DEVELOPING CHESS TALENT: How To Create A Chess Culture By Coaching, Training, Organization And Communication

By Karel van Delft and Merijn van Delft

Foreword by Artur Yusupov

KVDC (2010)

240 pages

$37.95

 

Reviewed by Paul Kane

 

There are three main strands to this rich and rewarding book.

 

First of all, “Coaching”, a section concerned with such issues as goal-setting (here the SMART acronym was present in substance, if not in letter), the creation of a meaningful training program and the development of cognitive skills and aptitudes such as concentration, creativity and thinking in general. Naturally, there is also a meta-cognitive aspect to all of this, concerned with how you manage your thinking during a game or, indeed, your own study and training. And this too was addressed.

 

The second section, “Training”, was very much focused on the nuts and bolts of any particular training plan. It covered the content of what was to be taught (strategy, the endgame, etc.), the method through which it was to be delivered (e.g. a game quiz along the lines of “How Good is Your Chess?”), the tools and resources to be used and much else. Fundamental questions such as how long a training session should last, and how frequently such sessions should occur, were also explored. This was another very thorough presentation.

 

The final substantive section of the book was “Organization and Communication”, and at first sight it seems rather set apart from the other two. But there is undoubtedly a connection: if you develop the talents of young chess players, you need also to create arenas in which they can compete and shine. Without a vibrant chess culture, it all becomes a rather marginal enterprise. The authors, together with Cees Visser, established the SBSA (in English, the “Foundation for the Promotion of Chess in Apeldoorn”) in 1998; and it is a very successful chess organization. Some of the questions addressed in this section were: What should you do to attract sponsors? How do you organize events such as tournaments and chess festivals? What is the best way to communicate with the media and with your core audience, i.e. chessplayers?

 

Following these three main strands, which together make up the bulk of the book, there are five interviews, the interviewees including Bronstein and Timman, and a set of appendices. Some of these appendices, such as the “list of psychological tips” (in a question and answer format), were quite as interesting as the main body of the book.  There is an “analysis questionnaire” as an appendix, too, consisting of some 56 (!) self-evaluative questions to ask yourself after every game.

 

This is not a chess textbook as such, though it would undoubtedly be useful to an individual wanting to seriously and systematically improve his or her game. I would recommend DEVELOPING CHESS TALENT especially to chess coaches and teachers and to all involved in junior chess; and to anyone involved in an organization that promotes chess. Though much of the material is specific to the SBSA, it could easily be adapted I feel.

 

More details about DEVELOPING CHESS TALENT, including a chapter excerpt, can be found at the following website: http://www.chesstalent.com