Chess Courses - Instructional Resources
Chess Courses...for Beginners and Beyond
First Introduction to Chess.....from the beginning - starting with how to move the pieces...
https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
https://simplifychess.com/homepage/the-basics.html
Chess Kids Academy - An excellent site for independent chess learning, appropriate for children and beginners of any age...
http://www.chesskids.org.uk/newcourse/journey.pdf
ChessKid.com - an outstanding, full-featured site, tailored specifically for children, for playing and learning chess.....it also has educational chess resources and provides support for school chess programs and clubs.....the site is safe and is affiliated with Chess.com...
https://www.chesskid.com/resources
https://www.chesskid.com/resources/guide-for-beginners
https://support.chesskid.com/category/2014-chesskid-coaching
Beginner Chess Course - Chess Vibes...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o74M2vKYpcc&list=PLp7SLTJhX1u4WqNPieH6vyAf2oVA2aUF4
Free Chess Course For Beginners - ChessFox.com...
https://chessfox.com/free-chess-course-for-beginners/
Free Chess Course for Intermediate Players - ChessFox.com...
https://chessfox.com/free-chess-course-chessfox-com/
Chess Course From Beginner to Master Level - NM Ramirez...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQKBpQZcRycrvUUxLdVmlfMChJS0S5Zw0
"Comprehensive Chess Course" Volumes I & II by Roman Pelts and Lev Alburt...
https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Chess-Course-Lessons-Enlarged/dp/1889323233/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=comprehensive+chess+course+lev+alburt&qid=1562203373&s=gateway&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Chess-Course-Vol-Tournament/dp/1889323012/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=comprehensive+chess+course+lev+alburt&qid=1562203373&s=gateway&sr=8-2
This is a popular introductory chess course and is comprehensive as the title claims - in the sense that it does an outstanding job of covering the basic essentials of chess. It could be used for a formal, classroom course of chess instruction or for independent/self study assuming a motivated and dedicated student.
Volume 1/2 is targeted primarily to absolute beginners as a very first exposure to the game, getting the student used to how the pieces move and interact, board vision exercises, basic rules of the game, etc. If you already know how the pieces move, capture and interact on the board, and are familiar with the basic rules of chess, then Volume 1 of Comprehensive Chess Course (which deals primarily with those items) is not absolutely essential. However, if you are a beginner with little-to-no experience with the game, it is strongly advised to complete Volume 1 before moving on to Volume 2. In fact, you might be surprised by what you could learn from Volume 1 even if you do have prior experience with chess !
Volume 2/2 (the book shown in the image at the top of this article) is the core, the meat, of the course, covering all aspects of chess. It assumes a student who already has some exposure to the most basic aspects of the game (i.e., the fundamentals introduced in Vol. 1) and is appropriate for the improving chess amateur, including those at the beginner-novice level. The goal of Volume 2 is to bring the student to the point where his/her chess skills are adequate to compete at chess clubs, in chess tournaments etc. In fact, any chess amateur, particularly those rated below about 1500 Elo, should significantly improve upon completing Volume 2 of this course.
Finally, from the a teacher's or coach's perspective the course assumes no prior knowledge or experience with chess of the instructor. In fact, the course "teaches the teacher" eveything they need to know - which is the exact same material they will be teaching. In such scenarios all that is absolutely required of the instructor is that (s)he be one step ahead of the student !
Two other good chess courses by Lev Alburt are: "Chess For The Gifted and Busy", and "Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters" (2 vols.). While those courses are excellent on their own, in terms of content they are shorter and thus less comprehensive than "Comprehensive Chess Course".
Teaching Chess Step By Step by Igor Khmelnitsky, Michael Khodarkovsky, Michael Zadorozny.....3 books.....an introductory chess course designed primarily for teaching chess to young children...
Book 1 - Teacher's Manual...
https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Chess-Step-Teachers-Manual/dp/1888690690/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1CRC0L7GHCN84&keywords=teaching+chess+step+by+step&qid=1562403230&s=books&sprefix=teaching+chess+step%2Cstripbooks%2C196&sr=1-2
Book 2 - Exercises...
https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Chess-Step-Exercises/dp/1888690712/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1CRC0L7GHCN84&keywords=teaching+chess+step+by+step&qid=1562402742&s=books&sprefix=teaching+chess+step%2Cstripbooks%2C196&sr=1-1
Book 3 - Activities...
https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Chess-Step-Activities/dp/1888690704/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1CRC0L7GHCN84&keywords=teaching+chess+step+by+step&qid=1562403230&s=books&sprefix=teaching+chess+step%2Cstripbooks%2C196&sr=1-3
The Complete Chess Course by Fred Reinfeld
(21st Century Edition by Russell Enterprises)....an updated algebraic edition of an "oldie-but-goodie", classic. An introductory chess course dealing with all aspects of the game...
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Chess-Course-Beginning-Reinfeld/dp/1941270247
A Beginner's Guide to Coaching Scholastic Chess by Ralph E. Bowman...
https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Coaching-Scholastic-Chess/dp/1517025427
you can also download online pdf copies of this guide....just Google the title - A GUIDE TO SCHOLASTIC CHESS 11th Edition Revised July 4, 2017
more chess courses & resources...
https://chessfox.com/free-chess-course-for-beginners/
https://chessfox.com/free-chess-course-chessfox-com/
https://chessfox.com/chess-improvement-study-plan/
https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/caa-ltpc.htm
St. Louis Chess Club's chess curriculum....
https://saintlouischessclub.org/education/chess-curriculum
Tips on Teaching Beginners...
https://new.uschess.org/news/tips-on-teaching-beginners/
Biggest Mistakes of a New Coach by Dan Heisman...
https://www.chess.com/blog/danheisman/biggest-mistakes-of-a-new-coach
A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best Of Novice Nook by Dan Heisman...
The content of this book is extracted from Heisman's "Novice Nook" columns on (the essentially defunct) ChessCafe.com. In addition to chapters on opening play, tactics, endgame, positional chess and strategy, the book provides advice and guidelines on topics relevant to the concrete, non-theoretic (if you will), aspects of playing rated, over-the-board play at chess clubs and tournaments - for example, Time Management, Thought Process, Skills and Psychology. It's like having a chess coach by your side. For many instructive articles by Heisman treating all aspects of the game of chess, I highly recommend to check out his excellent "Novice Nook" articles in the ChessCafe.com archives (note: the web page may be slow to load)...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140625052220/http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm
more Dan Heisman resources...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources
Chess Wiki...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
Chess.com Lessons...
https://www.chess.com/lessons/all-lessons
Chessable.com.....a great site for online, interactive chess training & courses, in all phases of the game. Most of the courses charge a fee. However there is lots of free content as well...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chessable
Chessable Guide to Chess Openings...
https://www.chessable.com/blog/opening-guide/
https://www.chessable.com/blog/chess-openings/
Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
The following is a list of recommended chess books, many of which are appropriate for the beginner-novice player...
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
US Chess Federation Official Rules of Chess (7th Ed.)...
http://www.uschess.org/content/view/7752/28/
https://www.amazon.com/US-Chess-Federations-Official-Rules/dp/1797716905/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=US+Chess+Federation%E2%80%99s+Official+Rules+of+Chess&qid=1562280527&s=gateway&sr=8-3
FIDE Laws of Chess...
https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=32&view=category
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Discover more helpful and instructive chess resources, including book recommendations, in my blog.
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