Proper Chess Training – Current update

This was originally published in my May 2006 ChessCafe.com column. The current update is shown right below the original column.

The Importance of Proper Training

The United States produced one U.S. born World Champion in the 20th century. Of course, that champion is Bobby Fischer. Moreover, the United States, a nation with 280 million people [now 300 million people], has produced very few grandmasters in the last two decades. As of April 1, 2006, the U. S. only has 59 living grandmasters [60 grandmasters]. This is especially shocking considering the incredible growth of scholastic chess in the country.

It is an embarrassment for a country this size to produce so few world-class players. There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest problem is the lack of a uniform training system. In fact, there is no official system at all, and the USCF has done nothing to solve this problem.

Many of our kids are being taught incorrectly because parents often don’t know any better and coaches want immediate results. Disregarding a solid, basic chess foundation may work when competing against other very inexperienced children, but it is not sound. As these players grow a little older, they start to fail miserably, through no fault of their own. They simply were misguided; many then get discourage and quit. This becomes a scholastic chess mill with no long term success.

I truly hope there is a remedy to this problem and that we can institute a uniform chess training system, but I have my reservations. Our chess politicians are more interested in red tape and bureaucratic politics, than in fixing the glaring problems that have existed for decades.

In August 2005, Anatoly Karpov and his organization offered a ready-made chess curriculum to the USCF, but the politicians allowed the matter to be reviewed by a committee headed by people from the Kasparov organization. If this was not a direct conflict of interest, then it was certainly in bad taste. Well, the Karpov plan was shelved, while, seven months later, the Kasparov Chess Foundation is now introducing its own curriculum.

Instead of respecting and embracing the free assistance from a legendary world champion, our politicians managed to insult people who truly wanted to do good things for chess. To be honest, I do not know which curriculum would be better, but the decisions need to be based on the merit of the proposals and in the best interest of U.S chess. I respect the chess knowledge of both Karpov and Kasparov, but too many corrupt deals were made behind closed doors for various outrageous reasons.

It’s likely that both curriculums were very good. So why not make them both available and let the parents, teachers and coaches decide which is best for them. It may just come down to personal preference and there is nothing wrong with that. Why pit one organization against another? In the meantime, organized chess is floundering, which is why I decided to do something about it.

Last weekend, I went to Brownsville, Texas to train more than 60 teachers and coaches. Brownsville has one of the most successful scholastic chess programs in the country, but the teachers and coaches realize that they can still use additional help.

The educators understand how important chess is for their students and they want to incorporate chess into other daily school subjects. I presented my own curriculum based on a combination of the best of what the Russian Schools of Chess have to offer, the exclusive Polgar method, and my 30+ years of experience in chess, including the feedback that I have received from countless students, parents and coaches across the country during the past four years.

Some of my students, including my own son, have jumped 1,000 rating points in approximately one year. My program will take students from absolute beginner level to becoming informed chess players within the first school year.

Additional training courses are designed to take the students to a much higher level, keep them in chess longer, and provide benefits that extend beyond chess. I am also working with computer experts to create a very unique free scholastic chess database, so chess information will be readily available for anyone who wants it.

Update: Since I offered the free chess curriculum from the Susan Polgar Foundation on my blog a few months ago, I have received almost 25,000 requests from coaches, teachers, parents and educators, etc., from over 85 different countries.

What is the purpose of my curriculum? Here are just some of the points:

– To help teachers, coaches and parents teach chess to the youngsters the proper way
– To help make the whole process effective, clear, easy and fun for the children
– By making it easy, fun and effective, the parents, coaches and teachers will better understand how to help the youngsters improve, especially those parents or teachers who do not play chess or play chess so well
– To combine chess and education. I give specific examples when I train to help parents and teachers incorporate chess into just about any subject they teach the children.

In the very near future, the Susan Polgar Foundation will partner up with a major University to expand the curriculum and eventually offer it as an official credited course. My #1 goal is to improve the educational level in the United States using the benefits of chess. I will continue to push this mission until the White House gives Chess and Education a seal of approval and chess will be introduce to every child in this country.

I am very thankful that the Treasury Chief of Staff Mr. Jim Wilkinson understands the benefits of chess and education and he is willing to help. I am also thankful to have the support from so many of you. I believe that if we keep pushing forward, we will eventually succeed.