Expectations on Weekly Assignments.

Hi All,

I am writing thsi post to clarify expectations on these weekly assignments.

I admit I have struggled with what to call these "weekly assignments."  Out of convenience, I sometimes use the word "homework," but I recognize that carries with it a connotation of school, which implies mandatory homework.  That is not the case for Pawn Stormers.  So, I am going to start using a different phrase: "Token Challenges."   Dan and I are trying to give you every opportunity to grow and excel at chess.  We don't want to hold you back because we are not challenging you.  If you want to spend time studying, we think this is the best way to use your time. The amount of time you spend on these challenges is totally up to you. So don't every worry how Dan or I will react if you don't do it all.  This is something you have to decide upon based on your goals in chess.

By making this change in terminology, I hope it communicates that chess "homework" is not mandatory like school homework may be.  Rather, these are challenges that you can work on and earn chess tokens.  I do strongly recommend that you do 2-3 hours of these challenges a week.  I include more than 2-3 hours of challenges because some of you may do more.  Some are also faster.  Finally, it should give you options to do challenges that appeal to you most.  Some like like tactics, some like the lessons, some like annotating a game.  All are good.

Finally, the DRILLS are aligned with what we will be doing at practice the following Thursday.  You will not earn tokens for doing the drills during the week.  But rather, you will be able to earn them during practice when we do the drills "live' against your teammates.

I hope this helps.  Please let me know if you need further clarification.

Take care,

Jim