Junior coaching ... keep it simple !
By Phil Adams (3Cs' chief coach)
His ability as a chess coach ? Just look at 3Cs' records !!!
19 February 2025
CHESS ON THE WEB
You can keep up with events in the chess world by regularly checking out these chess news websites:
TWIC is an invaluable resource for all strong or ambitious players. Every Monday night or Tuesday morning Mark Crowther provides a FREE file in PGN or CBV format of all the available tournament games played in the previous week !
There is also a website focusing on chess, technology and IT: https://www.chesstech.org
Click on the approprite link above to access the desired website
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WHAT'S NEW IN CHESS
The latest free ECF Newsletter Chess Moves (January 2024) is available for download in PDF: there are many instructive articles by strong players as well as one on Steve Rigby's British Empire Medal award (pages 33-35)
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ChessMoves-January-2025-complete.pdf
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Serbian IM, trainer and popular YouTuber Miodrag Perunović has recently been producing a series of videos on YouTube recommending lines for Black against various annoying antSicilian lines: https://www.youtube.com/@MiodragPerunovicOfficial/videos
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Popular streamer Daniel Naroditsky plays and explains his favourite line for Black against the version of the London system beginning 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bf4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmFrJuPdwxE
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German GM Karsten Müller is a great expert on the endgame and frequently explains interesting and instructive endgames at the Chessbase website. Here’s his most recent article, which features the struggle between a bishop and a knight in the endgame: https://en.chessbase.com/post/outposts
And here’s a complete list of all Müller’s endgame articles available at the Chessbase website; you can learn something useful from every one of these! https://en.chessbase.com/tagged?tag=Endgame
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There is an excellent ongoing series of lessons for advanced players by GM and trainer Jan Markos. Here’s his latest: https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-winning-academy-41-interrupting-the-opponent#
All the previous lessons in the series are available here: https://en.chessbase.com/tagged?tag=The%20Winning%20Academy
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REMINDERS
There’s a quite short but instructive article by the US master Jeremy Kane with some “test yourself” puzzles. It provides useful reminders of some really important basic chess principles. Understanding these and keeping them in mind can help you to make the right decisions on the chess board, whatever your level. https://www.chess.com/article/view/bad-trades-amateurs-make-in-chess
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The Chessable website continues to offer some good FREE ‘taster’ material, including some videos, on openings and other chess topics, obviously to tempt you into buying one of their courses, many of which are very expensive! Nevertheless, some of you might find this free stuff very useful and instructive in its own right. Chessable has some high-rated authors, 6 including very strong GMs such as Wesley So, Anish Giri, Peter Svidler and Sam Shankland.
New courses are being added all the time and it is now hard to think of an opening which is not covered by a Chessable course! Look first for the free “Short and Sweet” versions of the Chessable courses, often with a free video introduction. These can be very useful for quickly getting you started on a new opening, which you can then practise online, e.g. at Lichess. You will need to register with Chessable (but it’s free): https://www.chessable.com/courses/
For example, if you play the Pirc Defence or are considering adding it to your opening repertoire, you could do a lot worse than watch the quite detailed free Chessable video accompanying this Chessable “Short & Sweet” course: https://www.chessable.com/learn/70996
You will need to log in, click on Learn and then click on the video Play symbol, click anywhere on the video and finally click on the Full Screen symbol. Of course, if you like the Chessable “spaced repetition’ method you can also use that to help you to learn the suggested variations
*** Chessable are also offering a FREE course in basic endgames. *** https://www.chessable.com/basic-endgames/course/6371/ This site https://www.openingtree.com/ can help you research the online games of future opponents.
For already strong or ambitious players, a useful sources for keeping up to date with the latest developments in your favourite openings is https://www.chesspublishing.com
You have to subscribe (to one or more sections) to be able to read or download the detailed annotations, but the free-access pages can be useful in their own right, for pointing you towards the most important recent games in each opening, which you can usually then find at TWIC and download for study.
There is also a “forum” (at https://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/chess/YaBB.pl) where you can ask questions and discuss openings and other chess topics.
Some suggestions for self-preparation
The recent health crisis gave many chess players more free time to practice their skills, yet, although the pandemic has largely abated, such self-assessment and training is still required in order to maintain a level of play in readiness for when regular competitive matches restart.
Hence, the following are some suggestions to prepare for such occasions ...
1: Learn or revise basic endgames from books such as Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, How to Play Chess Endgames by Müeller & Lamprecht or 100 Endgames You Must Know by De La Villa. The work you put in now, learning and practising basic endgames, will be useful to you for as long as you want to keep playing chess and (unlike openings) it will never go out of date!
2: Play through practical endgames, using books such as Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky, How to Play Chess Endgames by Müeller & Payeken or the excellent books by Glenn Flear or John Nunn.
3: Play through as many of the great games of the past as you can, collected in books such as The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games.
4: Learn and practise some strong main-line (or at least “respectable” secondary) openings and defences.
5: For relaxation as well as practice:
a) play some on-line blitz at 3’+2” or 5’+3”, but use these games mainly to practise your openings – save each game in PGN as you go along and look at them again later, especially in respect of the opening;
b) solve puzzles or endgame studies e.g. at chess.com, maybe using “puzzle-rush”.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"I recommend solving tactics daily. Easy ones, basic tactics, but in large amounts, every single day"
GM and author Renier Castellanos
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“I think something people misunderstand is thinking that an hour or two per week with a strong coach will make the difference. The bottom line is that the student has to do most of the work him or herself.”
GM and trainer Danyyil Dvirnyy
3Cs' head coach Phil Adams providing valuable instruction to 8 year old Zayeem Alam as well as his dad Shahed who also plays for the club ..... we shall refrain from discussing which one of them is in more need of Phil's coaching !
How do you learn tactical patterns?
My first and absolute top recommendation would be to read these two books one after the other (available from the 3Cs' library):
1) "How to beat your dad at chess" teaches you all the most important checkmating patterns.
2) "Chess tactics for kids" teaches you all the most important chess tactics patterns....
.......and then read them again!
3Cs often ask other people to assist with coaching at the club so as to gain different points of view. This photo shows FIDE Master Alex Longson (grey top near the door), himself a product of the 3Cs' coaching system and a former England junior international, who has taken charge of many of the club's coaching sessions. Alex also organises the Delancey UK Chess Challenge along with his wife Sarah who also assists at the club.
Learn these simple rules ...
a: Often the best moves do TWO good things; most notably the double attack (eg: a fork)
b: Always look at the forcing moves
c: f2 and f7 are the weakest points in the first part of the game
d: In the opening, don't move the same piece twice without a good reason
e: When ahead on material, exchange pieces not pawns
f: When losing on material, exchange pawns not pieces
g: With the safer king, keep the queens on
h: When under attack, try to exchange queens
i: When attacking, invite everyone to the party
j: Every pawn move creates a weakness.
(ie: Don't move a pawn when stuck for a move - try to improve your worst piece instead)
k: Chess is two-way traffic - always look at what the opponent is trying to do
A suggested thinking routine after your opponent has moved ...
1: Write the move down.
2: Check it is a legal move (Some people may try to cheat or bluff you).
3: Is there a threat ?
4: Can I ignore the threat ?
5: What are all my options ?
6: What seems to be my best option ?
7: Give your proposed move a final "blunder check" before touching the piece.
Ideas by 3Cs' senior coach Phil Adams on how to specifically make new young players feel welcome at a chess club as wel as tips on coaching methods for them and which can be downloaded via this link....
Although the attached notes were written several years ago (ie: ask your parents if you don't understand what Phil means by a "VHS tape" !!!), the ideas are still very much relevant and have proven to be very successful at 3Cs for generations of young players at the club.