ChessCoaching Beginners

Okay. So why the picture of the Elephant with a ball?

Well I was just contemplating that in Chess you must "keep your eye on the Ball".

It is simply not enough to learn openings like a parrot. Parrots dont play top chess.

If your opponent makes one move out of order the whole position can turn around on you if you are 'rattling off your mainline theory and just pushing the pieces'.

So it is with this idea in mind, as a Chess.comCoach myself, that I strongly recommend that if you indeed are a beginner, that you ask your ChessCoach how He or she assesses any particular position. Ask your Coach to think out their thought processes aloud to you when looking at your game. Importantly, ask them why they think such and such if you dont understand their logic. Any good ChessCoach will assist you here.

My point is that Before a beginner starts learning higher level chess they must learn the basics of Square control, Importance of Pawn structure ,How to cordinate and develop their army without giving away tempi/or moves by capturing opponents pieces etcetera.

And dont forget Chessfriends One ChessCoach might get you to a certain level and you may desire to choose another ChessCoach to graduate to a higher level. So dont feel bad about changing coaches. Its like going to School through to Chess University to graduate.

TRy to analyse your games Wins and losses. You might learn even more by analysing your wins looking at just how badly you might have played , if your opponent helped you win!

I strongly recommend any keen chessplayer Use all your Chess Tools on Chess.Com such as Tactics Trainer and GrandMaster Videos under your Chess.com LEARN icon on your Chess.com Homepage.

Enjoy your Chess Guys and gals

TheMagician (John Curtis FideMaster (Australia)