My Top 10 Methods on How To Help Your Chess Students Succeed in Chess!

There is no better feeling in the chess world than having your chess students accomplish their most desired goals.

For my student Ayrton he had a very simple yet difficult goal - he wanted to win 1st place in his grade (Grade 3) at the major chess tournaments being held once every few months in Toronto for kids. It wasn't his first time participating - before I started coaching him he would participate in the early-mid 2023 tournaments and would place anywhere from 7th-3rd place, with one time going 2nd place. His 2nd place earned him a silver medal. Ayrton was always about the hardware and he really wanted to win a trophy which is only awarded to first place. Each tournament he would play 5 rounds of a Quick Rapid format and each tournament he would come close but not achieve his chess goals.

Ayrton then went 3/5 in one tournament late October 2023 and didn't place in the top 3. I was in frequent contact with Ayrton's mom as he played at my local chess club and told her I can coach Ayrton when he's ready. On the same day Ayrton went 3/5, his mom reached out to me and asked if I can coach him and help him with his chess goals.

We started our first lesson on November 7, 2023 with lessons once a week and a lot of chess homework in-between.

Yesterday on January 21st, 2023, Ayrton played in the major chess tournament and went 5/5 and WON 1ST PLACE, QUALIFIED FOR PROVINCIALS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY HE GOT THE TROPHY!

I never felt so proud.

Here are the 10 methods I used to help my student succeed in his goals.

1) Individualized Instruction

This is a must for any current or aspiring chess coach. We need to understand the strength and weaknesses of our students so we can focus on improving and reducing the amount of mistakes, but also maintain their strengths in chess and have them reach new levels. I always start the first lesson with playing my student in a non-timed game so I can understand how they think and what my recommendation will be for improvement.

2) Set Clear Goals

This needs to be crystal clear with your students so that all energy, time, and focus is going towards the goals. Ayrton had a goal of getting 1st place, but I also had a goal for him, and a challenging one that not many chess players can do - I wanted him to go 5/5. I wanted him to win the tournament grade so convincingly that there was no doubt on whose the strongest grade 3. Ayrton knew there were a few opponents that were in his way and because of this we put in 100% of work required to make those goals come true, and then some.

3) Structured Learning Plans

Nothing will work without discipline and consistency. The structured learning plan is needed to ensure these two parts are maintained and executed accordingly. One thing to keep note - the plan should cover a wide variety of areas in chess, even if the biggest focus for the student would be say, learning how not to blunder.
Learning how to reduce blunders is an excellent executable goal - but there are many ways to achieve it and the chess coach should know how all of the ways.

4) Regular Practice

One thing Ayrton was very good at was reaching chess goals on his own - hitting 2000 ELO in tactics puzzles, getting his rapid and blitz rating by a certain rating at a certain time etc. Because of this I would give him steady homework that he needed to do between lessons. One time I told him to play nothing but rapid 10/0 for a whole week and we then reviewed everything without an engine at first, and looked to identify personal development. Practice Practice Practice!

5) Positive Reinforcement

Needed and it has to be sincere. This will help with the students confidence level. There was never a moment where I wasn't offering positive reinforcement with Ayrton, but I met sure to keep is mind on the reality. There is no such thing as criticism, but only constructive feedback. This is itself a skill that everyone, not just coaches, needs to learn how to master in life.

6) Creating a Supportive Environment

I'm very glad that Ayrton was a member of my chess club and that the club itself is a very positive and supportive environment for all chess players. Because of this, he would come on Fridays and play different players and practice his chess game. If he ever lost, he would learn from his mistakes and also listen to his stronger opponents who only wanted Ayrton to succeed. This environment was a big key to Ayrton's chess growth.

7) Analytical Skills Development

This is still a work in progress with Ayrton but ever so slowly, Ayrton is starting to learn how to analyze his own games and identify weaknesses and tactics he's either missed or discovered. While engines are good tools, they shouldn't be the main item to use for self-analysis. Have your students learn to analyze a situation on their own will make them self-sustainable as chess players

8) Time Management Skills

Emphasize the importance of time management during games. Focus on having the student learn when to invest time and when to move quickly to keep their time bank up.

I would never recommend chess students play bullet online, or even blitz. But if I were to say there was a timer where the student can play more of online, it would be blitz.

9) Encourage Tournament Participation

I told Ayrton I'll let him know when he was ready to play in official National/International Rated tournaments. I wanted him to gain more quality tournament experience before he entered the next phase of his chess journey.

Ayrton was excited to enter tournaments, but sometimes your students might not be. Never push your students and understand their feelings about why they don't want to play tournaments. Sometimes having them come to a local tournament as a guest/observer and having them see what a tournament is like is the key. Sometimes even having your student watch you play in a tournament is a good sign for them to register in the next tournament and have fun like you are doing!

10) Stay Updated on Chess Trends

It's sort of like a video game where there's patch updates - sometimes in chess there are new novelties in chess openings or certain tactics/end game positions that might come up on the chess world that you've realized your student can benefit from. Update them! They will appreciate learning something new and they will also feel good that you're consistently looking out for them to get any advantage in chess. There's always something trending in chess so we as responsible chess coaches should stay updated in what's happening in chess.

Chess Coaching

Thank you for reading my blog and hopefully you've learned a bit of what makes a chess coach great! I am a full time chess professional and have many students locally and online. If you're interested in having your chess goals achieved, please reach out to me via private messaging, email: vegereness@gmail.com. or instagram: Vegereness

Peace

Vegereness