I have a friend, age 59 that I"m trying to figure out how to teach to play better chess. I"m trying to figure out a good book to get that can give me some direction. He’s adament that he’s not a beginner, cause he clearly knows the rules of chess.
His actual ability is maybe 900 to 1000. (pretty much a rank beginner).
Its important that I can teach him how to play better chess without making him feel like a kid or someone thats never looked at a chess board before.
For example, he doesn’t have the slightest clue how to play the opening. He does little more than randomly move pieces for the first few moves. I tell him to develop his center pawns, knights and bishops first, until you get a better feel for opening, but he still seems to randomly move pieces. lol.
Everyone learns differently. What works for one individual might be completely wrong for another.
Maybe the random opening moves of your friend is simply is way of learning what works and what doesn’t.
Some people don’t like being told what to do. It’s like when someone gives you a book to read because they think it is so great vs discovering the book on your own.
I would think it might be more helpful with this players ability to give him a book that explains skewers, forks, overworked pieces etc. Let him come to Openings on his own by showing him how you are taking advantage of his opening weaknesses on the board.
I only mentioned his opening play to give an example of his play level. What I"m really trying to do is find a book on how to teach chess, rather than give him books on how to play chess.
Volume II of Lev Alburt’s Comprehensive Chess Course is probably your best bet. Volume I of the same is probably too basic, as it is mostly just rules, although there is a bit on how to open a chess game at the end of that volume. Volumes I and II have been published as a single-bound, large paperback. They include practice problems, tests, and supplemental material, and are arranged much like a text book or student’s workbook. I have found them to be an excellent curriculum to teach fundamentals to students of all ages, or an excellent book for self study for students as young as 6th grade, but written in a style that won’t be off-putting to adults.
The other volumes of the course are more like traditional chess books and don’t seem to be intended as much as the first two are to be something a teacher would use to help a student. Although anyone teaching chess could use standard chess books to develop lessons from.
Susan Polgar also offers a free PDF file called “Chess Training Program for Teachers”. You can probably download it from her site at SusanPolgarFoundation.org. This program has 30 lessons. Most are simply explanations of the rules, but it eventually gets into opening principles and simple tactics.
I hope it’s OK to mention the following two programs offered at my web site. The first is for beginners, is offered in partnership with USCF, and is completely free:
This is a java applet (a computer program that you can use on a web page) that lets people do the following:
learn the rules of chess
play as much as you want against a weak computer opponent (including play at odds, and shuffle chess, too)
practice basic checkmates and K+Q vs K+R
The second is for players from beginner up to at least 1500, and is free to use for up to 30 days (after which you can start with a new account, or subscribe to keep the existing account that remembers what you’ve done so far. It can also be reached from the above link. It primarily consists of lots of exercises provided by the computer, covering all areas of chess curriculum except for training in specific opening variations. Users can choose the topics from a list, or can just sit back and let the computer decide what problems to give you next. It starts “at square one”, but there is an option called “advanced placement test” that lets you skip past the beginner material, and a self-assesment option called the “assessment test” that you can take as often as you like.
I recommend you get a copy of Modern Chess Strategy by L. Pachman and both of you go over it together. Also work lots of tactics problems together. That will help him analyze positions.
Regards, Ernie
I would agree with the Volume II of the Comprehensive Chess Course. Our club has used it for a long time to teach many important ideas about the game to younger players. But it is NOT on some child-like level…it is a very good book and one that I highly recommend.
Perhaps a better book for an adult player would be “The Genesis of Power Chess” by Leslie Ault. The book gives over 700 positions which are annotated. he would then be familiarised with a good base of typical middgame and endgame positions. After this he can explore the two volume set on openings by John Watson, “Mastering the Chess Openings.” For a total of around $80, your friend can be well prepared to play against almost any opponent. None of the books are dumbed down for the novice player. He should enjoy the quality of the writing and the advice for improvement.