Get Those Kids Recording!

 

Students from Rainbow Elementary in Madison, Alabama returned from the State Chess Championship in March where they won first place in the Elementary School Division for the third year in a row.  I am often asked what has been the key to our success. As I look around at chess teams we compete against in Alabama, I can honestly say that one thing that sets our team apart from many others is that all of our kids, regardless of age, notate their moves.

 

When kids are learning to play chess, particularly for tournament play, it is important for them to record their moves. In our school’s competition chess club, recording moves is the one line of demarcation to join the competition team. A student does not have to be of a certain USCF level or even be very good at chess. But he or she does have to record moves to be on our competition team. Here are the reasons why.

Recorded Moves Can Be Analyzed Later To Help Students Improve

If a game is recorded, it can be recreated by the coach or put into a chess software program for analysis. This is the best way for students to improve. If a coach cannot see or recreate what is going on during a game, it is very difficult to pinpoint areas of improvement for the student.

Recording Helps The Player Slow Down And Think

Recording games helps the student slow down, see the board, and think about moves before making them. Get ready—your students will resist at first. They will tell you they don’t like recording because it uses too much time. The most common statement students will tell you when they first start recording moves is, “I stopped recording because my opponent was moving too fast.” Whoa! That is precisely why your students MUST record. If they are trying to match speed with speed, they will lose every time. By slowing down to see what their opponent is doing, and writing down that move, they give themselves more time to think.

Your opponent cannot move until your move is completed. A move is completed only “when [the] player presses the clock.” (USCF Rule 9A.) Your opponent may be in a rush, but there’s no need for you to be.

 

Recorded Games Allow Students To Learn From Each Other

Recording games helps students recreate games together between rounds or after the tournament so they can learn from each other. The most powerful lessons are from actual games kids are playing with each other.

 

Students going over games in the skittles area in between rounds.

Recording Allows Players to Make Claims During Games

Finally, it’s actually in the USCF rules. USCF Rule 15A requires players to record both the player’s and opponent’s moves. USCF Rule 15A.1.c. provides that “Beginners who have not learned to keep score may be excused from scorekeeping, at the director’s discretion.” But tournament directors “often deduct time from the clocks of players at the start of the game whom they excuse from keeping score . . .”

USCF Rule 15A.1.c further provides that “Players excused from scorekeeping are not entitled to make claims that require scoresheets . . .” If your students do not record, they cannot make claims at tournaments. Did your opponent make an illegal move? If you don’t record the game, you can’t make the claim. Do you want to claim a draw by three-position repetition? If you don’t record the game, you can’t make the claim. 

The recording rule is enforced at national tournaments conducted by the USCF. A national chess tournament is not the time to learn how to record moves. It is far better to teach your students early in the season and let them get accustomed to recording as they play in live tournaments.

 

Learn How To Record

If your club members have not previously learned to record moves, here are two articles (part 1 and part 2) and a video on how chess notation or algebraic notation works. To do this effectively, require notation during practice. A tournament is not the optimum time for a first attempt at chess notation. 

One does not have to be a tournament chess player to benefit from recording moves. Anyone who wants to learn more and improve his or her play can benefit from taking this step.