Part 4.2: Teacher & Student Presentations!

by John Bain

Short Lectures/Discussion-Student Presentations (10-15 minutes). The chess teacher models and presents “simple” tactics, checkmate attacks and master games–and students present their own games–that demonstrate the “Principles For Stronger Chess” found in the Chess Tactics For Students and Checkmate! Ideas For Students workbooks.

The teacher and students highlight 3-4 winning principles, middle-game tactics, endgame checkmate tactics, and/or long-term strategies for winning a chess game! Students LOVE this! Proceed with caution…

Principles for Stronger Chess

IMPORTANT: PROCEED WITH CAUTION – CHESS IS COMPLICATED! 

In the first 2 moves in a chess game, approximately 250,000 unique sequences are possible! That’s a “quarter-of-a-million” unique sequences for the first 2 moves!

For this activity–Teacher and Students’ Presentations–to be successful, a few guidelines are essential:

1) Students must rehearse 3-4 times, and time their presentations.

2) Presentations are short–10-15 minutes.

3) Presentations highlight only 3-4 key ideas, tactics or strategies; i.e., a Knight Fork; a Skewer; a Sacrifice attacking the castled King; promoting a passed pawn to a Queen.

4) All questions and discussions are postponed until after the presentation.

5) The teacher will set the tone, modeling 10-15 minutes presentations, presenting only 3-4 key ideas, and postponing questions.

Teacher Lectures-Presentations. Before a teacher presentation of a tactic, a checkmate or “simple” master game, the teacher displays the 3-4 ideas to be highlighted with the corresponding moves on a dry-eraser board or overhead projector.

The teacher moves quickly through the game, spending no more than 10-15 minutes, highlighting no more than 3-4 ideas. 

Student Presentations. After students understand chess notation, and can identify principles, tactics, and long-term strategies in their own chess games, invite them to present their own games.

Students LOVE this! To begin, students might want to limit their presentations to part of a game, maybe only 3-6 moves, demonstrating a tactic that wins material or a checkmating attack.

IMPORTANT: For this activity to be successful, students must understand algebraic chess notation, covered in worksheet format in Chess Rules For Students.

Students must rehearse 3-4 times, checking their notation for accuracy–and the length of their presentations.

NEXT> Part 4.3: Chess Club Ladder Competition – Blitz & Standard will introduce intense competition into the chess club, and attract more students to the club than any other activity!

What Makes “Chess Clubs For Students” Work?

Parts 1-6

by John Bain

Intro: What Makes “Chess Clubs For Students” Work? outlines practices for building a well-attended, successful chess club.

Part 1 – Basic Chess Skills and Psychology For Students emphasizes how learning the Chess Rules and Three Psychological Practices enable students to become stronger players.

Part 2 – Basic Endgame Checkmate Patterns For Students covers Four Basic Endgame Checkmate Patterns that will yield collateral benefits to all aspects of a student’s games.

Part 3  – Choosing Location, Meeting Times & Equipment demonstrates that the right location, the right meeting times, and quality chess equipment will foster enthusiastic student chess club participation.

Part 4.1 to 4.6 – Chess Club Activities For Students shows that activities that are fun–and that improve chess knowledge and skills–are the lifeblood of a well-run, great chess club!

Part 5 – How to Promote Chess Clubs in Schools presents the very best, promising practices for promoting school chess clubs.

Part 6 – What Chess Teaches Kids About Life notes the virtues, lessons and life skills that chess teaches!

NEXT> Part 4.3: Chess Club Ladder Competition – Blitz & Standard will introduce intense competition into the chess club, and attract more students to the club than any other activity!