Many chess parents asked me the following question:
“Should my children play in only scholastic events or should they play in adult tournaments?”
There have been many debates about this. In my opinion, the answer is both.
Both my children play in adult and scholastic events. There are different benefits in both types of events. You may want to start them in small quads. This way, they get to play against adults with similar rating pool.
I also said the same about girls playing in all-girls events and mixed tournaments. They should do both.
What do you think?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Agreed! My kids play in both as well.
I also agree. I think the more chess the better. My daughter doesn’t have any issues playing in coed tournaments and relishes winning against boys (especially the ones whose parents say to them before a round “Now just because she is a girl it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know how to play chess”)but she enjoys the camaraderie of the all girls tournaments. The adult tournaments are a bit trickier only because of the bad/weird behavior of some of the adults. I also have some misgivings about the money culture of adult tournaments and the bad behavior it tends to encourage — cheating, sandbagging.
Quads are perfect for young children as they get to play against similar strength opposition and have a reasonable chance of winning.
When kids win against adults, it’s great for building self-esteem. (We adults may have some issues with losing, however.)
I also have some misgivings about the money culture of adult tournaments and the bad behavior it tends to encourage — cheating, sandbagging.
Agree. Local club tournaments with small or no money prizes are the least intimidating adult event. CCA events (e.g.) are great for top juniors, but some may not be prepared for the cutthroat competition.
I think that playing in both is great if the child wants to do it.
Most adult tournaments are tougher and it will help to accelerate the childs improvement if they do not get too discouraged by losing. For my son, I encouraged him to play at least one section above his rating and that challenged him to step up his level of play. As a result, he became a better player and that was reflected in a rating
increase.
If I had a chessplaying little boy or girl, I would encourage him/her to compete in both types of events. Back in the day, there were few scholastic tournaments or other events available to me, and I ended up participating mainly in adult events. I would, however, want my child to know that I would be in attendance, not to coach, but as a buffer against some of the poor sportsmanship and neagtive comments some players make about juniors. My experiences thirty years ago happened in a much different time and place than in 2007.
I think the age of the junior is most relevant here. When they are young, only junior tournaments are probably best. They will still get to play against alot of people who are older.
As they progress into secondary school, then I think it is very important to get them involved in ‘open’ tournaments. This also shows them that chess is not just a school activity or only for youngins.
Susan,
I am coaching two kids Chess and I realized soon after I started that it is very important for the parents to learn how to correctly handle the competition and help their kids to properly prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. Are there good books/materials out there that can help the parents in that regard?
Thanks!
yan
Yan:
There are two books that I have found helpful:
A Parent’s Guide to Chess by Dan Heisman and Survival Guide for Chess Parents by Tanya Jones. Also, Susan has written some columns about this that she has referenced on this blog at some point.
Good luck,
NYC Chess Mom
I think kids should only play in scholastic tournaments. That way they don’t beat me in adult tournaments. Nothing makes me want to quit chess waster than losing to a 10 year old. 🙂
I think that your two boys are very fortunate to have such a fantastic mother!!!!!
David
My problem with kids playing in adult tournaments is that, once a kid reaches a certain chess ability, we forget that they are still vulnerable in other areas. I know of some cases where children were paired up with known child molestors. By sanctioning a game between them, it’s easy for a level of trust to be established. A kid is a kid, no matter what their rating.
Now I’d love to be talked out of this. Susan, what steps do you take in protecting children who play in adult tourneys?
Dan,
I do not let them out of my site. I am at every single event that my children compete in.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
As a junior player in the 1970s I chose the “adult” route more often than not. My mother came for many long weekends at Bill Goichberg’s tournaments mainly at the old-and-gone McAlpin Hotel, but had work and newspapers and still wound up talking many more nice hours than expected with (other parents and) GM Larry Evans’ mother :-). One good safe feature of Bill’s McAlpin setup was having one big noisy skittles room (the “Green Room”) with Bill and other TDs parked in the front (right-)center of it, with far-flung smaller rooms generally used (only) for games so it was understood not to hang out there. So my mom did not need to keep total tabs on me, even when I was 12. If you’re organizing an event with many kids and have to use skittles room(s) up a flight of stairs or etc. with other (empty) rooms nearby, and you have a willing bookseller, stationing em inside or just outside may improve safety without costing too many sales.
If a junior event has a recognized pedigree, such as annual school-by-grade championships for your area, choose it. Otherwise, in my opinion the movie “Searching For Bobby Fischer” shows too much of the junior-vs-junior route. Playing fellow juniors is important for shared-experience and (ultimately) camaraderie as well as rivalry. So I too come out for balance, but leaning adult.
The very best way IMHO for a player 14-and-under to gain entree’ into the adult world is to play for a club team with adults—if the club can field “A”, “B”, “C”… teams like this, then you have more opportunity. Such as I had with the Dumont Chess Mates in the North Jersey Chess League. This way you have adults pulling with you as well as others pulling against you.
The one definite suggestion for a developing young player is when you’re going the adult route, realize in advance you’re doing it to get some lumps, and still may haul down a seasoned scalp or two, so go for the strongest section that is reasonable. A diet of players 200-300 points higher rated is reasonable. An “Open” section may give the best of all worlds.
Dear Susan,
I hope you still area reading this thread. What if there are no children’s tournaments anywhere around, or only very rarely? The 5-round weekend tournaments around here have three rounds on one day, totalling over 10 hours of thinking time. With the breaks it might add up to more than 12 hours. I have allowed my young chess coachees to play in such tournaments. Am I wrong? I think a 10- or 12-hour day doesn’t really measure chess skill but something else. Their school days might be 5 hours at the longest. At what age could a kid play in tournaments like this? Does the skill/rating matter? I really don’t want to make it like work for them.