EPTOn November 22 2009 16:33 madnessman wrote:
nice! can i steal this to give out to beginners my school's chess club?
nice! can i steal this to give out to beginners my school's chess club?
Yes feel free to. There's lots of good stuff on the internet too so don't take my word as gospel. The merit of this book over that can be debated endlessly. Some basic rules for teaching chess seem to be agreed upon though:
Beginner should learn tactics and endgame first. As others have said a couple openings should be chosen and stuck to. Lots of people fall into the trap of endlessly studying openings thinking that is what makes them win or lose. When a good player gives piece odds to a weaker player, it is as if he blundered a piece in the opening. Yet they still win by strength of middle and end game.
As others commented: mass game in the beginning. Later, slow down and take time to understand each game.
I think if I were teaching someone over the board, the first thing I'd have them master is the basic mates: King and Queen, King and two Rooks, King and Rook etc. It's best to learn the power of the pieces with just a few piece on the board. Some GM said something like: "If you can't control one soldier how can you control the entire army?"
