from a reader - "Adam I've just looked at the tips for reaching 1600. They are all wise I'm sure, but in my opinion they leave out one thing: start young. My experience of coaching those beginners who are in their 60s and 70s (and if I'm doing the coaching, they must be real beginners) is that they are incapable of learning at anything like the speed at which children learn. I spent two hours yesterday with a delightful lady in her 70s who was still asking, after two or three sessions, if pawns could capture sideways — ie from say b2 to c2. I doubt whether she is capable of ever reaching the level needed to play over games; to appreciate different styles of play; to benefit from ChessBase or anything similar; to benefit from even playing a game against someone; to analyse her games (even if she could be taught to record them); to learn from famous grandmasters; etc. The other people around her were a little bit better, but only a little bit.
And if you start getting coached as a child you have a far higher ceiling. I didn't play a serious game until I was about 25, and got to 145, but was never going to be a 200+ player, because I started too late. These children you see playing in things like your congresses can become much stronger."
from a reader - "Adam I've just looked at the tips for reaching 1600. They are all wise I'm sure, but in my opinion they leave out one thing: start young. My experience of coaching those beginners who are in their 60s and 70s (and if I'm doing the coaching, they must be real beginners) is that they are incapable of learning at anything like the speed at which children learn. I spent two hours yesterday with a delightful lady in her 70s who was still asking, after two or three sessions, if pawns could capture sideways — ie from say b2 to c2. I doubt whether she is capable of ever reaching the level needed to play over games; to appreciate different styles of play; to benefit from ChessBase or anything similar; to benefit from even playing a game against someone; to analyse her games (even if she could be taught to record them); to learn from famous grandmasters; etc. The other people around her were a little bit better, but only a little bit.
And if you start getting coached as a child you have a far higher ceiling. I didn't play a serious game until I was about 25, and got to 145, but was never going to be a 200+ player, because I started too late. These children you see playing in things like your congresses can become much stronger."