View from an Unchessable Parent Q&A 4 -- Advantages of Being an Unchessable Parent What are some aspects that an "unchessable" parent might find easier to navigate than a parent who plays chess? Firstly, due to differing levels of engagement in this activity between you and your child, you are more likely to approach chess from a distinct perspective. For instance, in my observations, chess enthusiasts often derive satisfaction from competitive victories. While you may not place as much emphasis on winning or losing, this enables you to offer alternative viewpoints to your child when they experience either overconfidence or deflation due to outcomes. You can help them avoid fixating too heavily on immediate results. Furthermore, you can more readily acknowledge the journey from initial ignorance to achieving a few victories, compared to their past selves. Consequently, you can better recognize these positive feedback loops, expressing gratitude for progress rather than su...
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View from an UNchessable Parent Q&A 3 -- Useful Chess App - ChessKid.com We've tried a few chess apps, but we always feel that ChessKid is the most suitable app for juniors. Although its name includes "kid," it is not only for beginners. Kobe still uses it every day, doing puzzles and advancing to the level of King. Believe it or not, even though her ACF and FIDE ratings are already above 1500, theoretically making her a semi-professional player, she doesn't always breeze through every challenge. So, we believe that this app can definitely cover the practice needs of most non-professional players. What makes it suitable for junior players is not its difficulty level, but rather its curriculum design and communication style, which are more tailored to kids' learning habits and interests. It's more lively and engaging, helping children learn difficult and sometimes dull concepts in a fun environment without even realising it. Below is the app user review wri...
View from an UNchessable Parent Q&A 2 -- The support you can provide As a parent who doesn't play chess myself, what's the best way to support my child if I notice they're interested in chess? Firstly, it's important to recognise that a child without prior exposure to chess, despite any beginner's luck they may have, will likely start at a disadvantage compared to those who have family members to play with or attend schools with a strong chess tradition. She might be better than those who lack talent but work hard or those who have talent but don't work hard, but she won't be stronger than those who have both talent and work hard. While they may occasionally win against professionally trained children, these victories are often due to chance. As I mentioned earlier, chess outcomes are often one-off events, which is why decisive matches between top players like Ding Liren and Nepo can extend to 14 classic chess games plus rapid chess. It's not very ac...
View from an UNchessable Parent Q&A 1 -- Success in Chess Have you ever wondered if only parents with experience and interest in chess can better support their children's interest in the game? Undoubtedly, if parents enjoy chess themselves, the role models and daily practice support they provide to their children are invaluable. However, every family has its unique dynamics. If, by chance, you have no interest in chess or if time constraints prevent you from supporting your child's interest in chess in the best possible way you think, it's okay. You are not alone. I'm Rosa, Kobe's mum, and I don't play chess at all due to my personality—I'm not a fan of adversarial games that always make me nervous and not enjoyable. I have other hobbies, though, like music, reading, and writing. But Kobe has consistently thrived in chess, and my lack of skill in the game hasn't dampened her natural talent and enthusiasm for it. So, I don't think you have to be a...
Is there luck in Chess? In my opinion, YES. For example, you may have blundered, but your opponent didn't notice, or your opponent blundered for no reason, and you caught it. Your opponent may have worked too hard in the last round and couldn't concentrate on your game, or they didn't show up. Your opponent might be sick, didn't sleep well, or is hungry, which can affect one's performance. Or you may have lost to someone with a lower rating at the beginning and subsequently been paired continuously with lower-rated players in the same score group. That's why we always encourage our club members to focus on the growth they gain from the games, not just the results. Results are a one-off thing and could be affected by chance, which you could call luck. But every lesson you learn from your games will never leave you, unlike a stroke of luck. And the more experience you gain, the better prepared you'll be, which will literally bring you more luck, because luck...
Honour Board: Yes or No? We debated whether to include an honour board on our website, and we ultimately decided to proceed. However, our decision wasn't solely driven by a desire to spotlight winners, but rather to illustrate the journey towards success in chess. We hope that attention isn't solely focused on individual prowess, or the number of trophies and titles attained, but rather on understanding the achievements our club members can reach in an environment that emphasises growth over intense competition. We believe that success in chess isn't solely dependent on parental pressure or the support of powerful coaches, though these factors can be beneficial. Ultimately, reaching the pinnacle of one's ability relies on personal determination, passion, and inner drive. Furthermore, there's no need to feel inferior or discouraged if one doesn't excel in formal competitions. Everyone possesses their own strengths, whether excelling in other sports, arts, knowled...
Awakening Precious Memories: Ready to Explore Our Photo Gallery https://sites.google.com/.../more-about-club/photo-gallery Gratitude to our founder and head coach, Alan, for meticulously preserving precious photos dating back to the club's establishment, some even from 2011! All these memories are now showcased on our website. Today, we share a particularly cherished photo: a snapshot featuring our current coach, Kobe, alongside the late co-founder, Wendy Duffy. Little-known is the deep connection between Wendy and Kobe—they shared the same birth month and day, but Wendy was a remarkable seventy years older. When Wendy was with us, Kobe celebrated birthdays with her at the club. Wendy humorously referred to herself as Kobe's Australian grandmother since his biological grandmother was in China and couldn't join the celebrations. This photo captures a special moment on Kobe's eighth birthday, coinciding with Wendy's seventy-eighth. In the second picture, see a T-shir...
EMPOWERING THROUGH INCLUSIVITY: Supporting the Female Community in Chess The ongoing debate surrounding the girl divisions in an open chess tournament or the introduction of a special "Best Female" reward in open tournaments as either being gender DISCRIMINATION or a stride towards gender EQUALITY sparks thoughtful considerations. This International Women's Week, let's delve into this obscure conversation! At DJCC, the ratio of female participants exceeds other chess clubs, our observations indicate that separate girls' events significantly contribute to advancing gender equality by fostering INCREASED participation among girls in chess. **Creating Role Models** Firstly, creating a separate girls' division aims to grow female role models in a chess world, historically dominated by males. Imagine a woman participating in a competition predominantly led by men! In the desire to seamlessly blend into the mainstream trend and avoid appearing out of place, she mi...