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We don't have to confine anything to juniors here on the coaching front. The online coaches are working to increase the pool/ raise the standard/ increase competition, but above all they are supporting Scottish Chess.
There may an opportunity here for enthusiastic amateurs and skint students.
Young chess playing pals like Andrew, Calum, Clement, Adam and and Jonny have been of terrific support to me. They and their students love being involved in the chess scene both at home and abroad.
Here is what it means to these guys....
They are playing in the open...their game is finished. Now then.. Open, Challengers etc?
They head for the Minor to see how their students are doing.
Robin.
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Quote:Abdulla, Murad J12 1746 2180 434
To have a junior this age (11/12) playing so strongly is very encouraging. Now we have him lets hope we see more soon. I suspect we wont wait too long. =)
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My thanks to the arbiters who controlled this tournament in a quietly authoritative manner. The arbiter for the section I was playing in was helpful and fully met any questions and queries. I enjoyed this tournament immensly and I will be back. We done guys.
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Andrew,
That's a toughie to answer regarding the coaching question. I expect all these young players would have improved anyway but having a dedicated coach has probably brought on their development faster and most are also probably playing in sections at congresses above where they would have been able to be competitive.
The young player's attitude is very important. Do they want to learn how to play better and hopefully win competitions?
Another aspect that is important is that mostly all the students are receiving at least one lesson per week, they are never "rusty" and are constantly working on their game.
Most of the students are also very active and miss very few events within reasonable travelling distance. At these events they will also have the benefit of their coach analysing some of their games on the spot while it's still very fresh in their mind.
One point that I touched on earlier is very supportive parents. Parents find chess for their child is safe, they make good friends and socialise at events. The parents are also interested in all the other chidren's performances.
Sometimes parents approach me for coaching support for their child, sometimes someone recommends a child to me that they feel has potential. The best place to find new students though is at Chess for Kicks, North East Junior Chess Association and Hamilton junior and similar competitions .
So there are no real hard and fast rules but it goes without saying, I am incredibly pleased with the results and so it seems are the chess community in general.
Robin.
