chess mentor required Manchester/Tameside

Jan 3, 2018 #1

43year old male just took up chess know the basics looking for mentor for OTB tuition advice help etc

Jan 5, 2018 #2

So you're looking for a coach? I do online lessons using Skype video calls and a live online analysis board, only $20 for an hour lesson, , I know most coaches are a lot more than that. I'm USCF rated 1840 so I know my stuff. Message me if your interested.

Jan 7, 2018 #3

Cheers Homsar but sorry want someone local

Jan 13, 2018 #4

You could probably find an instructor through Manchester Federation: http://manchesterchess.org.uk/main.php

Check out www.facebook.com/premierchess for some interesting chess puzzles and pedagogy for now.

Jan 14, 2018 #5

Hi - I'm local (in Stockport), but I'm not a coach.

This is actually quite tricky if you've just started chess.

Most coaching for beginners is done in schools/scouts etc..

Professional coaching tends to be pitched at the level of club players looking to improve.

I used to play a lot at school but then gave up when I went to Uni. I picked the game up again about 5 years ago. I went to a local club but was disappointed. There were only a couple of players at my level and they just wanted to play blitz games without discussing anything. To me that is a total waste of time - I can play much better matched blitz/rapid games on my laptop and have them all automatically stored for later analysis.

Honestly the resources you can get over the internet are likely to be better than locally.

That said at true beginner level you'd be better off working through some introductory texts and getting your level to say 1400 in online games before looking for coaching.

I haven't read any beginner books for adults so would go after a trusted name.

One a quick glance at Amazon UK two books stand out;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Checkmate-First-Chess-Book-Everyman/dp/1857443586/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WRR3F8EDFRKBQJSV10SV

[This is written/approved by Kasparov so is likely to of decent quality - it also has 5 star reviews]

And the Batsford beginner book (they are a very respected name in Chess Publishing and it has a 4.5 star rating]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Batsford-Book-Chess-Beginner-Winner/dp/1849941645/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515935680&sr=1-3&keywords=beginner+chess+books

You can get them on Kindle for peanuts, but I prefer a real book for ease of reading and marking up.

Once you get to bottom of club level - say 1200 or so - Silman's The Amateur Mind is highly recommeded. You should also start studying lots of positions for tactics and get some basic endgame knowledge.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amateurs-Mind-Turning-Misconceptions-Mastery/dp/1890085022/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515936061&sr=1-1&keywords=silman+the+amateur+mind