Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Chess tournaments

It is completely possible that I am imagining things but...

I wouldn't be too comfortable in an environment where coaches only paid attention to their competition material kids and basically ignored everyone else.

I didn't realize how competitive and serious chess can get even for kindergartners.
Anyhow, when it comes to extracurricular activities, my approach is to let the child be the driving force. If your DS wants more chess then I'm sure he'd let you know.

Despite my reservations for the possibility of tiger coaching, I am excited for your DS that his talent has been discovered. I was burnt out by an overly ambitious piano teacher but I'm sure you'd be much more on top of pushy adults than my parents ever were. Having protective parents makes all the difference, IMO.

Just like athletics and academics, chess can be a fabulous, challenging and stimulating outlet, or a drudge that is pushed on a child by demanding outside influences. Our experience with chess was that it was something at least one of our children loved for a period of time, and tournaments were great fun. He eventually stopped because there was little support for chess in the public school (sound typical?). However, he never complained about feeling pushed or overwhelmed by competition. He enjoyed the strategic aspects of it, and has carried that skill with him.

As with all abilities, assessing a child's interest level, temperament and emotional reaction is essential. Good luck with your decision.

Gail/ www.giftedchallenges.blogspot.com

My kids aren't into chess competition (although my dd11 likes chess and participates in a club that doesn't compete outside of the club). So I have no background in chess specifically, but fwiw, I wondered the same thing Mana mentions. My kids have been involved in a lot of other sports over the years, and our best experiences have been with the groups where the talents of each of the children were nurtured, not just the naturally athletically talented kids.

OTOH, I also wondered if the not-paying-attention to your dd comment might be a factor of personality - my youngest dd gets attention due to her athletic talents, but also gets attention because her personality sort of demands it lol. My older dd, otoh, while she is quite good at some of the sports she participates in, also derives her joy from her friends and doesn't really stand out in any given group because she's having fun and that's her entire motivation (which is ok with me too, btw ).

Best wishes,

polarbear

Well, DD is very clear about not wanting to compete in anything, generally speaking. So it's possible she was asked if she was interested during club, and said no. She also doesn't express much passion for the game. She is serviceable at it, though. Actually, she is noticably improving (though no longer in club, she gets chess instruction at school). I think she really does not want to be shown up by her brother, which could get sticky.

Personality-wise, neither child is a shrinking violet. But DD is prickly and often rather difficult with adults. DS is sort of naturally magnetic.

Okay, I just watched him beat my DH (really) and dude, he's pretty damn good. I'm not sure when he improved so much. He didn't use to be nearly this good.

I think that I would leave the decision up to your DS5. Local tournaments are no big deal at all and they are commonly rated by the US Chess Federation. There are some children 5 or younger competing. The tournament is separated into categories based on rating and grade levels. Obviously, you would not register your DS5 to compete against high schoolers at the highest ratings so he should be competing against elementary aged beginners. He should also have enough common sense to walk to the correct (labeled clearly) seat since parents are not supposed to be in the room during the games.

I would not freak about the club coach, who is probably trying to be helpful. Our school doesn't have a chess club, but in the beginning chess classes that DS/DD took, the coach told all the kids near the end of the session to try a tournament if their parents will take them.

As far as private lessons, I have been told that while a child may do well enough, he is unlikely to win tournaments unless he has coaching. I can really see why that may be the case. DS is really unpredictable. He has beaten a high school player who placed in at least one state tournament but lost to a beginning player a year or two younger. He has flashes of brillance but haven't bothered to learn all the basic strategic plays. DS refused priviate lessons because he did not want to practice but only play as he pleased.

Well, WIN tournaments...sure. I don't care if he wins tournaments, though. I would think it was great if he continued to enjoy the game and got better and better and his rating improved. I think you're right that intensive study is needed to really excel. There's no doubt that it's a complicated game and that raw talent will only take you so far. Practice and instruction are necessary and I can see that quite clearly. DS is learning a lot from his CD ROM and I am working to find people who will play with him, online and in person. I got him an account on Chess Kids today and his first game was against a player with a 720 rating and hundreds of game under his/her belt. He tried hard and did take some powerful pieces, but was clearly outclassed, though he lost a rook to a mousing accident. However, he managed to stalemate at the end by getting his king out of range.

Can anyone give me a quick and dirty rundown of the various national scholastic chess competitions?

Anyone? Bueller?

In fact, if anyone can point me to resources on scholastic chess (websites, blogs) that would be great. I am trying to get the lay of the land and would prefer to get it from someone other than the coach. I have some books in my Amazon basket, but recs there wouldn't hurt either, keeping in mind that DS is 5 (though he reads extremely well) and hasn't been taught notation yet.

Babas Chess is a good online place to play rated games against real people

Search for the United State Chess Federation. They have a fairly inexpensive youth membership, I think it comes with a magazine designed for kids.

Chessmaster 10,000 is computer game that DS has enjoyed thoroughly. It allows him to pick the styles of the pieces (ex. cartoon characters), which adds to the fun.