Training beginners in Chess – Count till 10 and then see the results change drastically!
“When angry, count to 10 before you speak. If very angry, up to a hundred!” is a very apt technique in anger management.
However, when I say “count till 10” to my online chess students, it is not for anger, but for impulsive chess playing habits.
And I have been finding a huge improvement in the way the children respond to their opponent’s move.
Training beginners in Chess to count till 10 – is my idea of superimposing a conscious task-repetition, to a subconscious task and making a conscious effort.
And pretty highly effective too!
This way it makes the mind be here and now.
Why is it so difficult to Training beginners in Chess
Among chess players especially when you are a beginner (whether child or adult, doesn’t matter) the biggest problem that all trainers face is that the players do not understand the importance of giving a second thought to the move that they are about to play.
More so in online chess classes and tests.
They play impulsively and instinctively.
And that is innate in all of us unless we are trained differently.
It has to do a lot with the way our body responds to external stimulus – known as the flight or fight syndrome.
When Training beginners in Chess, (especially kids who are beginners), I focus on this aspect in my online chess classes before going deep into theoretical domains.
Training beginners in Chess – fight or flight?
This is the body’s response to any perceptible threat or danger.
During this reaction, some hormones like Adrenalin and Cortisol are released by the body to cope with contingencies.
This results in faster heart rate and various other autonomic nervous functional changes, providing the body with a burst of energy and strength.
This response prepares the body to either fight or flees from the critical situation.
The person’s body is getting ready to do one of two things in such a scenario:
Confront the threat and deal with it, or
Get as far away from the threat as quickly as possible.
This fight or flight response can actually be life-saving when there is an actual and real physical threat.
For example, when driving, if you see someone cross the road in front, you suddenly slam the brakes as you need to react quickly in order to prevent an accident.
What needs to be changed when training beginners – whether kids or adults – in Chess?
The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a psychological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically.
However… What is strange is that the response can be triggered due to both real and imaginary threats.
We have fear and stress in non-critical threat situations too (like in a game of chess) because of the way we perceive these situations.
Our bodies cannot always tell the difference between real and imagined threats.
Therefore, when we interpret a situation as critical on the chessboard, our body is going to respond as though that situation is dangerous and threatening, even if it really isn’t in actuality.
The fight-or-flight response was first described in the 1920s by American physiologist Walter Cannon.
Cannon realized that a chain of rapidly occurring reactions inside the body help mobilize the body’s resources to deal with threatening circumstances – source
Training beginners in Chess – Count till 10 before making a move
This is my idea of making a chess move whether in online chess classes or games to slow down the untrained mind of chess kids.- a conscious effort reduces impulsive reactions.
This makes the mind to be in the mindful state of here and now.
So how do we get about doing this?
Simple. By asking the child to count till 10 before making a move, however, forced and obvious it may be.
They will be irritated by your advice, initially. Let them be.
Over time, they will understand why this drilling took place, and they will thank you for this.
Once the child has grasped the importance of this training he/she is free to play without counting.
Improving chess players stamina and energy levels – success secrets (for Parents, Coaches, and Students).
Imagine this scenario. A five-day tournament is nearing its end. The last round is a struggle for the remaining honors with rating points. You have been waiting patiently for the round to start and then after the initial hour or two you feel sleepy and your mind wants to relax. The outcome is a yawn. A yawn is infectious as you all know, and soon everyone in the hall is stretching or yawning. Familiar, isn’t it? So how do you improve your students’ stamina in online chess classes or chess matches? Improving chess players stamina and energy levels is the key to consistent success in the chess arena.
Are chess masters more intelligent than amateurs or do they just work harder (read that as ‘have more stamina’)?
Why do some players reach high levels of expertise, while others just remain amateurs?
Many players are low on energy and how to overcome that?
What could be the reason for these good chess players’ consistent results?
Delving into the secrets of these players made me aware that almost all of them had one thing in common: they were healthy individuals – regular walkers, joggers and they were also seen as having a healthy diet regimen.
A diet that included a good dose of fruits, vegetables, and healthy cereals.
So are we focusing on this aspect as chess coaches and parents?
Sadly, no.
I realized this aspect when my students’ performance was showing inconsistent tournament or game results with their online chess classes training tests in the academy or online chess matches.
Many of my star students would have played a tough 4-hour game, and after what seemed like a clear winning position, would have a sudden cognition blackout and make an inexplicable blunder.
It was appalling to learn that the problem was not with knowledge or application – but with their stamina levels.
This meant it will be necessary not just for hours of preparation on the chessboard, but to extend it to a more comprehensive program, involving physical training and a sufficient nutritional plan for the brain’s demands.
1. Calling for a custom diet to improve chess players stamina
For starters – avoiding “heavy oily foods” or foods that are difficult to digest, before any chess games should be followed studiously by chess players.
The proper meal before a chess game has to be at least two hours in advance to avoid drowsiness during the game. Trust me, it happens.
If a player has hunger pangs just before the chess match, he/she should preferably have fruits, fruit salads, fruit juices, cereals, or anything in natural form.
I have recently started asking my students to bring a bowl of fruits or healthy snacks to my sessions and made it a point to give them a 15-minute break to have their dose of healthy energy diets.
Along with that, I suggest parentslearn new healthy recipes that will provide the essential nutrients in a way that’s interesting to them and make them stay focused.
A good diet is a key to a chess players stamina and performance in a day that involves long hours of mindful meditation whether in training sessions, online chess classes, or chess matches.
Chess players’ parents need to arrange for their children’s nutrition needs, following the above lines.
2. What else apart from Diet?
Nowadays I am also making physical exercise an important part of my student’s non-chess training.
Why?
Chess is basically a ‘sitting’ sport that does not allow for physical movements (except for moving the pieces).
So it is our prerogative as chess coaches that the students are asked to engage in some physical exercise regularly notably aerobics, along with Yoga and Breathing techniques.
Good habits need to be taught from a young age, and as coach let us see that this is made one of our top priorities. It is only by enforcing these practices, that we can see a change in the chess players stamina especially among the kids who play serious tournaments.
They will not feel tired or lethargic after playing for 5 days in a row. At least not as severe as those who are leading a sedentary life without exercise or a healthy diet.
Conclusion: Improving chess players stamina and energy levels must never be neglected.
A lot of the professional chess players keep their body in good shape with some form of exercise. Being in shape increases your mental stamina too
Magnus Carlsen stays in top shape by regular exercise!
The physical exercise if done on a regular basis can help the chess player in many other ways:
Improves body posture.
Improves immunity.
Improves dopamine and endorphins production (substances that have a positive effect on the brain giving that happiness feel)
Reduce anxiety, depression, tension, and stress.
Improve brain performance like better memory.
Better creativity, clarity, and vigor.
Helps in keeping a healthy body to enjoy the game of chess that we all love so much for a long time to come.
It’s been a while since my last blog post. Things have been very busy on all fronts. The good news is that – we have opened a branch of Golden Chess Centre at Adambakkam to cater to the Chess aficionados of Adambakkam, St. Thomas Mount, and Alandur.
Adambakkam is well connected to St. Thomas Mount, Alandur, Nandambakkam, and Meenambakkam, so it makes sense to have a branch that would be a big help to the residents of these areas.
Golden Chess Centre at Adambakkam will be focusing on the use of technology to accelerate chess learning.
It is an innovative idea to implement and has been going on in my mind for quite some time now.
The inspiration came from many directions especially after seeing how technology has eased our lives compared to say 10 years ago (not so long ago eh?).
I am planning on introducing the learners to the online chess arena, for playing with other chess players.
This will be a good idea to implement especially on those days when the energy level of the children is low 🙂
For those students who are coming from far-off areas, we have proximity to the St. Thomas Mount Metro and Suburban Railway station from where it is just half a kilometer distance.
Most importantly the centre is spacious and air-conditioned to give maximum comfort to the avid learners.
For those of you who are looking for a quality chess training academy in Adambakkam – do pay a visit.
Make sure you enroll early as seats are filling fast at the Golden Chess Centre at Adambakkam and you avoid missing the bus!
After all, we are focusing on quality rather than quantity.
Photos will be added soon so stay tuned!
When I first got introduced to Chess, back in the 80’s, there was a lack of chess training resources and even now it looks like not many people have a clue about chess training.
When I come across parents and hear stories about how they got introduced to chess,
I feel that the current generation is blessed to have so many resources for learning any skill or subject.
All one needs is a Mobile phone to enquire online about chess training needs. And there are a plethora of choices that one can take.
How did we start the Golden Chess Centre at Adambakkam?
Adambakkam is a locality that is both busy and quiet at the same time.
Busy market places are always crowded – as though there is no sleep time and people are always rushing to god knows where!
Then there are the residential areas where nothing much seems to happen.
When many school kids started enquiring at our Nanaganallur Golden Chess centre, we decided on setting up an alternative Chess centre at Adambakkam.
What is the Mission of Golden Chess Centre at Adambakkam?
The main mission is of course to teach chess. Using technological means and imparting modern-day tools for the uber kids!
Apart from that, we started the Adambakkam centre as it was an experiment in using computers in the much-needed chess training centre in this part of Chennai.
During these Pandemic times, all our classes are currently online.
There are Chess classes for all levels of chess players from the ages 5 to 18.
The nostalgic 11th Nanganallur Modern School Chess Tournament (for School students) was held at Modern Senior Secondary School, Nanganallur who were also the sponsors of the same, from 3rd to 6th August 2018.
A memorable one that will stay in the hearts of the students for a long time to come thanks to the hospitality and the prize money.
Golden Chess Centre would like to thank the School for conducting the tournament in a smooth manner going all out in achieving a flawless tournament thanks to the teachers and staff. Another kind gesture was the low Entry fees compared to many other similar tournaments.
About Chess Nanganallur:
Nanganallur is a temple town with myriads of temples dedicated to the Hindu divinity and the devout citizens are always eager for cultural activities in any manner. It is located in Chennai very near to Chennai Airport.
About Modern Senior Secondary School:
The School is showing great importance to Co-curricular and extracurricular activities. In particular, the School is giving special coaching in chess to the students, which has paid rich dividends.
The School is very proud of one of its alumni, K.Sasikiran, Grand Master and Arjuna Awardee in Chess.
Following his footsteps, the School has a host of eminent chess players like IM Saravanakrishnan, IWM Pon Krithika, Priya Sandhya, Radhakrishnan, Santhosh Bala, Narasimhapriyan, Mohanaprya, Anshuman K, Akash P. C Iyer, and many more. These players have made the school proud in many state level and national level CBSE tournaments.
It is in Modern Senior Secondary School that we see phenomenal support to students who are chess players and they also conduct many Chess tournaments annually.
The School’s connection with Chess:
The Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi has allotted to the School, the Southern Zonal Chess Tournaments in 2004 and 2006 under its Competitive Sports Programme. All India CBSE Chess Championship finals were conducted in the School in 2007.
With this background, the School has been conducting Modern Senior Secondary School International Rating Chess Tournament every year, starting from the year 2008. This is the first-ever InternationalRating Chess Championship at the School level.
The Total Prize Money in this tournament was Rs.1,50, 000/- This Chess Tournament was organized by Modern Senior Secondary School at Sankara Hall, Modern Senior Secondary School, AG’S colony, Nanganallur, Chennai-61.
This event was attended by 320 participants from various States out of which 130 players were FIDE rated players. Therefore many players gained massive ELO points and many unrated players had a chance to pit their skills against rated players.
As like every year this time too there were category prizes such as
Under 14 Boys and Girls
Under 12 Boys and Girls
Under 10 Boys and Girls
Under 8 Boys and Girls
Notable achievements of our Golden Chess Centre students
Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan from our Golden Chess centre Nanganallur academy achieved first place in Under 14 category.
Many students from Golden Chess Centre, have gained positive rating jumps to name a few – Laksanth, Harsanth, Ganesh. N, Srinivasan V, Venkatrama, and Nithish. They have joined our online chess classes for kids and are very energetic chess aficionados.
The Chess tournament’s Climax
After six rounds Gokulraj, Kishorekumar Jaganathan, Dhanush Ragav, Vignesh B, and Rathina Sabapathy were the top spot candidates.
In the seventh – penultimate round – Gokul Raj defeated Kishore Kumar in swashbuckling style to jump into sole lead with 7 points at the end of the seventh round.
In the final round battle, Gokulraj K of Velammal School drew Dhanush Raghav from Dindigul. Kishore Kumar to claim the first prize and Ratna Sabapathy who drew the game on the second board finished second place with a better Tie break score.
Winner Gokul Raj K gets a cash prize of Rs25000 and a Trophy. Rathina Sabapathy got second place and received an Rs18000 cash prize. Dhanush Ragav bagged third place and a cash prize of Rs12000.
If you’re seriously wanting to improve your chess game, you know how important it is to work on your flaws until they become strengths.
GCC plans tailor-made individual online chess classes for kids based on your tangible skillsets and acquired skills – training that will take you where you are aiming for tomorrow.
9th MODERN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHESS TOURNAMENT 2016
Modern Senior Secondary School is a new generation CBSE SCHOOL situated at Nanganallur in Chennai.
They hosted the 9th MODERN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHESS TOURNAMENT 2016 in a grand manner, under the Aegis of AICF, TNSCA, KDCA (AICF Event code: 137130/TN/2016 TNSCA Approval No. RO-04/KAN/16-17). The total prize pool for the tourney is Rs 1.20 lakh,
Nanganalluris known for its plethora of temples dedicated to the Hindu divinity and the place buzzes with a religious aura during festive occasions.
It is where Modern Senior Secondary School is situated that has always given phenomenal support to chess-playing students and Chess tournaments.
Apart from a robust scholastic endeavor, Modern School gives great impetus to Co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
The efforts are seen in its successful hosting of the 9th SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHESS TOURNAMENT 2016 which speaks volumes about the seriousness and dedication to chess among its students.
This year, from 29th July to 3rd August 2016 they are conducting conducted the annual 9th MODERN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHESS Tournament 2016 for school children and there was a huge response to the tournament as it is one of its kind as far as School tournaments go.
This year the tournament was a huge success as there were many rated players who took the opportunity to try their hand in claiming the first prize fund.
The winner received the cash prize of Rs 25,000 along with a trophy. The top 25 players got the respective prizes in the main list.
Totally around 341 players took part in the competition, which is a record itself!
There were also many category prizes such as
Under 14 Boys and Girls
Under 12 Boys and Girls
Under 10 Boys and Girls
Under 8 Boys and Girls
Modern Senior Secondary School is providing free lodging to all players, officials, arbiters and also sponsoring the entire prize money.
This event has attracted more than 300 participants from various States including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and also all districts of Tamilnadu.
Well-known local players took part – such as Hemanth Ram of Velammal School, Rajarshi Karthi of National School, Karmukilan of Modern School, Arputha Jasmine of Kanchi District are taking part in the 10-round Chess tournament.
International arbiter M Vijayakumar was the chief arbiter for the event.
The School is very proud of its alumni, K.Sasikiran, Grand Master and Arjuna Awardee in Chess who is ranked among the top 20 in the Indian Chess list of Grandmasters.
Following in his footsteps, the School has a host of eminent chess players like RK Ranjith,Anjana Sowjanya, Arun Hariharan,Saravana Krishnan, Santhosh Bala, Pon Krithikka, Mohanapriya, Radha Krishnan, Narasimhapriyan, V.Shvetha, T. Vishwanath, Akash PC Iyer, K. Anshuman, and many others have been inspired by the school’s motivation and its teachers’ interest in Chess.
This year’s event was honored by the presence of Chief Guest GM Adhiban who is an upcoming Chess Grandmaster bringing laurels to India at International events.
Seen below in the pic is the group photo of the MODERN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHESS tournament’ participants on the dais with the VIPs on stage.
We only hope that they continue the good work and rise in stature in their field of Chess.
They will also serve as an inspiration for other schools to take up the sport of chess in right earnest.
Congratulations to the winner Rajarishi Karthi who scored 9 points out of 10 rounds!
Click here for the complete list of winners after the final round.
Congrats to the MODERN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL principal K Mohana, physical education director B Ramadoss and the entire team of the school who worked hard to make the event a huge success.
Why Blitz Chess is addictive – Dopamine effect of Chess Blitz
Have you ever wondered Why Blitz Chess is addictive ? Especially online Blitz and Bullet time controls? Maybe Neuroscience has an answer and can explain why Blitz Chess is addictive as any online player will testify.
Our brain records all pleasure experiences, whether they are coming from a soothing music, a good book, a mind stimulant drug, a cash reward, a tasty meal, or playing blitz or bullet chess. Blitz chess is that form of chess wherein each player has to complete the game in a time control of maximum 30 minutes or minimum 5 minutes. Bullet Chess is even faster and has a time control of lesser than 5 minutes.
Technically speaking, in the brain, pleasure has a distinct place called Nucleus Accumbens. Pleasure sensations cause the brain to release the neurotransmitter Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens, a group of nerve cells lying beneath the cerebral cortex . This is where the Dopamine release happens whenever we have a pleasurable experience.
Hence neuroscientists refer to the region as the brain’s pleasure center.
Most of the intoxicants such as the famous nicotine to the infamous heroin, and blitz chess (surprise surprise!) cause a particularly powerful release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.
Addictive drugs and Blitz Chess therefore provide a direct link to the brain’s reward system by providing the nucleus Accumbens with dopamine.
The Hippocampus creates memories of this rapid satisfaction dose, and the Amygdala creates a conditioned response to certain stimuli akin to the Pavlovian response.
So don’t be surprised when your mind craves for a blitz or two. It’s just asking for a good cup of coffee!
The effect increases manifold, the more you play – so Bullet chess is worse than Blitz because you get a dopamine dose every couple of minutes whereas a Blitz game usually lasts 10 or 20 minutes.
Suggestion: Play Blitz but don’t overdo it.
And don’t play Bullet too often either. Lest you may lose its educative aspect and get a high instead. Remember that too much of Bullet Chess or Blitz Chess may cause Adrenaline peaks that may not be good for everyone (may cause headaches for some).
Bullet doesn’t help much in understanding the strategic nuances of the game. But it helps building a pattern recognition base leading to better intuition, and to get a light feel of the opening. So all is not bad in the case of the Blitz Chess addiction.
After reading this article you will hopefully understand Why Blitz Chess is addictive and how to use it in moderation to help in your chess training.
The author Dr. C. P Jain is a psychologist and a chess aficionado. She lives in Jaipur and likes to play online occasionally when she finds time amidst 2 kids and family.
And it has to do with a chemical called Dopamine.