Why Chess Coaches Are Important
Hello everyone! I want to talk about how having a chess coach impacted my life and why I think they are so great and helpful.Special coach in my life
When I was seven years old and in second grade, my rating was around 1500. I met my coach, Brandon Nydick, a National Master with a rating of 2300, who mentored me for the next four years. At the time, he was a high school freshman but is now in college at Stanford University. Every Friday after he finished classes, he would come to my school in Harlem or the public space in Lincoln Center to teach me, rain or shine.
A Lesson at the Public Space in David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.
How he taught me
Brandon was a calm person but never compromised until I put 100% effort into everything I did, even if I took 30 minutes on one puzzle. He taught me for 60-90 minutes during every lesson. During these four years of coaching, I became much better at tactics, positional play, and calculation.
Brandon always told me, "Never Give Up."
I saved many losing positions even when I felt like resigning in actual games because of this principle.
He made me calculate without moving the pieces on the board, really helping my visualization because I learned to see the board in my mind while doing these calculations. I learned tactics from his book that were very tough but also very fun and valuable. We played training games to practice some openings and analyze all our mistakes. He also helped me review all my important games.
His big support
As you might know, I went to Spain in 2018 for the World Cadets in the U10 section. Brandon told us that he would do a fundraiser for the trip's expenses. He raised most of the funds that we needed! These trips are very expensive, so we were so grateful for his support.
Why having a coach is important
Having a chess coach at a certain point is very important because eventually, you will need to know your weaknesses and where you need to improve.
When you get stronger, you can’t be weak in one area and strong in every other:
You have to be consistent.
Coaches will see your weaknesses and teach you how to build on those aspects. Coaches can be very helpful in openings study, game analysis, and tactics training. My coaches always did these three things.
When should you get a coach? How do you get the right coach?
You should get a coach when you have difficulty improving, struggling at a certain skill in the game, or just want to advance to the next level. The way you find the right coach is by thinking about what you need to improve on and seeing who covers your struggles the best. For example, if you struggle with positional play, then you should try to find a coach with great expertise in positional play.
A young Brewington and Coach Chris Johnson analyzing in between rounds.
Is a coach needed?
You may not need a coach if you can prepare your openings, get better with your positional play, and do your tactics on your own; however, this work is very time consuming. Coaches will share their knowledge, improve your weaknesses, and give interesting insights. They will give you openings to study, tactics to solve, and books to read, but you still have to do some work outside of the lessons. They also analyze your games, give advice on how to improve certain aspects of your play, and provide emotional support during tournaments. From my own experience, coaches are very helpful because they know your weak points and how to improve them.
Conclusion
I’m very grateful for Brandon teaching me and helping me improve my game. He is a big influence on what I want to be in the future. I want to pay his help forward by trying to support others' progress. During the time he was coaching me, I went from a 1500 to a National Master. Coaches will really help enhance your skills in chess and guide you in all challenging areas.
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