms Top boards on stage Tables in long rows with space in between

7. Pa rticipants, enter participants i n prog ram, boarding possibi l ities

Participants:

Expect around 110 participants In case of odd number of participants, four people are available as substitutes. Substitutes receive half point for every round they do not play. Application before the event via coordinator (email, telephone). Titled players, substitutes, staff members, guests, SBSA youth trainers do not pay entry fee. FM half price.

Enter participants in Sevilla program: Players in two groups, in alphabetical order, and according to national rating on list / floppy (plus copy) for registration and pairing with Sevilla. Publish names of participants beforehand in SBSA newsletters, with national and, where possible, FIDE ratings. Webmaster publishes them on the website and enters them in Sevilla already (with backups). Make backup of results after each round. Note birth date and address of participants who don't have a KNSB number. KNSB wants these data and refuses to acknowledge the tournament results

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without them.

Boarding possibilities:

No hotels (to save expenses). Name for coordination. Three addresses.

8. Bul letin for participants

See appendices - updated by coordinator In English and Dutch

9. Entry on first day of the tourament

Registration: A- name, B- name. collect the money (not: titled players, staff members, SBSA trainers, su bstitutes) hand out bulletin for participants, Dutch and English check byes

entry until 19.15h, new pairing after 19.30h

Coordinator keeps money during tournament and settles with treasurer. Hand out presents on Sunday during afternoon round.

A-g rou p

payment Titled players, substitutes, staff members, SBSA trainers free Adults € 30,00 Youth under 20 € 20,00 During registration, write either amount paid or 'present' (without payment) behind name

hand out bulletin for participants, Dutch and English check byes and note changes on list where necessary

B-g roup

payment Adults € 25,00 Youth under 20 € 20,00 Substitutes, staff members free After registration, write amount paid behind name

hand out bulletin for participants check byes and note changes on list where necessary

10. Opening

By coordinator with microphone. Summary in English. Introduce yourself. Announcements during opening:

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Welcome. Introduce arbiter. Mobile phones off, otherwise a loss. Refer to bulletin for participants, check byes. Thank sponsor, keep premises clean. Attention for Chess newspaper, SBSA email newsletters. Beware of noise nuisance for neighbours. Smoking outside on inner court. Results via scoresheets, brilliancy prize a digital clock (jury: live commentator) Request for silence in playing hall. Any questions?

1 1. Prog ra mme

Round 1: Friday 19.30 - 23.30h Round 2: Saturday 9.00 - 13.00h Round 3: Saturday 14.00 - 18.00h Round 4: Saturday 19.30 - 23.30h Round 5: Sunday 9.00 - 13.00h Round 6: Sunday 14. 00 - 18.00h

Six rounds Swiss, 2 hrs pppg. Two groups: A from 1800 Elo, B maximally 1900 elo. New rounds are announced with microphone by coordinator.

12. Live commenta ry

Live commentary [name] Sunday afternoon 14-17h discussion of games. Brilliancy prize on the basis of games from Rounds 1-5 that have been sent in, and possibly from Round 6 if the live commentator selects a game himself. The live commentator decides, the audience thinks along.

13. Arbiters and computers + organ ization util ities

Names arbiter and assistant arbiters on the spot in time-trouble phase. Order Fide competition rules from KNSB. Lay scoresheets on tables, they also serve as result forms (arbiters). Order 800 scoresheets with carbon copy. Computers, install printers, reserve file on usb sticks. Computers SBSA laptop with printer, three laptops from fellow club members with printer. Take paper. Print out lists A-B for registration. Number scoresheets per group beforehand (arbiters). Envelopes for prize money. Keep byes up-to-date, different name per group. Number tables with stickers (arbiters). Pairing first two rounds by rating, then by Buchholz. Process results and lay aside candidates for brilliancy prize (arbiters). Record names, addresses and birth dates of ratingless participants at registration - not necessary if KNSB number is known. At 19.15h enter participants into computers, those not present get a bye, possibly pairing against each other New file name per round

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Hang up pairings and results (with SBSA stamp) 'Silence please' signs in the vicinity of the playing hall. Arbiter starts the clocks at the beginning of the rounds. Put extra queens beside each board. Also mention byes on the website. Arbiter/organization: check empty boards after the start of every round. Pc's for digital board, pairing, Internet, entering games, spare laptop. Chessbase program to put top games on website.

14. Playing material

Top pairings play on wooden boards. Pieces/boards/clocks from Schaakstad Apeldoorn (calculate the number) and demo boards and digital board, present in the premises Take SBSA boards and pieces if necessary Blitz in auditorium with private clocks, can be obtained at the bar

15. Order, safety

Tournament committee and arbiters keep a close watch on things, besides this: rely on social control. Take First Aid kit and put it near the bar.

16. Recruitment and pr

Before

Chess newspaper (door-to-door in Apeldoorn) SBSA email newsletters, information and lists of participants during a number of weeks SBSA email list (approx. 600 addresses) digital file poster Send Aventus logo to KNSB website for link to SBSA website Distribute posters at tournaments and to clubs and four libraries in Apeldoorn Flyers to tournaments and clubs Announcement on own website Pre-event story and report in local newspaper Pre-event story in free local paper Press release in advertiser Announcement for calendars of chess media: SchaakMagazine, Schaaknieuws, OSBOde, internet calendars KNSB, Jonkman, news group chess, www.schakers. info, www.chessvibes.com Regional broadcasting company, announcement via website Local sports magazine Possible other media (email media list) Press release, posters and chess newspapers via Aventus channels Announcement before the event on ROC Aventus website with poster Contact person emails youth Schaakmaat and school chess clubs (send

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After

Poster

flyer) Secretary of Schaakstad emails members of Schaakstad

Report: Schaaknieuws Report SBSA email newsletter Report in local newspaper Report on KNSB website (with picture) Report www.schakers. info (with picture) Report ROC Aventus website, email pictures Afterwards, a report on CD-ROM with texts, pictures, games, film, newspaper reports etc. (for sponsor, staff members and various relations)

Text poster to Aventus. 100 posters: 20 ROC, 25 clubs, 4 libraries, S tournaments, various, and for furnishing playing hall Reduced pdf format poster of Aventus to SBSA for digital processing on website etc.

Flyer

Dutch, German and English, via website, SBSA newsletters, directed email messages and hand out at Schaakstad and De Schaakmaat. Mention parking possibilities. Mention free entry GM/I M (not: 'titled players') See separate files.

Pictures/video

With digital camera and video camera (charge beforehand). Afterwards, mail digital pictures to participants. Webmaster also makes pictures.

17. Financial matters

Money prizes: A-group: € 1000,00; € 500,00; € 250,00; € 150,00; € 100,00 B-group: € 200,00; € 100,00; € 75,00; € 50,00; € 40,00

With equal pOints money prizes are shared, rounded up to the nearest € 5,00

Rating prizes:

Five DVD's 'Training with Yusupov' (for categories, see the bulletin for participants). In case of equal number of points, Buchholz decides Brilliancy prize: DGT Easy Game Timer 19 1

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Entry fee

A-group: € 30,00 B -group: € 25,00 Youth (U20): € 20,00 1M's + GM's free Staff members, SBSA youth trainers, children of staff members and substitutes free

Starting fees and guarantees

A maximum of ten titled players (mainly from Apeldoorn) get financial conditions, also place to sleep for titled players. 1M's Schaakstad prize guarantee, i.e. : their prize is supplied in case it is lower than their guaranteed starting fee. Ask team captain to send a mail to the selection of Schaakstad.

Budget

RECEIPTS

Sponsor contribution Aventus Contributions of participants Profit catering Total

EXPENDITURE

Prize money Rating prizes (DVD's) Explication Organization (postage, notation, envelopes, petrol, food, organization) Starting fee/prize guarantees Hotel, pensions Uganda school chess Unforeseen/SBSA overhead Total

Profits for the benefit of overhead SBSA. Before: get small change. Coordinator does payments. Arbiters and staff members get their expenses covered, free food and drinks. Afterwards a free dinner.

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18. Catering

[Name] takes 15 crates of beer and deducts from catering budget. Sale in reception hall Take along own coffee cups, sugar, milk Staff: names and spontaneous efforts Present as long as the premises are open Purchases: make a list, buy things Sale: make a price list Coffee-maker present as well as cups, glasses Bring along plastic cups Dishcloths, detergent, change, coffee filters, napkins, opener, cash box, cleaning towels Food and drinks are free for staff members and grandmasters Take catering gear to premises beforehand Catering coordinator makes purchases himself, and credit balance goes to SBSA

Catering price list

Coffee Tea Beer Red wine Jenever Cola Cola Light Spa mineral water Orange Juice Orange soda 7 up Ham roll Cheese roll Almond flavoured round Cup a soup Apple juice

€ 0,60 € 0,30 € 1,50 € 1,50 € 1,50 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,60 € 0,30 € 0,60 € 0,60

Catering purchases (see list catering coordinator )

Coffee: Tea Beer

Red wine Jenever Cola Cola Light Spa mineral water Orange Juice Orange soda

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4 packs of coffee + 4 milk, sugar 2 packets 15 crates (depending on the weather - 15 crates were used up in the past two years) 5 bottles 3 bottles 90 litres 3 bottles 8 bottles 20 cartons 6 bottles

Rolls 350 pieces Ham 130 slices Cheese 220 slices Butter 4 Almond flavoured roundsl00 Cup a soup 40 Apple juice 5 cartons Napkins 4 packs of 100 apiece

Saturday morning:

Collect remaining 250 of the 350 rolls Another 1000 cups More Cup-a-soup

In case of shortage: borrow from storeroom Schaakstad and replenish later. Refrigerators already have cold beers and soft drinks, put the same amount in storeroom Schaakstad.

19. Clea ning

Premises, toilets Afterwards and in between events

20. Announcement of tournament at regional federation OSBO and national federation KNSB, and submitting results

Announcement. Send results to national chess federation for processing. If no national federation number: submit name, address, club, birth date and, if relevant, FIDE number. Results in SBSA newsletters and on website.

With regard to names and addresses of players without national federation number: FIDE number instead of national federation number is OK. Only national federation number is also sufficient. For procedure sending information: see KNSB website.

2 1. Prize-g iving

Money in envelopes, sufficient change, determine rating prizes. Hand out prizes with representative of Aventus (closing speech). Thank arbiters, catering, webmaster, organization, Accres and, last but not least, sponsor ROC Aventus. Bar open until 30 minutes after prize-giving, in the meantime local people/ staff members clean up, appeal on the spot.

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22. Booksel l ing

Ask a bookseller to put up a stand.

23. Chess newspa per

Lay down copies (also from earlier editions) in playing hall.

24. To-do checkl ist before, at the sta rt, during, and afterwards

Actions before

- check parking space in the vicinity and mention it in flyer - contact with manager where necessary - collect things to be taken along beforehand (in a crate) - put byes round 1 on list - check scenario regularly and update text where necessary - send information for website to webmaster (update participants, flyer in

three languages, tournament information) - arrangements for report in Schaaknieuws (text, picture) - arrangements for report on www.schakers.info. website KNSB - catering purchase - check with staff members if they will be present - recruiting staff members to set up the pieces - posters to libraries/public institutions, clubs, tournaments - press release to media - number stickers - install Sevilla and Chessbase - draw up budget and control it - count playing material - if necessary, an appeal for boarding addresses in SBSA newsletter - mail flyer to clubs - flyer in SBSA newsletter as attachment - name-plates

- print out 'quiet, please, turn off mobile phone' (lOx) - print out bulletins for participants (two languages) - print out lists of participants for registration - print out catering price list (in plastic standard) - print out 'please mind our neighbours' near the entry

Contents crate with gear - pens - photo camera - number stickers - box for result sheets - cash box - usb stick - screwdriver

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- printing paper - sellotape - scissors - extra cartridge - floppy discs - SBSA stamp - blocnote - felt-tip pen - badges with names of staff members typed on them - connection cable from camera to pc - batteries

Take along :

- Presents Aventus - posters (furnishing) - extra laptops, printer - scoresheets - Chess newspapers - bag with spare queens - rating prizes (glass chess sets, books) - private clocks for blitz in bar - DGT timer brilliancy prize

To do before the start

- set up tables and chairs - set up boards, pieces, clocks, demo boards in the hall - lay down numbered scoresheets - install digital board - number tables with stickers - registration, check byes, names/addresses/birth dates ratingless players - put catering ready - set up computers, printers - hang up byes near the bar - put results box ready - hang up posters near first board and front door - opening, with microphone - hang up pairing near the bar and in playing hall - check other halls - put name-plates beside boards (possibly only highest boards)

Morning of first tournament day

- buy things for catering and bring to playing venue (16.00h) - put ready Chess newspapers, laptop, crate with various, presents, camera

etc. - check scenario and do various things

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Afterwards

Clean up first, then prize-giving (mention this in bulletin for participants)

- clear up boards, pieces, clocks, and count everything - clean up - take catering gear home - calculate finances

25. Telephone l ist

26. Various

Guests: chairman of Aventus board, Sunday

Points of attention:

Give copies of games for article in Schaaknieuws Mobile phone number of coordinator, especially on website

General

[Name] only does things before tournament Overcapacity for tasks in case of drop-out Pass on pOints of attention to coordinator and note them for next scenario.

APPENDICES:

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Bulletin for participants in Dutch and English. Flyer in Dutch, German and English.

Bul leti n for participa nts ROC Aventus Open Apeldoorn Chess Championship 2007

- Six rounds are played. The time-control is two hours per player, the FIDE competition rules apply.

- There are two groups: A from 1800 Elo (the organization may allow lowerrated players), B up to 1900 Elo.

- Smoking is allowed on the inner court, not at the main entrance of the building.

- Taking maximally two byes is possible in the first four rounds, check the list near the bar - if necessary, contact the arbiters.

- In order to make the number of players even, substitutes may be used -they get half a point in rounds they do not play and do not compete for the prizes.

- The website www.sbsa.nl will have reports on the tournament. Also via the weekly SBSA newsletters. If you want to receive these messages, please apply to Karel van Delft.

- Results will be sent to the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB for Elo rating; if you are a member of the KNSB but do not yet have a rating, please give your birthday and address to the arbiters.

- All boards are in one and the same playing hall. - The pairing for each round will be hung up near the bar and in the playing

hall. - Pairings first two rounds: Swiss, based on rating, after that: by Buchholz. - For a bye requested by yourself you receive half a pOint. - The arbiter determines the place of the clock. - Players are obliged to write down the moves until they have less than five

minutes thinking time left. - The foremost sheet of the scoresheet is regarded as the result sheet.

Players are required to fill in the result on this sheet and sign the form. The scoresheet must be put in the result box on the arbiters' table immediately after the game.

- You can write 'BP' on the form if you want your game to be considered for the brilliancy prize (a digital clock). In principle, only games from the first five rounds that have been sent in are considered.

- On Sunday afternoon, live commentator 1M Rob Hartoch determines who will be awarded the brilliancy prize, after consulting the audience. Mr. Hartoch is also at liberty to choose a game from the sixth round for the prize. Actually, the brilliancy prize is a public award: the audience determines which game it values most highly.

- Analysing or blitz in the tournament hall are not allowed, this can be done in various analysis rooms in the premises. It is not allowed to take clocks outside the playing hall.

- The arbiter is Paul Ham. Assistant arbiters may be appointed. - Arbiters' decisions are binding. - The tournament direction consists of Karel van Delft and Marco Beerdsen. - The tournament directors can be reached via mobile number 06 22 22 69

28. - In cases not covered by these regulations, the tournament direction decides.

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Prizes

1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize 4th prize 5th prize

Group A. € 1.000,00 € 500,00 € 250,00 € 150,00 € 100,00

Group B. € 200,00 € 100,00 € 75,00 € 50,00 € 40,00

Brilliancy prize : digital DGT clock.

Rating prizes : The highest-ranked players in the following Elo categories are awarded rating prizes.

A : 2201 - 2300, 2101 - 2200, 2001 - 2100, 1901 - 2000, up to 1900 B: 1701 - 1800, 1601 - 1700, 1501 - 1600, Elo up to 1500, no Elo

Playing times

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Round 1: Friday Round 2: Saturday Round 3: Saturday Round 4: Saturday Round 5: Sunday Round 6: Sunday

19.30 - 23.30h 9.00 - 13. 00h

14.00 - 18.00h 19.30 - 23.30h

9.00 - 13.00h 14.00 - 18.00h

E7 Subjects for a parents meeting

- technically: structure of the programme - personality building (self-image, social skills) - importance of analysing own games - material (chess material, reading material) - didactics - motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic) - variation - interaction - feedback - differences in level - challenges - degree of complexity - atmosphere - student tracking system - analysis questionnaire - essence of lessons on paper - week planning - verbalization (games with verbal comments, analysis questionnaire) - workload in hours - use of demo board, or around the table - procedures - practice makes perfect - importance of tactics - fascination - support own development - on an adventure - performance versus result

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E8 Study gu ide SBSA youth training

Study gu ide SBSA youth train ing season 2007/ 2008 For questions, contact trainers or organizers.

Genera l rema rks With group trainings, knowledge, understanding and skills are increased. Level within groups is as equal as possible. Learning styles, talent and effort differ. Chess players themselves are responsible for their own input and development. It is important for parents to feel involved - and also, to be familiar with this program. Training participants can profit from the trainings and the possibilities offered by advice, and by the entire SBSA chess culture. He who wants to accomplish something must be resourceful, and study and play a lot. SBSA trainers and organization will be happy to think along.

Trainers, organization Trainers are 1M Merijn van Delft (Friday AB-group), 1M Yochanan Afek (Sunday AB-group) and Martin van Dommelen (C-group). Besides, 1M Roeland Pruijssers, Stefan Kuipers and Tom Meurs will be present as guest trainers and assistant trainers with various activities, e.g. opening study, as substitutes for absent trainers, and during Youth Meets Masters. The organization is in the hands of Marco Beerdsen and Karel van Delft. Trainings take place in the Mind Sports Centre Apeldoorn, Dubbelbeek 24, tel. 5332766.

SBSA newsletters, email Via the SBSA newsletters and via email you will receive additional information about the SBSA youth training. Keep an eye on the SBSA newsletters for possible announcements and date changes.

Expenses The trainings cost 250 euros per year for the A- and B-group, and 200 euro for the C-group. Kindly transfer to account number 39.32. 95.850 in the name of SBSA, Apeldoorn. First half before 1 October, second half before 1 February. In consultation other spreadings may be possible.

Training days Calendar: see below, and/or in the SBSA email newsletters. It is possible that sometimes a training date is cancelled. These trainings will be rescheduled at the end of the season. Absence: check out via email to your trainer and to Karel or Marco.

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Parents meetings On four Sundays, the dates of which will be announced (see SBSA newsletters), one-hour meetings for parents will be held in the early afternoon, on the subject of training and coaching. These meetings are coordinated by Marco Beerdsen and Karel van Delft.

Subjects, proced u res and learning goa ls A- a nd B-groups

Subjects:

Friday, with Merijn: - classic games (Kasparov series) - themes 'Judgement and Planning in Chess' (Euwe) 60 min - self-study, tactics, various 30 min.

Sunday, with Yochanan: - own games 120 min. - endgames (Silman), studies, various 60 min.

A concrete l ist with subjects will be published at a later stage. The subjects will be announced in every training report.

Proced u res :

Varying and interactive: demo board, playing out positions simultaneously/ in pairs, group discussion, a 'track' with a number of positions.

Learning goals:

To improve knowledge, understanding and calculating ability. Increase the fascination for the game. Promote self-study.

Homework:

- Email at least two self-annotated games in pgn to Merijn, Yochanan and

Karel. - Interesting material to study at home is handed out regularly. - View interesting subjects for yourself via CD-ROM on self-study. - Trainers will occasionally give you positions to study. - Tactics (monthly 300 exercises on Tactic Server).

Survey:

The most important information is summarized afer each training and emailed to the participants.

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Coaching A- and B-grou p

During the trainings, Merijn will devote attention to self-study. Questions on self-study can be asked to the trainers. See www.sbsa.nl under coaching/training for study tips. SBSA has a small library where you can borrow books. See also: supervision during tournaments.

Subjects, procedu res and learning goals C-group

Minimal level: Step 3.

Subjects:

Each training - discuss notable events/tournaments - discuss own games/fragments, learn Fritz - basic endgames (Silman) - technique/plans (Euwe) 'Chess Master versus Chess Amateur'

(for two games, test homework; third game in quiz form) - mating attacks (Ftacnik) - the King's Gambit traps/variations - various/current events/experiences/films/cd-rom self-study - tactics solve/discuss positions and creative position Krabbe - closing round 'What have we learned?'

Two lS-minute breaks.

Procedures:

For all items pOints will be given (score form). Frontal explanation with demo board.

10 minutes 90 minutes 20 minutes 30 minutes

20 minutes 20 minutes 20 minutes 20 minutes 10 minutes

Discovery learning in pairs, or play out simultaneously versus teacher, followed by explanation. Discovery learning via group discussion and quiz form. Group conversations/discussions. Everything highly interactive and dynamic.

Learning goals:

- discuss three games/fragments by each participant - 50 basic endgame positions Silman - 24 games book Euwe 'Chess Master versus Chess Amateur' - 8 attacks on the king - King's Gambit: principles, opening traps - tactical positions Steps via self-study (30 a week x 40 weeks, including

repetition) - 16 creative positions from current events and from literature - learn self-study, learn self-reflection, learn to formulate ideas

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Homework:

- Mail every month at least two self-commented games in pgn to Martin and Karel.

- Play through two games 'Chess Master versus Chess Amateur' every month (see floppy disc)

- Step-by-Step Method 3x 1 D positions per week (teacher establishes the starting level)

- You will regularly receive interesting material that you can study at home. - Look at interesting subjects yourself on CD- ROM self-study

Survey:

The most important information is summarized afer each training and emailed

to the participants.

Coaching C-g roup

C-group partiCipants and their parents will have a 3D-minute talk with Martin van Dommelen two times a year. He draws up a schedule and invites them. These talks take place before or immediately after the training. During the talk, coaching lists will be used (see CD- ROM self-study, handed out earlier). Questions on self-study may be asked to the trainers. See www.sbsa. nl under coaching/training for study tips. SBSA has a small library where you can borrow books. See also: supervision during tournaments.

Fritz, Step-by-Step Method on CD-ROM, send i n games

Every participant has Fritz (analyse games and positions, save games, send to trainer) and the Step-by-Step Method on CD-ROM (study of tactics, exercise regularly, also: repeat).

Data base

Every training participant saves his own games in a database, for example in Fritz.

Pen and notebook

Take pen and notebook to trainings and make notes.

CD-ROM self-study

This CD-ROM, made by SBSA, contains many tips and a lot of training material, as well as some nice films. It is recommended to regularly have a look at it.

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Other tra i ning com ponents

Apart from the trainings on Fridays and Sundays there are several other training variants:

- 'Youth Meets Masters', a workshop day with masters and strong players. - Four rapid tournaments (see calendar). - Two opening trainings (introduction, two rapid games, analysis, simul

against trainer)

Two variations of the King's Gambit are discussed. Supervision: Martin and assistant trainer.

Playing tou rnaments It is important that you regularly play games and visit tournaments. A useful tournament is the ROC Aventus Open Chess Championship of Apeldoorn on 7, 8 and 9 September. You can take two free rounds (byes), so you don't have to play in the evenings. In the SBSA newsletters there are announcements of tournaments. The KNSB calendar (see www.schaakbond.nl) also has announcements of tournaments.

Supervision du ring tou rna ments

During several tournaments, (assistant) trainers and training coordinators wil be present part of the time, and training participants can ask them for advice. During the Open Dutch Championship in Dieren, training participants who take part in this tournament can analyse for several evenings at Karel's home with Merijn and, possibly, other international masters. Participants can visit several tournaments together with trainers and/or coordinators.

Tips

You can keep your training material in a binder with plastic sleeves. You can study more systematically by making a week schedule. In a diary you can briefly write down what you have learned after each training or self-study (this makes you reflect on what you learn, and you will also build up a reference book for yourself). On www.sbsa.nl there are study tips under the heading 'coaching/training'.

The programme also contains names and addresses of trainers, organization and participants. There is also a SBSA youth training calendar 2007-2008 with a time schedule: Eight Friday evenings A-B-group: one hour and a half Eight Sundays A-B-group: three hours; C-group four hours Four Sunday afternoons rapid tournament, twice opening study Youth Meets Masters: one day

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E9 The SBSA Youth Academy project i n Apeldoorn

Introduction: Since September 1998, SBSA (Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn, i.e. Foundation for the Promotion of Chess in Apeldoorn) develops all sorts of activities for chess players in Apeldoorn and the (wide) surrounding area. In cooperation with the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB, SBSA received a subsidy from the Dutch Olympic Committee NOCjNSF of 10,000 euros for the year 2005, with the aim to gain experience with talent development within a network of local cooperation forms. T hanks to this subsidy, the SBSA was able to organize a substantial number of extra youth activities in 2005. T hese new activities were assembled along with the already existing activities in the area of talent development under the name 'SBSA Youth Academy'.

Interview with Karel van Delft by Wil ly Hendriks In the following retrospective of the past year's activities, the focus is on the question what chess clubs can learn from SBSA's experiences. Could any (youth) club adopt SBSA's approach? Are there activities that can be organized by every club in the same way? These and other questions I asked to the driving force behind SBSA, secretary Karel van Delft (seconded by Hans Bouwer, treasurer of the SBSA).

A yearly high pOint in your programme is the Youth Meets Masters event. This is a kind of workshop day where strong players from Schaakstad Apeldoom (such as Sipke Ernst, Artur Yusupov, Manuel Bosboom, Merijn van Delft, Arthur van de Oudeweetering, Rob Hartoch, Alexander Kabatianski) give lessons to youth players from Apeldoom and the (wide) surrounding area. An e vent like Youth Meets Masters - could any club organize something similar? The YMM formula hinges on two principles: to enthuse, and to pass on knowledge. Each trainer completes a programme with his group. This programme includes, among others, a game in the form of a quiz, an item with tactical positions, and a simultaneous display with a discussion afterwards. After this there is a collective blitz tournament and a pea-soup meal. Every time, the reactions of the participants show that this formula catches on fabulously. You can also organize something like this on a smaller scale - the latest YMM had 8 trainers and 63 participants. A nice extra is that senior players and youth players can get into contact here. Of course the trainers don't have to be international masters. Any club with youth players can organize a day with a number of seniors who can offer the youth players a varied program. Didactic skills are useful, but it all starts with empathy. Enthusiasm, and sympathy and empathy for youth players, that is what matters !

You guys a ttach much importance to the so-called 'multiply effect'. You have described this as follows: 'It is important tha t as many strong players as possible are given the role of trainer. We want to spend each euro at least three times: we hire a trainer, those who receive training also give trainings, etcetera. This is a kind of 'miraculous multiplying '. Has this multiply effect been a success in the past year? Partly. For example, Artur Jusupov and Alexander Kabatianski have given

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trainings to the first team of De Schaakmaat, and players from this team have in turn given lessons themselves, or they have analysed with children on various primary schools. But sometimes there is no follow-up, which is why we have introduced the following rule for these trainings : either you train others in turn, or you pay for the trainings you receive. You see, it's impossible to keep track of everything. But on club level, for instance, these things can be organized without trouble. You hire a trainer, you ask him to give a training to the top players of the club, and in return you ask those players to train the rest of the club and youth players. This way the project will come alive for everyone in the club. Some clubs have a formula with a (paid) player/trainer in their first team. I think this is also a fine elaboration upon the multiply formula. T hat is, as long as you take care that everyone interested can join in.

Aren 't you afraid that a spanner may easily be thrown in the multiplying works if players are not capable of giving trainings - or do not feel like doing it? Sometimes you get a spanner in the works, but as far as capability is concerned - as I already said, empathy and enthusiasm are the most important things. As soon as you have that, there are always possibilities. Not everyone is asked to give a training before a big group right away, it can also be done in smaller groups, or one-on-one. If you keep in mind the following four cornerstones, you will soon be able to start giving trainings: 1. study tactics; 2. play through annotated games; 3. stimulate your pupils to play a lot themselves, and analyse young players' games with them; 4 . introduce them to everything that chess has to offer - let them dabble with the material. Last year we had a Chess trainer A course by Paul Grooten with 8 participants from Apeldoorn and 4 from the surrounding area. It was a great success. So we have also tried to attract attention in the area of didactic skills.

Coaching and training ha ve your undivided interest. I understand that at the moment you are working on a book on this subject. Is this intended to be a useful book for the a verage youth leader at a youth club ? Absolutely ! I have nominated around 80 themes by now, about each of which I intend to write short pieces. T hose 80 themes rank under the following three cornerstones: training, coaching, and organization/communication. In this context, the idea of 'best practices' plays a prominent role : examples which have proved their worth in practice and are applicable for any club. I am writing the book together with my son Merijn and Artur Yusupov, and the photographer Fred Lucas also contributes. Like me, Merijn has a degree in psychology. Yusupov has been involved in SBSA activities for a long time, and of course he is a treasure-trove of experience at the highest level.

An item that will surely receive attention in your book is the role of the parents. What is your view on this ? That role is very important. Parents must be involved in the education of their children. If youth players are not supported by their parents, it will be very hard to accomplish anything. That is why we regularly organize parents meetings alongside our trainings. You will notice that parents will also often make a

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contribution as volunteers. You have to take into account that parents often don't know much, so it is necessary to inform them well - meaning: you must point out to them what is going on in the chess world, but also coach them well, and make clear what is expected from them if they join club activities. In this respect, the SBSA newsletters also play a major role.

In the past year, you ha ve organized a lot of activities. Has this generated much publicity ? At the start of the SBSA Youth Academy, we had a simultaneous exhibition for youth players in Apeldoorn by Loek van Wely. That generated a lot of pUblicity. But other activities also attracted quite a lot of attention. Also, we publish the Apeldoorn Chess Newspaper on a yearly basis, as a loose supplement of a free local newspaper, in a circulation of 70,000 copies. The costs are entirely covered by the advertising revenues. We can safely say that this a unique publication in The Netherlands. We have brought out six issues so far. The success and the effects are hard to measure, but we still have the feeling that it is worth the trouble. For one, the bridge players in Apeldoorn look at it with admiration and would like to have such a periodical too!

You yourself have a lot of experience in journalism, and you also have direct access to the media. Do you ha ve any tips for clubs tha t do not ha ve this direct access? It certainly helps if you have contacts. So that is my advice: do not only send a press release (but do send one! ) if you wa nt to attract attention to one of you r activities, but also try to establish personal contact with the editors of a (free local) newspaper, by making a phone call or paying a visit to the editorial office. Do keep a press release short and to the point, as journalists have more work to do.

You also record the larger-scale activities, like the simul with Van Wely and YMM, on film, photographs, documen ts, etcetera, and then you publish it on CD-ROM. What are the advantages of that? The most important thing is that it is a nice memory for the participants. But also with regard to contacts with current and future sponsors it makes for a nice visiting card. And to a certain extent it is also what I called earlier a recording of 'best practices'. It's not hard to make, it can be done on any club.

Any club ? Are you sure ? I'm not sure if I would be able to do this so quickly. OK, granted, I have some help, but it is the copying of the material that takes up most of the time. That can be combined beautifully with, for example, reading a newspaper. You can divide the tasks - one makes pictures, the other makes a film, a third makes a sleeve or a sticker to paste on the CD-ROM; you can enter games in pgn, enter texts in Word, then you have to buy boxes, paste stickers on them, copy the CD-ROMs, and for less than one-and-a-half euro apiece the job is done.

Can people who wan t to organize something like Youth Meets Masters order that CD-ROM with you ?

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Yes, they can, I will be glad to send them for a small compensation.

Now we are talking about pr and related subjects. You send an email newsletter around every week. Do they receive positive reactions ? The SBSA email newsletters are a fantastic means of communication. By now we have more than 400 subscribers and around 40 people who contribute directly. In chess-playing Apeldoorn and the surrounding area, there is quite a lot going on. There are several clubs, there is a broadly developed school chess scene, and there are many tournaments, trainings and other activities. Those SBSA newsletters do something that many clubs fail to do: simply inform people !

If you look at the SBSA Youth Academy 's goal - stimulate youth chess on all levels and you will automatically breed top players - how has that worked out? If you take a look at our list of activities in 2005 (see appendix), you can see that they spread out in all directions. We have done our bit for (potential) top-class players as well. And now I can see a few among them who have the making of top players, but I won't mention any names out loud for the moment.

Membership figures of chess clubs are dropping. Do you have a 'golden idea ' that can turn this trend around? It is important to learn from each other. That's also what I mean by 'best practices', and this is how I want to do my bit. I also think that there are quite a lot of good ideas about membership recruitment around, but these ideas should be shared. When I see that the KNSB has a sizeable assortment of items avalable for club support, but they are quite well-hidden on their website, and you cannot even download many of them - I cannot understand that.

If there are good ideas, then it is also important that there is an en thusiastic group of people who can put them into practice. What's the situa tion with SBSA like in this respect? This also goes for SBSA, and for me this is a delicate point sometimes. Many people have contributed, but last year we had so many activities that sometimes it almost became too much for me. So for the future, we must see what we can keep doing and what we cannot do any more, and also how we can show others what possibilities there are to do certain things themselves. What I'm doing is real people work, and this has many good sides, but now and then it also brings disappointments. People who do not meet their appointments, or sponge on the activities of others, I have a problem with that. I think that in the chess world we must all be prepared to make a contribution. But, well, this problem with volunteers applies in many areas in our society. Perhaps we will end up like the Americans, who now have professionallymanaged sports clubs with very high membership dues. So be it.

A well-known picture in (youth) chess is the follo wing: one organizer does a great many things, he is not very good at delegation, and without him the organization would collapse. Are you such an organizer? Is this meant to be a provocative question? No, that's not how I see myself at all. We rely heavily on contributions and feedback from many different people. In fact, it is not at all my intention to do everything on my own. We from SBSA

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want to do a number of things structurally, and a number of things once-only, to show what is possible. Call it creating a climate for chess which inspires others to get to work. It is important to create not only a structure, but also a culture where top-class players and recreational players, and also youths and adults, stimulate each other. Of this research-oriented culture that we have created, many youth players have profited, I think. We also have a few meetings every year, where all the people who are involved with SBSA join in the conversation and exchange ideas. This has led to new initiatives, like, for instance, a collective training for the school chess clubs and an enjoyable chess meeting at the end of the season, with people who give chess lessons at school or help with school chess activities.

Last question : what can we expect from SBSA, and from you, in the future ? We can look back on a great year with many activities. In the near future, SBSA will get round the table and see what we can do next year. As said, it is desirable that more people put their shoulder to the wheel with certain activities. As for myself, I hope to get a little more time in order to get my book going. But - last question, if I may turn things around - have you yourself seen any inspiring or new initiatives lately?

Erm, let me think about tha t a little. The great strength of many SBSA activities seems to me to be the good con tacts between youth and senior players, between talents and strong players. On many clubs those two are worlds apart. That is also a way of taking youth seriously. My experience from last year is tha t SBSA 's motto, 'to develop a culture where top level and recreational level inspire each other', has truly been realized!

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Appendix 1

Tips/ideas for every (youth) club

* When organizing activities, you will always need to improvise. So try to put as many things on paper as possible, in the form of a scenario and/or a checklist. This will avoid embarrassing moments like when you suddenly cannot print out a pairing because you forgot to bring along a spare cartridge.

* With regard to publicity for your activities: try to make personal contact with the media. Keep your press releases short and to-the-point.

* If you organize trainings for seniors, try to create a 'multiplying effect': see to it that the trainees in turn train others and spread further the knowledge they have acquired.

* Appoint a (paid) player/coach for your first team. Then the players of that team can spread their knowledge further. This way, the entire club will profit from the sponsoring.

* Get the parents involved in the (chess) education of their children - by organizing parents meetings, for example.

* Get parents involved in the organization, but inform them well about what is expected from them.

* Chess training starts with empathy! * Organize activities for youths and seniors together - this will stimulate mutual

contacts and inspiration. * In youth trainings, always give feedback on your pupils' own games. * Take care that the communication is good between all involved. An email

newsletter is a possible means to this end.

Appendix 2

A bird's eye view of the activities of the SBSA Youth Academy in 2005

Profile

SBSA's aim is to promote chess in Apeldoorn. A lot of attention is paid to the stimulation of youth chess (top level as well as recreational level) - among others, with trainings, coaching, information supply and the organization of events. SBSA has been active since 1998, and operates within the active and successful chess scene in Apeldoorn: for instance, in recent years Apeldoorn has had various national youth champions, and the school competition in Apeldoorn has had more than 20 school clubs for years (who organize their own internal competition with roughly 800 children, as well as lessons in the Step-by-Step Method, with more than 500 certificates every year). SBSA's philosophy is not to aim solely at the top. Apart from structure, it is important to develop a culture where top level and recreational level stimulate each other, and where youths become the 'co-author of their own upbringing' (Polgar). According to this motto, SBSA does a lot of work in the area of knowledge acquisition, and of passing on knowledge by means of coaching and training. The SBSA Youth Academy project is developed in consultation with 1M Willy Hendriks, who is charged with the portfolio of talent development on behalf of

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the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB.

Representing SBSA, Karel van Delft coordinates the activities. Hans Bouwer is in charge of various practical tasks. 1M Merijn van Delft, 1M Sipke Ernst, Lucien van Beek, Martin van Dommelen and Johan Wolbers are closely involved in the initiatives, as are youth leaders Hessel Visser and Heleen Kers (De Schaakmaat) and Henk Pruijssers (Schaakstad Apeldoorn). The SBSA Youth Academy cooperates with various organizations, among whom Schaakstad Apeldoorn, De Schaakmaat, the Apeldoorn Schools Competition, ROC Aventus, the Jussupow Schach Akademie and the Mind Sports Centre Apeldoorn, as well as various companies and organizations. The city of Apeldoorn is also involved in the project. Reports on the developments around the SBSA Youth Academy are published via the SBSA email newsletters and on www.sbsa.nl.

Activities 2005

1 . Youth Meets Masters: an annual day with various masters and approximately 60 participants. Workshops, a simultaneous exhibition, a blitz tournament, dinner together.

2. The regular SBSA trainings for (top) youth players in Apeldoorn: two groups with 8 trainings, two other groups with 16 trainings. Trainers are Lucien van Beek and Martin van Dommelen.

3. Individual coaching of four top talents from Apeldoorn. We also mediate for players who are looking for a paid trainer.

4. Two talent days to introduce the SBSA trainings, with a total of roughly 65 participants.

5. Visits to various primary schools with a simultaneous exhibition and an introduction of the Chess Academy by Johan Wolbers.

6. A chess camp during the Open Dutch Junior Championship in Hengelo, supervision and coaching, several dozens of participants, in cooperation with chess club De Toren from Arnhem.

7. Strong players analyse games at various youth tournaments (among others, the Photo Kuipers tournament).

8. Training sessions by Kabatianski and Yusupov at De Schaakmaat. 9. Training sessions by players from De Schaakmaat on various primary

schools. 10. Workshops by Yusupov en Michalchishin. 11. Opening of the SBSA Youth Academy with a simul for youth players from

Apeldoorn by Loek van Wely, around 40 participants. 1 2. Production of various CD-ROMs about SBSA activities. 1 3. Weekly publication of SBSA email newsletters. 14. Publication of the yearly Chess Newspaper Apeldoorn (which can also be

viewed on www. sbsa.nl). 15. Organization of a side programme at the 'Kadaster Dutch Chess

Championship for Companies'. 16. Two opening theme tournaments, with an introduction of the opening in

question, playing games and plenary analysis.

1 7. SBSA Youth Academy conference, followed by a simul by Daniel Stellwagen.

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18. Import of chess sets from China, to enable school chess clubs to purchase cheap material.

19. Support of school chess club in Kampala (Uganda) with money and materials.

20. Collective training for all primary schools that have qualified for the championship of the regional federation OSBO.

21. Keeping the website www. sbsa.nl up to date. 22. Organization of the Chess trainer A course. 23. Chess stand on the spring market in Apeldoorn. 24. SBSA functions as an oracle for all possible questions about chess. 25. During the annual ROC Aventus weekend tournament, Rob Hartoch gave

live commentary. Extra attention is given to youth talents. 26. Various strong players, like 1M Alexander Kabatianski and GM Artur

Yusupov, are involved in the activities and regularly give advice. With general consent, Yusupov has allotted himself the title of 'senior advisor SBSA'!

27. Youth players can take part in the annual SBSA rapid and blitz tournaments. 28. Now and then youth players are taken along when adult players visit a

tournament, and there they are coached on technical aspects. 29. During home matches by Schaakstad Apeldoorn, live commentary is

given, which is very interesting also for youth players. 30. Inquiry at all school chess clubs. 31. Information meetings for parents. 32. And much, much more ......

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El0 Training with diagrams or board positions

Introduction:

As an introduction to tactical as well as positional subjects, young chess pupils often receive a two-dimensional presentation of themes: with books, workbooks, exercise sheets or a demonstration board. Exercises are also often made on a two-dimensional level (diagrams). Also, positions are set up on a board during trainings to introduce a theme, or to play them out, or to investigate or solve the position for yourself. This is a presentation on three-dimensional level. Sometimes the two are combined (position on a demonstration board and on an own board).

Question 1: Does it make any difference in learning effect whether a theme is presented two- or three-dimensionally?

Question 2: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of both ways of presentation?

During a 'Chess trainer A' evening course organized by the Dutch chess federation KNSB in Apeldoorn in November 2005, no clear-cut answers could be given to these questions - neither by the teacher, nor by the participants. Marco Beerdsen, the father of a seven-year-old chess talent, says he has the impression that it is easier for his son to fathom positions in two-dimensional diagrams than on the board. The question urged itself whether this is a case of habituation, or of learning style - or does this apply to most or even all youth players? And even if this is the case, what about the transfer effects of trainings with two-dimensional diagrams to actual games? Or doesn't it make any difference anyhow? Edgar van de Oudeweetering, the father of a ten-year-old player, is of the opinion that for solving exercises, the length of variations, age, gender difference and visual setting are of influence. Gep Leeflang, who has been a top-100 draughts player for years, thinks that the size of the board matters: 'To us draughts players all these things don't make any difference, everything is flat anyway.'

In the present investigation these questions are examined in three ways:

• Literature search • Interviews: what do trainers think of this subject? • An experiment: do pupils perform better on diagrams or on board positions,and

what do they think of this themselves?

Literature search

For our literature search we looked at a method which is predominant in The Netherlands: the Step-by-Step Method by the trainers Cor van Wijgerden and Rob Brunia. This item was rounded off quickly: there is no mention of the subject.

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Interviews: what do trainers think of this subject?

- 1M Alexander Kabatianski:

Probably training with a board is better than with diagrams. You can give examples on either a board or a demonstration board, and then have your pupils exercise with diagrams on paper. If you hand out positions on paper, pupils can repeat the theme at a later stage. There is no best overall procedure for chess - there are good trainers with various methods, as well as different learning styles. Probably it does not play an important role whether you work with diagrams or with positions on the board. What is much more important is whether a pupil is interested. Kabatianski, who himself originates from Ukraine, does not know of any discussions around this theme in the former Soviet Union. He does remember certain debates about the question whether novice players should start studying endgames or with openings. Kabatianski thinks that the way a trainer transfers information is more important than whether the information is offered via a diagram or a board position. GM Adrian Michalchishin, for instance, speaks quickly and says a lot. GM Artur Yusupov and 1M Mark Dvoretsky speak slowly and deliberately. They turn questions into problems and discuss these interactively with their pupils. This increases their understanding, their motivation and their concentration, Kabatianski supposes.

- GM Artur Yusupov prefers training vvith three-dimensional board positions to two-dimensional pictures, since a board position corresponds to the way a position is perceived during a game. In other words, an actual chess game is simulated. In his opinion, this will yield better learning results. If a position is depicted on a computer screen before him, Yusupov tends to move too quickly himself. He does not know if this is individually determined. He adds that he also studies two-dimensional positions in books. In the Soviet Union he has never heard of any discussion about whether it was better to present positions two- or three-dimensionally. He says that he has once tried to study positions depicted three-dimensionally on a computer screen. 'That does not work for me.' He also observes that the extent to which the transfer from two to three dimensions takes place, may depend on the level of a player.

- 1M Merijn van Delft:

'The advantage of three dimensions is that this simulates the game situation, whereas two-dimensional may be a more practical solution. By the way, I think this is a highly creative question, and I don't have a conclusive answer to it. Variation is also important in a training, perhaps these procedures can complement each other nicely. More important than the procedure may be the amount; you have to practice tactics as often as possible. In order to become really good you have to devour chess books.'

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- Martin van Dommelen (Elo rating 2 1 04, trainer SBSA youth training)

'Here is a brief idea about 2- and 3-dim. positions with trainings: I can agree with Yusupov's idea that by using a 3d position the game is best imitiated. But still I wonder if this is the best way to train. Most of the time it is easier to solve a position from the board than from a demonstration board. Therefore a demonstration board may be more challenging for children, as they will have to exert themselves more, concentrate better, and they cannot try out every move, but really have to check their thoughts with calculation. Actually, I always let the children choose if they want to work with or without a board.'

Experiment: When do pupils perform better: playing from diagrams or from board positions? What do they think of this themselves?

27 participants at the SBSA youth training in Apeldoorn got ten minutes during a training session to solve six diagrams on paper, and then they got ten minutes to solve six board positions. The positions were a mix: half of them could be solved easily by average pupils, the other half was difficult. Afterwards, they were asked to indicate in a questionnaire whether they had a preference for either a two- or a three-dimensional presentation of positions during trainings. The answers varied, but the majority of pupils had a clear preference for threedimensional presentation. Remarkably, on average the oldest, i.e. highest-level group performs better on the board, whereas the other three groups perform better on paper. This may have been partly due to the fact that time was short and younger children have a greater tendency to walk restlessly and in a jumble from one position to the other, and thereby also lose time.

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Questionnaire:

Name: Age: Boy or girl:

1A - I find it easier to solve a position: in a diagram on paper on a chessboard it doesn't matter

1B - Why is this?

2A - I find it easier to solve a position: on a chessboard on a demonstration board it doesn't matter

2B - Why is this?

3A - I find it easier to solve a position: in a diagram on paper on a demonstration board it doesn't matter

3B - Why is this?

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easier on easier on easier on gender certificate score score diagram board or piagram or name age board diagram or board demo board �emo board

Joost 12 B 4 3 2 board board �emo board Anirudh 11 B 4 1 2 board same �emo board Jan-Willem 14 B 4 5 2 board board �emo board Maurice 11 B I 4 2 2 board board Isame )ered 13 B 4 4 1 !same demo board !same Kristianne 14 G 5 2 2 lSame demo board demo board Koen 15 B 5 4 4 Isame board diagram Morris 14 B 3 3 3 board same same

Tom 13 B 5 4 5 board same same 28 23

Sam 9 B 3 2 1 board board demo board Thomas 7 B 3 2 I 5 same same demo board Marion 12 G 4 3 4 diagram board diagram �rmen 12 B 3 3 3 diagram demo board Isame Nico 12 B 4 2 4 board �emo board demo board Martijn 9 B 3 2 2 board same demo board Kyra-Tiana 11 G I 4 2 I' 3 same board diagram

16 1 22

Nico 10 B 3 2 1 board same Idemo board Roy 11 B 4 1 4 board same Idemo board Gerwin 14 B 3 0 I 4 board board Isame Nick 11 B 4 2 3 board board Idemo board Remko 12 B 4 3 6 same same same

8 18

Fons 10 B 3 1 3 same demo board demo board Petra 11 G 3 1 4 board board diagram Sharon 12 G 4 2 1 board board demo board Sybren 8 B 2 0 1 board board demo board Bas 10 B 3 0 0 board same same Edgar 10 B 2 0 2 board same demo board

4 11

board 18 board 12 diagram 4 �iagram 2 demo board 5 demo board 15 !same 7 same 10 same 8

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Ell Tasks of a team captain

A team captain fulfils a number of tasks. It is useful to make a list of these. Then you won't forget anything and it will cost you less time and energy. The below list was used by Karel van Delft when he was the team captain of Homburg Apeldoorn.

Before the match Follow correspondence with KNSB and keep the competition guide Home match: invite arbiter one week before the match (route description) Home match: invite opponent a week before the match (route description) Phone or email players where and at what time the next match will take place, arrange for a substitute player Give players suggestions for transport, or arrange this Make a team lineup and inform players via email, telephone If necessary: team meetings (consultation, training) Bring scoresheets and competition forms Home match: arrange for live commentary Publicity before the match in various media Manage sponsor money (plan expenses) Withdraw money for payments Boarding for various players (before the match, and after the match for players who cannot get home)

On the day of the match Know KNSB membership numbers Name-plates, results form Fill in and sign competition forms During home match: offer opponents and arbiter something to drink Bring competition rules and FIDE Rules Give scoresheets (with carbon copy) to players and collect them after games Arrange payments Consultation in case of draw offers Hand out Chess newspapers Make pictures Offer CD-ROM to opponent and arbiter

Afterwards

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Home match: call results service and submit the match result (see competition guide) Make report with individual results for newspaper Report for SBSA email newsletter Home match: arrange for report to be made for Schaaknieuws Enter games, send as attachment to SBSA email newsletter Home match: mail individual results to KNSB

E12 Inquiry youth section De Schaakmaat

Inquiry youth players De Schaakmaat, Part A

THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF AN INQUIRY. PLEASE HAND IT IN NEXT WEEK TO HESSEL VISSER OR KAREL VAN DELFT. NEXT WEEK YOU WILL GET A SECOND, MORE EXTENSIVE INQUIRY

OSBO training

Several times a year, OSBO organizes youth trainings for strong and motivated young club players. These trainings are held in Apeldoorn. One time in 1992, 20 youth members took part, and another time there were 13.

1. Have you ever participated in such a training? Yes/no 2. If yes, what did you think was good about it, and what wasn't?

The Belorussian trainer Sergey Parmon will give OSBO trainings on Sunday February 28 in Apeldoorn, in 'De Kayersheerdt'. One group is held from 10.00-13.00h ( 10 guilders) and one group from 13.00-18.00h (15 guilders). Parents/others interested are also welcome, entry fee is the same.

3. Are you interested in this? Yes/no

On April 4 and May 2 there are again OSBO trainings (trainers: Marc Jonker, Renate Limbach, Dharma Tjiam, Theo Hommeles). Subject is 'the pawn'. A pawn looks insignificant, but don't be fooled ... Together these trainings cost 30 guilders (half of this amount if you are unable to attend on one of the days, e.g. because of spring holiday).

4. Do you want to receive more information about this? Yes/no

Simul by Sergey Parmon

On March 1, the Belorussian trainer Sergey Parmon will give a simultaneous display for adult players of De Schaakmaat. Place: De Drie Ranken. Start: 19.00h (until approximately 21.00h). Youth players and their parents are also allowed to take part. Entry is free.

Will you be coming too? Yes/no

Inquiry youth players De Schaakmaat, Part B

For some time we have been doing some extra things for youth players of De Schaakmaat. You don't have to take part in every activity, because we are a club that wants to offer something to suit all tastes. We want to ask you a quite large number of questions about this. Your answers will help us find out how we should do different kinds of activities. If you find the questions difficult, your parents can help you. If your answer is too long, you can use the back of this sheet to write more. We think it is very important that everyone thinks along about the club and gives his opinion. It's a long list, but this information is very important for the club.

W E WANT YOU TO RETURN THIS FORM NEXT W EEK

The inquiry also has a separate part that has to be filled in by your parents or guardians.

A report on the inquiry will appear in De Koningsvleugel (i.e. club bulletin 'The Kingside'). In response to your answers we may contact you.

Delete where appropriate.

You can hand in the inquiry to Hessel Visser or Karel van Delft.

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De Koningsvleugel

1. Do you read De Koningsvleugel? yes / no 2. What do you find interesting in De Koningsvleugel? 3. Have you ever written anything in De Koningsvleugel? yes / no 4. Would you want to write in De Koningsvleugel (e.g. a report on a match, or an analysis).

yes / no If yes, what? 5. Have you read the blue issue of De Koningsvleugel about training activities? yes/no If yes,

what did you think of it? 6. Do you have any ideas about how De Koningsvleugel can be improved?

Schakend Nederland (i.e. 'Chess in The Netherlands', official magazine of the Dutch chess federation KNSB, nowadays called: SchaakMagazine)

1. Do you read the Youth section of Schakend Nederland (the yellow section)? yes / no 2. Do you read the rest of Schakend Nederland? yes / no 3. If yes, what do you think of Schakend Nederland (what is especially interesting, what do

you miss, what remarks do you have)? 4. Do you solve the diagram quiz (you can send it in)? yes / no

Chess magazines

1. Do you subscribe to chess magazines? yes / no Which ones?

2. If yes, what do you think of them?

Step-by-step lessons

1. Do you attend Step-by-Step lessons? yes / no 2. \"Jhat do you think of these?

Too fast / too slow / tempo is just right / boring / interesting 3. Is there something else you would want to do during the lessons? yes / no

If yes, what?

Simultaneous display

Now and then an adult player gives a simultaneous display.

1. Have you ever taken part in such an event? yes / no 2. Should we go on organizing such events? yes / no

Club competition

1. Until when do you usually notate your moves? 2. Do you think the playing hall is quiet enough? yes / no 3. Are there things that irritate you? If yes, what? 4. Do you get enough time to think? yes / no

If no, how much time would you want? 5. Is there anything you would want to be arranged differently? If yes, what?

OSBO competition

1. Are you taking part in the OSBO competition at the moment? yes / no 2. If yes, how do you like it? 3. Are there things that could be better arranged? 4. Do you want to play next season? yes / no

Championships

1. Have you taken part in the OSBO championship in De Stolp? yes / no 2. If yes, how would you evaluate the organization?

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3. Will you take part in the Apeldoorn Championship? yes / no 4. Do you want to take part in the Open Dutch Youth Championship in Hengelo this fall (this

will last one week, we're going with a number of players)? yes / no 5. In the summer, do you want to take part in the Open Dutch Championship in Dieren

(duration: one week, you can take part in the C- or B-group as a youth player)? yes / no 6. Would you take part if an Apeldoorn blitz championship were organized ( 1 day)? yes / no 7. Would you take part if an Apeldoorns rapid championship were organized (1 day)? yes / no 8. Do you (or your parents) have any objections against the organization of activities on

Sundays? yes / no 9. In which other championships have you taken part? 10. Can you remember any pleasant experiences which De Schaakmaat can use as models?

Analysing after the game

From 1l.00-13.00h you can analyse your game in a separate room. There will be various adult players who can help you with this. Analysing is important, because if you want to become a better player, you have to reflect on your experiences. This is important for all players, even if you are only five years old. If your opponent does not feel like it, you can also analyse with someone else who is sitting by himself, or with an adult player.

1. Have you ever analysed a game at the club? yes / no 2. Have you ever analysed with an adult player? yes / no

If yes, how did this go? 3. Will you analyse your games at the club in the future? yes / no 4. Do you have any further remarks on this subject?

Analysis questionnaire

In the blue issue of De Koningsvleugel there were a long and a short questionnaire that you can use when analysing your games.

1. Have you ever analysed with this? yes / no 2. If yes, did you use the long or the short version? 3. If yes, what did you think if it? Do you have any suggestions for improvements on the list?

Notice board

1. Do you think the notice board is well organized? yes / no 2. What could be improved?

Picture survey

1. Is your picture already in the picture survey (who's who at De Schaakmaat)? yes / no 2. Do you find the picture survey useful?

Ceefax, newspapers, books, library

1. Do you ever follow the chess news on Ceefax? yes / no 2. Do you ever play through games from a newspaper? yes / no 3. Do you ever borrow books on chess from the library? yes / no 4. Which books do you find good, and possibly interesting for other youth players? 5. Via De Schaakmaat you can order the book '400 Kurzpartien' (400 short games, arranged

according to 50 different openings) for 7 guilders. They are easily understandable, even without knowledge of the German language. Are you interested in this? yes / no

Training groups

A number of players really want to practise chess as a sport. This is not obligatory, but it is possible at De Schaakmaat. At the moment there are 19 youth players in training groups. This means that they regularly visit an adult trainer at home (mostly two times a month) to analyse, study openings, attend theory lessons, etcetera. These players are also required to do some work at home, and in between trainings they gather

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together regularly. So the trainer's function is to support, not to explain everything over and over again.

1. If you are not in such a group already, would you be interested to join one for the next season? yes / no

2. If you are in such a group, what are your experiences up till now? (which subjects do you like, which subjects don't you like, what could be improved?)

Opening study

A chess game begins with an opening. It is quite useful to know a little more about openings. This already happens in training groups, and Merijn is writing a series in De Koningsvleugel (which is useful to collect!). Also, we have decided that once a month an opening will be discussed at the club (from 12.30-13.30h). These trainings are given by adult players. We have already had one training. With the eight players that were present (a number of players couldn't make it due to their participation in championships) it was decided that we will use the following procedure: Beforehand you get information (on a few sheets) which you study by yourself. The training starts with a simultaneous display (half an hour) where you are obliged to play a certain opening. In the second half hour the opening will be discussed by looking at one of the games played in the simultaneous display. The dates will always be announced a few weeks before the event.

1. Do you want to regularly take part in this? yes / no 2. Are you unable to come (because you have another sport in the afternoon) but do you

want to receive the information? yes / no 3. Which opening would you like to discuss? 4. Which openings are you playing yourself already?

Self-study

Some players would like to do more work on chess at home, but they don't know how to go about this. At the club we can help you with that.

1. Would you like to have a talk about how you can spend more time on chess at home? yes / no

Chess diary

1. Have you read in De Koningsvleugel why a diary can be useful? yes / no 2. Are you keeping a chess diary? yes / no 3. Do you want to be shown an example and receive help with starting a chess diary? yes /

no

Extra club trainings

On January 24 there was a training in De Kayersheerdt about the Timman-Short match. Marc Jonker analysed a game and gave a simultaneous display. Each participant paid 5 guilders to cover the expenses. 13 youth players and 5 parents were present.

1. If you have attended this training, what did you think of it? Do you think activities like this should be organized more often?

2. If you have not taken part, would you like to take part in such events in the future? yes / no

3. Do you have any ideas about possible activities? Which ones?

Training trip / double training

A number of youth players are developing strongly. This leads to a demand for good/varied training opportunities. The idea has been suggested to look outside the OSBO area for other clubs to occasionally organize things together. For example: a day's visit (probably on a Sunday) to another town, playing a team match, analysing

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with your opponents (with adult supervision) - then a chess lesson by a good player about a certain subject, and a simul as a dessert. In between events there is a collective lunch. And one month later we receive the same club in our town.

1. Would you like to take part in such an event? 2. Do you have any more ideas about this? Such as?

Video

1. Are you interested in borrowing an (English-language) video about Bobby Fischer or Garry Kasparov (interviews and games)? yes / no

2. Do you possess any video material yourself that may be interesting for other players at the club (e.g. TV matches in Germany)? yes / no

For girls

A while ago, former Dutch Women's Champion Renate Limbach gave an afternoon training about a number of different chess subjects to six girls from De Schaakmaat (for a small fee).

1. Are you interested in this? yes / no

Chess weekend

Many sport clubs have a yearly sport weekend on a farm, or something like that. A number of De Schaakmaat members thinks this would be a good idea for our club as well.

1. Would you also like to have such a weekend? yes / no 2. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this?

Special trainings

Last year, Merijn, Jelmar, and two other OSBO players trained one afternoon with Dimitri Reinderman (Dutch youth champion and the junior no. 3 in the world!). The participants paid for this themselves, but the costs weren't very high (what do tennis lessons or piano lessons cost?). Something like this could possibly be organized again in the future.

1. Are you interested in this? 2. Do you have any suggestions for this?

Correspondence chess (playing chess by letter or by postcard)

This is a useful, instructive and enjoyable pastime! Hessel Visser is the secretary of the Dutch Federation of Correspondence Chess Players. Erik and Jeroen are taking part in an official competition. Jelmar, Merijn and Emile play correspondence chess with former Open Dutch champion Nico Schouten. But you can also do this with a friend.

1. Do you already play correspondence chess? yes / no 2. Do you want to know more about this? yes / no

Chess computers

1. Do you ever play against a chess computer at home? yes / no 2. If yes, against which program? 3. Have you ever played against a computer with a friend (by consulting someone you can

learn a lot)? yes / no 4. There is a possibility to organize a lesson about NICbase (a chess program with many

search options). Are you interested in this? yes / no

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Tournament of generations

1. Do you think it would be nice to play a tournament with adults once a year? yes / no 2. Do you have any ideas about this (for example, having a very good player give a

simultaneous display, etcetera)?

Tournaments

1. Do you want to be informed about championships and tournaments outside Apeldoorn? 2. On the Queen's Birthday there is a tournament for mixed teams of various ages (with a

youth leader) in Den Bosch. Would you like to compete in this? yes / no

School chess

Fun

1. What school do you go to? 2. Is chess being played at your school? yes / no 3. If yes, what activities are taking place? 4. Do they also have activities that might be good for De Schaakmaat? Such as?

1. What do you like most about De Schaakmaat? 2. What do you dislike most about De Schaakmaat?

Other things

Are there any other chess activities that you do which have not been discussed here, and which may be a good idea for others as well? What can be improved at De Schaakmaat Please write down below all the ideas that you have about things that could be improved at De Schaakmaat, or things that you miss.

FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

As a chess club, De Schaakmaat tries to offer a programme that is as complete as possible. We want to accommodate the recreational chess player who wants to learn some theory (Step-by-Step Method) alongside another sport he may be doing, and just wants to play a nice game of chess. We also want to offer opportunities to top-class chess players (a number of youth players are competing on national level). We think that these two approaches can go hand in hand. Also, we are a large club (roughly 90 senior members and roughly 90 youth members). This requires a good organization of a number of things. Commitment of (youth) members and parents is an important factor here. This is also the purpose of this inquiry. So we would like to ask you to kindly fill in this inquiry and, where necessary, help your child to fill it in.

1. Do you read the youth bulletin De Koningsvleugel yourself? yes / no 2. Are you (which one of the parents/guardians) involved in the youth section? Which tasks

do you perform? 3. Would it be possible for you to come and help in the coming season (we may be needing

your help several times a year for certain tasks)? Please circle which activities you would want to do or continue doing.

Please also indicate which one of the parents/guardians

o o o o o o o o o

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sweets stall supervision OSBO team giving Step-by-Step lessons driving to tournaments supervision of training group editing De Koningsvleugel being in charge of the playing hall during competition help with analyses 1l.00- 13.00h help with opening study

o I want more information about the possibilities 4. Do you think the membership fee is high / low / just right?

5. Would you be prepared to pay a higher membership fee if this means that there will be more and better facilities available for the youth section? yes / no How high a raise would be acceptable?

6. Do you think that now and then the club should be allowed to use money from the general fund to hire an external trainer (e.g. Marc Jonker or Renate Limbach), or do you think that the participants of these trainings should pay for this themselves? (the background of this question is that some people think that paying (top) trainers is principally incorrect and that this should be paid for by those involved, while others think that free participation will be an incentive, and that such things are normal for a (mind) sport club.)

Please circle what we should do in your opinion Financed by general fund Participants pay themselves Don't know

7. Karel van Delft has written a brochure on sport psychology and coaching for youth players. On February 4 and 25, two meetings have been arranged with close to twenty interested persons.

Knowledge of psychology is useful for chess players. You can: Learn more efficiently and more effectively, and with more motivation; Learn to think more economically/more systematically; Learn about self-management (self-confidence, concentration, etc.).

Knowledge of psychology is also useful for supervisors (e.g. didactics, communication). Goodquality supervision is important not only in top-class sport. After all, sports are mostly pursued for fun, and the quality of the supervision can be important for the personal education of the player. We should add here that going in for top-class sport (within the limits of their possibilities) can have a very positive effect on children. The brochure consists of 52 pages in AS format and costs 5 guilders. Are you interested in this brochure? yes / no

8. Are you satisfied with the current club accommodation? A. yes B. no C. don't know D. suggestion for accommodation:

9. Have you read the blue issue of De Koningsvleugel (named 'chess psychaos') about training possibilities? yes / no Do you have any remarks on this? If yes, which?

10. What do you think of the idea of seeking sponsors for extra activities? A. for B. against C. don't know

Do you have any suggestions for sponsors, or do you have contacts with possible sponsors?

11. What could be improved at our club in your opinion? Do you have any other remarks or suggestions?

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F - GLOSSARY

Activity - effectiveness of pieces Adjournment - break during a game, which is continued later Advanced Chess - chess variant where consultation of computers is allowed Aiming - bringing a piece, via a threat, to a square where it can attack Algebraic notation - notation system that codes moves with letters and numbers Ambition - goal which a player wants to achieve Analysis - investigation of a position Analysis questionnaire - questionnaire that enables the user to analyse a position systematically Angstgegner - weaker or equivalent opponent against whom performance is bad Annotated games - games with annotations in words and/or variations Arbiter - referee in chess Artistic aspects - esthetic qualities of a position Attack - activity aimed at assailing the enemy position Audience - spectators at a chess game Back rank - first or eighth rank on the board, 'bottom rank' Back-rank mate - mate with rook or queen on the bottom rank Backward pawn - pawn that is less far advanced than its colleagues and cannot be protected by them Bad bishop - a bishop that is hindered by its own pawns standing on the same colour Bad form/Loss of form - a player performs below his normal level Battery - two pieces standing on one file, rank or diagonal, making a combination possible Bind - grip on the position, and the space advantage that goes with it Bishop endgame, Bishop ending - endgame/ending where there are only bishops and pawns left on the board Bishop pair - two bishops, as opposed to e.g. bishop and knight, or two knights Blindfold chess - variant where the players do not see board and pieces, they must visualize them in their heads Blitz - a chess game with a very short time-control, often five minutes per player per game Blitz tournament - tournament with games with a very short time-control Blockade - stopping an opponent's pawn by putting a piece on the square before it Blunder - a grave mistake that results in a great disadvantage Board - the playing field, consisting of 64 squares Bolthole - playing a pawn forward to prevent the own king to fall victim to a back-rank mate (also: luft) Boxing in - to deprive a piece of the possibility to escape (also: 'enclosing') Breakthrough - when a pawn breaks through the enemy lines Brilliancy prize - prize for the most beautiful game in a tournament Browsing - spontaneous and unordered investigation of interesting issues Buchholz - criterium to determine the final rankings or the pairings by looking at the opposition each player has faced Bye - free round Caissa - goddess of chess Calculating ability - the ability to calculate variations Calculation - ascertaining with the help of variations where a combination leads to Candidate moves - moves that come into consideration to be played Capturing - conquering a piece or pawn of the opponent Castling - playing king and rook in one move Centralization - putting pieces in the middle of the board Centre - the four central squares of the chess board Character - mental qualities of a person Chasing - forcing an enemy piece with threats to go to a certain square Check - the king is under attack Checkmate - see 'Mate' ChessBase - German chess publisher Chess clock - clock that registers how much thinking time players use

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Chess club - club where chess is being played Chess column - column in a medium about a chess subject Chess computer - computer with which chess games can be played Chess computer program - program for playing or analysing chess on a computer Chess culture - circumstances where there is a lot of attention for chess in many ways Chess development - the development of chess skills Chess didactics - method of teaching chess Chess During the Day - organization that allows people to play in a chess competition during the day Chess festival - event with numerous chess activities Chess Informant - a chess periodical with opening variations, published in Serbia Chess newspaper - newspaper which is entirely devoted to chess, like 'Schaakkrant Apeldoorn' in The Netherlands Chess machine - device that can play chess, predecessor of the chess computer Chess pedagogics - method of chess education Chess psychology - psychological knowledge of behaviour concerning chess Chess video - video about a chess subject Clock simul - simultaneous display where players get a fixed amount of time Closed game - way of playing where many lines are blocked by pawns Closed Games - openings that start with the moves l.d2-d4 d7-d5 Club bulletin - bulletin published by a club for its members Coach - someone who supervises a player Colour - the colour with which someone plays, i.e. white or black Colour complex - a group of squares of the same colour, i.e. white or black, on the board Combination - forced sequence of moves with the aim to achieve an advantage Compensation - when a material disadvantage is counterbalanced by other factors Competition - system of matches where individuals or teams play against each other Competition rules - rules concerning a competition Composer - someone who creates chess studies/problems Computer chess - chess with a computer Concentration - when thinking is focused on a certain task Condition - (physical) shape Connected passed pawns - two or more passed pawns on adjacent files, cooperating Constructive thinking - systematic, purposeful, efficient and effective thinking Consultation game - game where players are allowed to consult each other Coordinates - letters and numbers that are used to indicate the squares on the chess board Correspondence chess - playing a game via mail or email Counterplay - the player who has had to defend until a certain moment becomes active Courage - the readiness to take risks Creative thinking - thinking with an eye for unexpected possibilities Critical position - decisive moment in a game Crosspin - a pin is crossed by a pin by the opponent Cup matches - matches in a system of elimination, only the winners qualify for the next round Database - data carrier in a computer Decisiveness - ability to take decisions Decoy/diversion - enticing a piece to move to a certain square where it can be attacked Defence - taking measures against an attack Deflection - enticing a piece to move to a certain square where it can no longer fulfill a certain function Demonstration board - big chess board against a wall on which a game can be explained Desperado - sacrificing a piece which is lost anyway Development - the extent to which pieces have been brought into play DGT - Digital Game Timer, digital chess clock Diagonal - a diagonal line on the board Diagram - picture of a chess position Diary - notebook where instructive facts are recorded Didactics - the method of teaching Discovered attack - remove a piece to enable a piece behind it to attack Discovered check - remove a piece to enable a piece behind it to give check Double attack - when a piece or a pawn attacks two targets (piece, pawn, square or king) Double check - two pieces give check with one move

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Doubled pawn - two pawns of the same colour on the same file Draw - game ends undecided Dream position - a position with a great advantage Drive - the extent to which someone is able to keep taking blows while striving to achieve his goal Dynamic chess - playing style with much activity, contrary to static chess Eliminate - beat a player, who is then cut out from a tournament; also: capturing a piece Elo system - system with rating points, devised by professor Arpad Elo, which indicates playing strength Email newsletter - newsletter distributed via email Emotions - feelings Empathy - the ability to sense another's feelings Enclosing - to deprive a piece of the possibility to escape (also 'boxing in') Encyclopedia - book of reference on a certain theme, for example openings or endgames Endgame/ending - final phase of a game, when there are few pieces left on the board Endgame study - composed endgame position Energy management - management of own amount of energy English notation - certain notation system developed in England En passant - when an enemy pawn has moved two squares on the previous move, ending up next to the opponent's pawn, it is captured by the latter in such a way as if it had moved only one square Escape square - square to which a king or a piece can escape Euwe - the only Dutch World Chess Champion, author of many chess books Exchange sacrifice - exchange of a rook for a bishop or knight Exchanging - both players capture a piece from the opponent Exercises - activities aimed at improving skills Experience - events that a player lives through in games Experimenting - trying out possibilities False negative - wrongfully assessed as insufficient False positive - wrongfully assessed as sufficient Falsification - checking if something is untrue Fascination - great enthusiasm about something Fear of failure - the fear of not achieving a certain goal Fianchetto - placement of a bishop on square b2, g2, b7 or g7. FIDE - world chess federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs) FIDE master - title bestowed by FIDE on a player who has an Elo rating of 2300 or more File - eight vertically adjacent squares File clearance - opening a file by playing a piece or a pawn Fixation of thought - being focused on a certain thought, which makes you miss other things Flag - part of a mechanical chess clock which indicates when a game is lost by falling down Flank - one half of the board: kingside or queenside Flexibility - versatility Flow - excellent frame of mind with characteristics like total concentration Fool's Mate - the end of the shortest possibe chess game: 1. f3 eS, 2. g4 Qh4 mate Force - impose a continuation upon the opponent in a forceful way Fork - when a pawn or knight attacks two or more pieces at once Fortress - position that is defendable in spite of a material disadvantage Four-column notation - notation of a game in several columns as a training procedure (in this variant, expected and possible moves are also put on paper) Four-event match - four chess players each play one game against each other Fritz - computer chess program Fun - enjoying the game of chess, which contributes to the development of talent Gambit - way of playing where material is sacrificed in the opening Game - chess contest Game analysis - investigation of the developments in a game Game collection - publication of a number of games, e.g. of a certain player, in one volume Game quiz - questions about a game with which points can be gained Garde clock - chess clock with mechanical works Gens Una Sumus - 'We are one family', the motto of world chess federation FIDE Glanzpartie - brilliant game Goal setting - determining which goal must be achieved

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Golden rules - 1. pawns in the centre, 2. develop pieces, 3. bring king into safety Good bishop - bishop that isn't hindered by its own pawns standing on the same colour Grandmaster - title bestowed by world chess federation FIDE, requirements : three grandmaster norms and an Elo rating of minimally 2500 Grandmaster draw - the players agree to share the point without a struggle Group training - training in a group Half-open file - file which is closed off only on one side by a pawn Hash table - memory function of a chess computer with earlier moves and evaluations Helpmate - when mate is made possible by a move of the opponent Hole - a square that cannot be protected by a pawn any more ICC - Internet Chess Club, online chess club Imaginative power - the extent to which a player can imagine variations In-between/intermediate check - giving check to the enemy king during a combination In-between/intermediate move - move which thwarts an intended plan Individual training course - training programme of an individual player Initiative - taking the lead, determining the course of events Insight - understanding of the way a process works Inspiration - being motivated by a positive idea Internal competition - competition between players of a club International Master - title bestowed by world chess federation FIDE, requirements: three master norms and an Elo rating of minimally 2400 Internet chess - chess via Internet Interruption - neutralizing the effect of a piece along a file, rank or diagonal by interposing a piece or a pawn Intersubjectivity - to take into account the circumstances, the character, the qualities and the style of the opponent Intuition - subconsciously detecting patterns and establishing relationships Investigating - finding out how something works Isolani - see 'Isolated pawn' Isolated pawn - pawn that has no adjacent pawns of the same colour J'adoube - 'I touch', this is the term used by a player if he wants to adjust the pieces J udgement ability - the extent to which a player is capable of evaluating a position Keeping order - taking care that all those present observe the rules of conduct Keizer system - a certain pairing system, popular in The Netherlands and Belgium Key squares - crucial squares, e.g. in a pawn ending Kiebitzer - onlooker at a chess game Kingside - the side of the board where the king stands in the starting position Knight endgame/ending - ending where there are only knights and pawns left on the board Knight fork - a knight attacks two pieces at once Knowledge - information concerning a certain theme KNSB - Koninklijke Nederlandse Schaak Bond (i.e. Royal Dutch Chess Federation) Lead in development - being better developed than the opponent Learning programme - programme that serves to acquire knowledge, insight and skills Learning skills - qualities to study well Lightning Chess - chess games with maximally two minutes per player Live commentary - explanation of games to visitors at a chess event Logical thinking - systematic thinking according to the principles of logic Long Algebraic notation - notation where both the starting square and the end square of a move are written down Loss on time - not making the required number of moves within the time-control Luft - see 'Bolthole' Magnet combination - piece sacrifice putting the enemy king, if it takes the sacrificed piece, on an unfavourable square Main line - the most important, most essential variation within an opening system Major pieces - the queens and rooks Manoeuvre - sequence of moves which serves to move a piece to a better square Master - see 'International Master' Match - contest between two players or teams Mate - the king cannot escape the attack, the game is over Material - the pieces and pawns Material balance - the balance in value of the pieces and pawns on both sides

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Mate threat - threat to give mate to the enemy king Mating attack - attack on the enemy king Mating net - the king is caught in a web of mate threats Mentality - way of thinking, psychological disposition Mental training - training of mental skills and mental insights Mentor - supervisor of a pupil Methodical approach - dealing with something in a systematic way Middlegame - middle phase of a chess game Miniature - a game that lasts maximally twenty moves Minority attack - attack with pawns on a flank where the attacker has less pawns than the defender Minor pieces - the knights and bishops Minor promotion - promotion to a knight, bishop or rook instead of a queen Motivation - factors that move someone to adopt certain behaviour Move - a turn of a chess player who plays a piece or a pawn Move repetition - repeating moves, resulting in the same position Move transposition - alternative move order which leads to the same position Natural move - move that looks obvious and logical New in Chess - Dutch (English-language) chess publisher N. N. - nomen nescio, name of the player is unknown Notate - write down the moves of a game Notation - the moves of a game put on paper Notation book - booklet with game notations Novelty - a good move that has not been played before Octopus - strong knight on the sixth (for White) or third (for Black) rank Odds game - game where one player starts with a pawn or a piece less Olympiad - most important international competition of world chess federation FIDE Open file - file that has no pawns on it Open game - way of playing where the position contains many open lines Open Games - openings that start with the moves l.e4-e4 e7-eS Opening - first phase of a game Opening repertoire - the collection of opening systems employed by a player Opening trap - a trick to provoke a mistake in the opening Opposite-coloured bishops - a light-squared versus a dark-squared bishop Opposition - kings are opposite each other with an odd number of squares between them; the king that is not to move is said to have the 'opposition' Optimism - full confidence in a positive outcome Outpost - a square situated deep inside the enemy position Pairing table - table showing which participants are to play each other Parents meeting - meeting where a trainer/coach speaks with parents Parrying - averting/fending off an attack Passed pawn - pawn that meets no enemy pawn Patience - calmly waiting for the possibilities to come Pattern - motif, the way in which pieces and pawns are arranged on the board Pattern recognition - recognition of patterns (with corresponding characteristics) Patzer - weak player Pawn endgame/ending - endgame where only pawns are left on the board Pawn chain - a group of connected pawns Pawn fork - a pawn attacking two pieces at once Pawn majority - one of the players has more pawns on a certain flank Pawn race - pawns try to promote earlier than enemy pawns Pawn sacrifice - giving away a pawn in order to achieve a certain advantage Pawn structure - the way in which pawns are arranged on the board Pedagogics - educational science Performance readiness - to be prepared to make an achievement, which requires effort and concentration Performance goal - to be focused on playing a good game Perpetual check - when continuous checks can be given to the enemy king Personality development - development of characteristic features of a person PGN - portable game notation, a computer format for saving games Piece - king, queen, rook, bishop, knight

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Piece mobility - amount of space that pieces have to move Piece sacrifice - to allow a piece to be captured in order to achieve a certain advantage Pin (relative, absolute) - because of a threat, a piece cannot be moved Plan - way of playing in order to achieve a certain goal Playing tempo - the amount of time that players get for a game Ply - a half-move, i.e. a move by White or Black only Poisoned pawn - pawn that cannot be taken on the penalty of a disadvantage Position - certain configuration of pieces and pawns Positional advantage - pieces have more infl uence than the enemy pieces Positional play - putting the pieces on squares where they exert optimum influence Positive reinforcement - stimulating certain behaviour by rewarding it Post mortem - 'after death': analysis after a game Preparation for a game - work systematically before a game in order to play optimally Preparation move - move which enables a certain combination Private trainer - a trainer who coaches an individual Problem (chess) - constructed positions where the king must be mated in a certain number of moves Problem-solving ability - extent to which someone is able to solve difficulties Process orientedness - when a development follows a certain process Promotion - a pawn reaches the other side of the board and changes into a piece of the player's choice Prophylaxis - anticipating the opponent's move while improving the own position at the same time Protect - defend a piece in such a way that the enemy attacking piece can be recaptured Pseudo-sacrifice - apparently giving away a piece, but winning it back Psychology - science that studies behaviour, thinking, feelings Psychological flaws - the inability to perform certain mental actions Public relations (pr) - communication with groups inside and outside an organization Purposiveness - when all activities serve to achieve a certain goal Quadrant - a square; e .g . a king can stop a pawn that is within its quadrant or 'square' Queen endgame/ending - ending where there are only queens and pawns left on the board Queenside - the side of the board where the queens stand in the starting position Quick play - using little thinking time for each move Quiet move - move that does not immediately attack anything, but turns out to be devastating on the next move Rampant rook - rook that wants to be captured constantly, with the aim of stalemate Rank - eight horizontally adjacent squares Rapid chess - chess game with a short time-control (mostly 25 minutes per player) Rating - number that signifies playing strength Repetition - going through subject matter more than once; an important teaching principle Resign - admit to the opponent that the game is lost Result-oriented play - the result of the game (i.e. a win, or a draw) is the first priority Retrograde analysis - finding out, by reasoning backwards, which moves have led to a certain position Romantic chess - chess style from the 19th century where a lot of material was sacrificed Rook endgame/ending - endgame/ending where only rooks and pawns are left on the board Rook's pawn - pawn on the edge of the board Round robin - tournament system where every player is paired once against every other player Royal game - an epithet of the game of chess Rules of the game - the rules of chess, established by FIDE Rules of thumb - general rules that are helpful with an assessment Russian chess school - chess culture with good trainers, hard work, many strong opponents Sacrifice - to give away material in exchange for a certain advantage SBSA - Stichting Bevorderen Schaken Apeldoorn (i.e. Foundation for the Promotion of Chess in Apeldoorn) Scenario - survey in which organizational tasks of an event are described Scheveningen system - kind of match where team members play all the members of another team Scholar's Mate - quick victory via a combined attack on f7 by queen and bishop School chess - playing chess on schools Scoresheet - form on which the game is notated

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Sea-snake - game that lasts more than 100 moves Second - assistant of a player during a tournament or match Self-teaching - tried-and-tested procedure that is advantageous for chess talents Self-confidence - the knowledge that one has sufficient qualities for a performance Self-criticism - being critical of oneself Self-management - keeping oneself under control and judging oneself realistically Self-study - study completed individually by a chess player, without supervision Seventh rank - on this rank, major pieces are often dangerous Short notation - form of notation with the letter of the piece and the coordinates of the square where it ends up Simultaneous display - when a chess player takes on several opponents at once Sitzfleisch - the ability to play accurately for a long time Skills - capacities, qualities Smothered mate - mate with the knight, when the enemy king is boxed in by its own pieces Social determinants - social factors that influence the development of chess talent Sonneborn-Berger system - system for determining the final rankings in a tournament Space - squares on the board that are available to a player Space advantage - one of the players controls more squares Sponsoring - supporting a chess organization or a chess activity financially or materially Sportsmanship - playing mentality that shows respect for the opponent Square (1) - the chessboard has 64 squares, each square can contain one piece or pawn Square ( 2) - see Quadrant Square clearance - by playing a piece or a pawn, a square is vacated Stalemate - when a player can make no legal moves but is not mated; draw Stamina - condition that enables a player to finish a performance, cope with setbacks, react with resilience Staunton chess pieces - certain trend-setting design of chess pieces Steinitz, Elements of - first World Champion, he described a number of important characteristics in chess positions Step-by-Step Method - popular method to teach chess, devised by Rob Brunia and Cor van Wijgerden Strength/weakness analysis - inventarisation of good and bad qualities of a chess player Strong square - a square that cannot be attacked, and from where a piece exerts a lot of influence Strategy - a general plan to achieve a goal Stress - mental tension Students' chess - a certain match form: the winner of the game gets one minute less in the next game Study - learning systematically about chess, also : endgame study Style - manner of playing, which differs for each chess player Swindle - trick to save a hopeless position Swiss system - a certain pairing system for tournaments Tactic - concrete sequence of moves, combination Tactical exercises - positions for developing tactical skills Talent - innate qualities Target - square, pawn, piece, or king at which an attack is aimed Task readiness - willingness to perform a certain task Tasks of team captain - tasks performed by a team captain to make sure that a match develops properly Team captain - the coach of a chess team Team competition - competition against other clubs Team training - collective training of team members Technique - procedures with certain characteristics Tempo - a move Tempo gain - to gain an extra move for free (by means of a threat, for instance) Tempo loss - a useless move Text move - the move actually played in a game (i.e. not in the given variations) Thematic position - position with typical features Theme tournament - tournament where everyone is obliged to play a certain opening (variation) Theory - the body of knowledge of moves that are considered good Thinking ahead - thinking about positions that can occur at the end of variations

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Thinking process - the way in which thinking goes Threat - the possibility to achieve a certain advantage Three-day chess - chess event that lasts three days Time - the number of moves that make up a variation Time-control - the amount of thinking time a player has at his disposal in a game Time management - using the thinking time in a controlled way Time-trouble - too little time to judge a position properly Time use - the way in which a player manages his thinking time Touch-move - if a player touches a piece, he must make a move with it Tournament - contest with more than one round Tournament book - book with reports on a tournament (with games, result tables, pictures, etc.) Tournament bulletin - bulletin with a report on (a round of) a tournament Tournament visit - watching or taking part in a chess tournament TPR - tournament performance rating: the rating score of a player in a certain tournament Trainer - coach who indicates how a chess player can practise Training - situation where chess skills are practised Training decathlon - practising different chess skills in ten different items Training partner - partner with whom a chess player trains together Training scheme - scheme that indicates what, where, when and how trainings take place Trap - a move or plan that entices the opponent to make a wrong move Triangulation - playing the king over three squares in order to lose a tempo Trick - technical or psychological pitfall Tripled pawn - three pawns of the same colour on one file TWIC - 'The Week In Chess', well-known online chess magazine Unprotectable - a piece, pawn or square cannot be defended Unprotected piece - piece that is not defended Value of the pieces - the power of pieces expressed in numbers Variation - certain continuation starting from a position Variation calculation - calculation of possible variations Variation tree - series of possible move sequences starting from a position Variety - regularly doing other things; an important teaching principle Verbalization - to put an idea into words Verification - checking if something is true Visualization - conjuring up positions to your mind's eye Visualization ability - the ability to assess positions and variations in your head Waiting move - move that does not worsen the own position and deliberately leaves the initiative to the opponent Weakening - when a position gets less possibilities and more restrictions Weakness - part of a position where the opponent can seize an advantage Weak pawns - pawns that cannot be defended, or only with difficulty Weak square - square on which the opponent has a lot of influence Workshop - training procedure where there is much space for spontaneous ideas X-ray attack - an attacking piece looks through an enemy piece to a target X-ray check - an attacking piece looks through the enemy king to an enemy piece Zugzwang - being forced to make a move that worsens one's own position ZwickmLihle - repetitive discovered check which enables a player to win a number of pieces

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Developing Chess Talent

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