Using ChessKid To Prepare For Your First Tournament

 

"Is my child ready for a chess tournament?"

As a chess coach, I get this question all the time. My answer is invariably yes! If your child knows the rules to chess and enjoys the game, they are quite ready to try a first tournament.

Every chess tournament has players of all levels from beginners to quite experienced young players, and almost any scholastic tournament uses the Swiss System to ensure that players are mostly paired against other players on the same level.

So dive in! If your child is having a lot of fun with chess, tournaments will be an extension of the fun.

That said, a tournament is a lot more fun if you feel prepared. Here are some bases that are well worth covering with your kids or students before they try their first chess tournament.

Know the rules!

I assume that your student knows how the pieces move. If not, it might actually be a bit early for a tournament. However, even young players who have been playing for some time make mistakes with castling, en passant, and stalemate. Watch these videos to make sure your student knows these rules well!

• castling
• en passant
• stalemate

Don't fall for the four-move checkmate.

The four-move checkmate, or "Scholar's Mate," is the oldest trick in the book. In nearly every tournament I have directed, a new student has allowed some variation of this checkmate. Watch these videos to make sure that's not your child getting surprised!

• Four-move checkmate 1
• Four-move checkmate 2

ChessKid also has many related videos devoted to guarding and attacking "The Weakest Square." Find them all here!

Know how to checkmate with the queen and the rook.

Once you have the advantage, how do you deliver checkmate? These videos will show your child how to perform the most common late-game checkmates with ease. Once these checkmates are mastered, it should be easy to win with most large material advantages.

• Checkmating with two rooks.
• Checkmating with the queen.
• Checkmating with one rook.

Now that your child has watched these, try these checkmates out against the computer!

• Workout: Checkmates: Queen Mate
• Workout: Checkmates: Rook Mate

Know notation.

Many students won't take notation in their first tournament (If it's too stressful, don't worry about it.), but it's a good practice to follow. Here's a video explaining chess notation.

• How to take notation.
• Students can master the names of squares with the "Vision" game.

You can even print and use these large kid-friendly scoresheets that I've made for my students.

Here are some excellent reasons why your child should take notation, even if they don't really like it at first

• Allows them to study the game afterward -- the best way to learn.
• Slows them down and makes makes them think.
• Their opponent will get extra time on the clock (usually) if they take notation and your child doesn't.
• Ensures that if they or their opponent makes an illegal move, the position can be fixed.

Get a chess set and chess clock.

Many tournaments will have some extra chess sets and chess clocks on hand. If you don't have equipment yet, don't let that stop you from signing up, but you should get a set and clock soon.

There are many places to buy equipment online; ChessKid uses chesskidshop.com for supplies.

Any standard chess set like the one pictured below will be fine, but very unique sets (like Lego or Harry Potter) probably won't be allowed. For clocks, make sure that the clock supports delay and increment (sometimes called bonus) time modes.

Watch some chess movies!

These family-friendly movies about chess are really wonderful stories that both you and your child will enjoy. They are guaranteed to get you excited about a first chess tournament and calm some nerves. These can be found on most online streaming and download sites.

• Searching for Bobby Fischer
• Brooklyn Castle
• Queen of Katwe