We had our first chess class of the year today.  First day back at school and the kids were eager to play.

One of our students invited a new student to join the class.  I asked him to teach his friend, since he was one of our advanced students.  I spent time with other students and watched him from time to time.  He did very well!

I was able to help teach him how to teach, while supervising his friend’s lessons.  There were a few times when I had to remind him not to teach complex concepts at this stage, but simply to go over how the pieces move and allow the new student to practice that.

It is a common error in teaching to race through the basics.  In chess a student will become disinterested quickly if you don’t give them the time to learn how the pieces move, give them time to really practice this.

In the end the student and his friend were both excited by the class.  They enjoyed learning together, each learning different lessons.