Coach’s Corner: Karel van Delft

Karel van Delft is a prominent figure in Dutch chess education, known for blending chess expertise with psychology and pedagogy. As a journalist, author, and the founder of the Apeldoorn Chess Academy (Schaakacademie Apeldoorn), he has spent decades exploring how players think, learn and grow. He has coached hundreds of students (including future titled players) and from early on, he recognized that psychology adds great value to chess by encouraging players to collaborate and apply a wide range of thoughtful methods.

Karel’s journey as a chess trainer began in 1990 when his son Merijn, then 11, joined the school’s chess team. Motivated by his child’s enthusiasm, Karel started to study the mental and social aspects of chess while getting his master’s degree in psychology at the University of Amsterdam. He also volunteered as a chess teacher at Merijn’s school and the local chess club, where he organized weekly training sessions for Merijn and his friends, emphasizing social connection and development alongside chess improvement. 

Merijn went on to win the Dutch U16 championship title and eventually, the International Master title. Together, father and son co-authored the book Developing Chess Talent, which focuses on training, coaching, organization and communication.

Karel was heavily influenced by his meeting in 1991 with Prof. A.D. de Groot, author of Thought and Choice in Chess and a pioneer in cognitive psychology. Although De Groot admitted to not having a clear idea on social psychology's role in chess, he shared valuable insights and articles on didactics and the famous Polgar sisters. This inspired Karel’s vision of building a local chess culture where players support and train each other. That dream materialized and by 2000, the Apeldoorn team was promoted to the top Dutch league, eventually becoming national champion twice—often with 80% local players.

While working full-time as a regional newspaper journalist until 2008, Karel continued to organize tournaments, coach youth players, and publish a digital chess newsletter. Afterwards, he transitioned to a full-time chess educator, offering private lessons, mental training, school programs for gifted children, and chess-based coaching for autistic children.

Karel’s long-standing relationships with many world-class players and trainers are a testament to his influence. GM David Bronstein, GM Artur Yusupov, GM Jonathan Rowson, IM Mark Dvoretsky, IM Alexander Kabatianski, and many more other illustrious chess players have visited his home and contributed to the Apeldoorn chess community.

The seasoned chess educator and organizer shares in this interview his views on chess training:

What is your chess coaching philosophy?

As Laszlo Polgar said: children should be co-authors of their own upbringing.

I have three educational pillars: 

• Variation – many methods and different content
• Fascination – intrinsic motivation
• Participation – active involvement, being responsible themselves

I think chess can be important for personal development, both for casual and competitive players, in four domains: social (e.g. working together), emotional (e.g. dealing with stress), cognitive (e.g. analysing, making plans, being creative), and meta-cognitive (thinking about yourself).

I like to make comparisons with daily life. For instance, I ask students "What do you do when you cross the street?" They answer that they look to the left and to the right. I then ask them, why don't you do that on the chess board? I formulated many didactical insights and approaches in my book Chess For Educators.

Suppose a player has only 3 hours a week for chess training. How should they spend their time?

A bit of everything: tactics, game analysis, studying classic games, some endgames, openings, watching inspiring videos. Do what you think is useful and what you like to do!

It makes sense to think about how and what you train.

It is very personal, depending on your ambitions. Myself I learn a lot along the way preparing training or while writing.

What is the biggest factor for improvement for players under 1200 (Chess.com)? Under 2000?

For players under 1200, tactics. Later, more positional aspects. 
In each case analyse your games with a stronger player if possible. If you don’t have a trainer, try to work with a friend and check computer analyses. If you are suddenly 3.0 points less, you can be sure it makes sense to find out what happened. As GM Jonathan Rowson says: “It is more about the process than about the product.”

What is your preferred way to improve at openings? What's the approach to chess openings that you try to teach your students?

I think until Elo 2000 you can learn openings step by step by analysing your own games and studying classic games. It is useful for trainers to stimulate students to always check first what the opponent intends. Using heuristics like the Golden Rules of the Opening, and checking Elements of Steinitz are important. Beginners can study opening tricks. That way they learn a bit about openings and tactics.

There is something paradoxical about studying openings if you compare it to Bloom's taxonomy. The lowest level is memory, the highest is creativity. What is most appealing to you? But to get more Elo points many players spend much time studying openings and memorizing variations. What do you want? You can spend your time only once. 

What is your preferred way to improve at the endgame?

I like endgame studies, especially miniatures. I wrote about that in an article about Yochanan Afek, who is an International Master and also a GM in composition. The first time we met was in Zagan, Poland. My son Merijn played in the European Youth Championships. Afek was coach for Israel. Later, he moved to the Netherlands and he helped me a lot with creating a local chess culture. The same holds for IM Mark Dvoretsky and GM Artur Yusupov with whom I became friends. In 1999, we organized a playing and training week with the youth teams of Israel, Germany and the Netherlands in Apeldoorn, with GM Loek van Wely as a volunteer coach.

Is there anything else you would like to share with ambitious chess improvers?

Enjoy playing and studying! Find a good and empathic trainer. Make a study program. Think about how you study, in regard to self-management as well as information processing.

Karel van Delft’s Chessable Course

Karel has recently co-authored a Chessable course with GM Sipke Ernst: Find Your Next Move: Candidate Moves and Thinking Tools. This course will be on introductory sale until August 3, 2025.