Opposition...

How have we gotten to this point?

Mostly because I've been here before.

I can flatly state without any hesitation that the reason I have any interest in competitive chess whatsoever is because of Bobby Fischer.

I was six years old when he and Spassky went at it in 1972. My great uncle Ed (RIP, and thank you) was a pretty good chess player, and we went through every game together as they appeared in the newspaper. He taught me the rules, the moves, and the Ruy Lopez. (And maybe also the Giocco Piano – can't remember now.)

I remember spending a lot of time with Fred Reinfeld's Complete Chess Course.

My mom believed that, if nothing else, there were four things a child should learn to function in society: chess, bridge, golf, and I frankly can't remember the fourth right now. I did play bridge a bit in college, (we actually had eight guys in our dorm that could play – go figure) but dropped that. Chess stuck with me for a while, but I didn't really get serious about it until after high school. My fondest memory was playing in the 1985 US Junior Open in Berkeley. That, and hanging out for an afternoon during that tournament with Alexey (Rudolph) Root after playing way over my head and losing a tight game to a friend of hers rated something like 800 points higher than me. I remember her as a very friendly person – obviously it made an impression if I still remember it 27 years later.

Anyway, I remember the enjoyment I got out of chess, and I'm glad my kids are getting a kick out of it as well.

Once I realized the kids really did want to learn, and they were looking to me to teach them, it was clear I needed to find some materials to help out. I'm a technical writer for a living, so I'm used to writing tutorial-style information, but teaching kids is a WHOLE different kettle of fish.

Among my trove of old chess books (those that hadn't been sold off, at least) was a copy of the 2nd edition of Comprehensive Chess Course: Learn Chess in 12 Lessons (Fifth Enlarged Edition) (Vol. 1) (Comprehensive Chess Course Series) and Comprehensive Chess Course, Vol. 2: From Beginner to Tournament Player in 12 Lessons. It even included a hand-signed note from GM Alburt offering coaching opportunities should I be interested. Personal service like that is sadly lacking these days.

Anyway, I fired up Google and looked around for reviews on that book, and other possible training material for kids. I came across the Step-by-Step method I mentioned in my last post, and the reviews were good. Also, as the kids love playing on computers, I got a copy of Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster: Chess Complete 3-Pack for cheap on Amazon.

I let the kids loose on F&C while going through the Alburt course for our first two formal lessons. By then, the Step-by-Step material arrived, and we've switched over to that.

First clue I got that my daughter was “getting it”? We're playing a game one evening (w/ Queen odds) and we're in the endgame. I move my king up into opposition, and Megan says “Opposition...” I just looked at her, and said “Where on earth did you learn that?” “Fritz & Chesster!”

Okay, it's working.

My rule was, the kids get queen odds until they beat me, then they get rook odds, etc. They've now both beat me with queen odds, which means I obviously have to be paying better attention. I have a tendency to leave pieces hanging against them, and they're starting to see this and take advantage.

They're making good progress, and they're still very interested and enthused. Tonight, they'll be playing in a tournament for the first time – scholastic quads, G/30. They both wanted to play this morning, and they hadn't experienced a clock yet, so I had them play each other with my old analog clock. They got into the swing quickly.

Things I'm using to teach the kids:

Fritz & Chesster
Step By Step
Lev Alburt's course

The latter is good if you're teaching yourself. It takes you literally from “this is the chessboard” up through (allegedly) a Class C player or so by the end of volume 2. I know I'll be going through these lessons ahead of the kids as I re-teach myself the game while I'm teaching them.

In the next post, I'll go over the material I'm using to re-teach myself. The world is a much different place, now, and there's a TON of material out there.