ChessNut's Class D Level Classroom Please contact Brian Thompson for corrections and updates. A Note to the Student | A Note to the Coach

Training Goals - Class D

The Class D Level Classroom is for the player who is already a member of a chess club, has a solid foundation and regular training in chess Tactics, has begun regular training in chess Endgames, and has begun learning about chess Strategy. The Class D level player consistently plays well against Beginner, Novice, and Club players, but has trouble against a player who has played in chess tournaments.

1. Continue studying chess games that were played by Masters and explained by great teachers. ('C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation, Volume Two', Purdy; 'Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking', McDonald) - Why: At every level, this is the one exercise that will help you most to learn new ideas.
   
   
2. Continue studying basic endings. ('Silman's Complete Endgame Course', Silman) - Why: Many times a mistake in the opening can be corrected. In the ending, mistakes are often fatal. Learn how to protect your advantage and convert it into a win.



3. Continue studying the "General Principles" of chess opening play. ('What's the Best Move?', Evans) - Why: Memorizing opening lines will not help if you don't understand the underlying principles of your play. Successfully navigating an opening system by rote and then misplaying the middle game through ignorance of the "Principles" is a common recipe for losing chess games.



4. Continue studying basic strategy. ('Weapons of Chess', Pandolfini) - Why: Chess strategy is the process of determining what is the best plan for the current position. Playing with a plan is a crucial step in playing chess well.

Recommended Tools

1. The United States Chess Federation web site - To become a USCF member, find a tournament in your area, or to have your club join the USCF as an affiliate, this is the web site to visit.



2. USCF's Introduction to Tournament Chess : Describes what official tournament chess is all about.



3. USCF's Introduction to Running Tournaments : Describes how to get organized and the steps behind running your first official chess tournament.



4. Visit the Chess.com web site and sign up for a free basic membership. You'll be able to play your friends on-line at any time, making it easier to get in your practice games.

Projects

Study:

1. Study the "USCF's Introduction to Tournament Chess" document in the Tools section above. Ask your chess coach or mentor to explain anything about tournament chess that you don't understand, so that you'll be prepared to play in your first tournament.



2. Continue to run the Tactics Training in Chessimo at least three times per week, for at least 30 minutes each session. Repeat these sessions until you complete Tactics Module 02, all units. For fun, go back through 'Winning Chess' by Chernev, quickly scanning the diagrams (no need to set up the postions on a chessboard). Do you see how much faster your eye picks out the winning combination?



3. Continue to run the Endgames Training in Chessimo at least three times per week, for at least 30 minutes each session. Repeat these sessions until you complete Endgames Module 01, units 21-51. If you have any trouble understanding the concepts in these Chessimo drills, immediately refer to the appropriate section in 'Pandolfini's Endgame Course' or 'Silman's Complete Endgame Course' for an explanation of the key concepts. Once you've read the section that covers your current Chessimo Endgame drills, return to the drills and look for the application of the Pandolfini/Silman lessons!



4. Play through at least 5 Master level chess games per week like those in 'C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation, Volume Two' by Purdy or 'Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking' by McDonald. Make sure that the games you choose have lots of notes explaining why some moves were good, and why some were mistakes. Continue playing through Master games until you have studied 60 games. Ask your chess coach or mentor to explain any of the notes that you didn't understand.



5. If you don't read every book from this section, at the very least read 'C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation, Volume Two', by Purdy. Also read the appropriate section from 'Silman's Complete Endgame Course' by Silman. While Tactics will be the primary study topic throughout my Classroom levels, we'll be balancing this with the study of Master games, Endgames, Strategy, and Opening Theory. The careful study of Master games is crucial to improving your chess play, and there is no finer teacher in this regard than C.J.S. Purdy. Jeremy Silman is another legendary chess instructor, and 'Silman's Complete Endgame Course' is the perfect complement to the Chessimo Endgame Training Modules you've begun using.



6. If you skipped ahead to this Classroom, go back through the prior Classroom levels and check out the books, tools, and projects that you missed. Some of this material MAY be review, but in order to build a solid foundation it is important to set the building blocks of chess skills in the correct sequence. You will use the material in this and all previous Classrooms in order to progress more quickly in the next levels.

Practice:

1. You've reached the ChessNuts Class D Level Classroom, and have joined a chess club. You are now ready to begin playing tournament chess. When you join the United States Chess Federation and begin playing official tournament games, you will earn a USCF rating. The USCF rating range for Class D is 1200-1399 and is simply a measure of your chess knowledge. If you have done all the exercises in the previous three ChessNuts Levels (Beginner, Novice, and Club), your USCF rating should fall into the Class D range after completing 20-25 rated games. If there are no USCF rated tournaments in your area, ask your chess coach to organize and run rated events. For more information, see the documents in the Tools section above.



2. While you are completing your Study Projects, continue to play games with your friends and record the moves on a Chess Score Sheet. Keep playing at your chess club at least once per week, and record those games also. Each week you should be able to record 10-20 games. If you can't meet them in person, then arrange to play your practice games on-line at Chess.com with a free basic memebership.

Review:

1. Select 2 of your own games every week to review with your chess coach or mentor.



2. Select 4 of your other games every week to review with the ChessPad / Crafty tool from the Club Classroom level.

Once you have completed Study Projects 1-5 and have attained a USCF rating of 1400 or more, you will be ready to join the Class C Level. (Expected completion time: 18-24 weeks) If you experience difficulty in reaching the next level, review the material in this and the previous level, repeat the Study exercises, Practice, and Review with your chess coach or mentor. Once you fully understand the material and use it in your chess games, your rating will reach 1400 and you will be ready to move to the Class C level. There are no short-cuts.
 

Recommended Books

I own a copy of each of the following books, and recommend them for this specific training level because their content and presentation is consistent with this level's Training Goals.

              

Hover your mouse over any of the pictured books to get a Power Preview from Amazon.com, or click on any book image to go to Amazon.com for descriptions and reviews.

 

This project is a work in progress. As I find more useful material, I'll pass it along. If you know of a CHESS book or tool that might interest other ChessNuts, please contact The ChessNut.