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Chess as a Pedagogical Tool – Four Basic Concepts

' Mating with two Bishops versus the lone King is a skill that usually takes many months to master, creating a threshold most casual players never reach.'

I disagree with that statement. Endgame mates are a matter of pattern recognition, and the average chess player can most likely learn two bishops in a 45-minute sitting. Even if they do not attend chess classes, one could be self-taught in an hour, max. Even if you said 'Bishop and Knight mate takes months to master' you are still wrong. Once again, even a below-average chess player could learn that in maybe 4 hours, tops.
I'm speaking as an average chess player, how long it took me, and most of my peers, to master these checkmates. I say most because the rest are some of the more 'talented' people you speak of, who took like 30 minutes to grasp both concepts.

That's not all. A bunch of points in this blog are overreactive and exaggerated, I will not list them all, but perhaps others will.

I don't mean to be negative, but it's true... and not just on Endgame Checkmating.

' Mating with two Bishops versus the lone King is a skill that usually takes many months to master, creating a threshold most casual players never reach.' I disagree with that statement. Endgame mates are a matter of pattern recognition, and the average chess player can most likely learn two bishops in a 45-minute sitting. Even if they do not attend chess classes, one could be self-taught in an hour, max. Even if you said 'Bishop and Knight mate takes months to master' you are still wrong. Once again, even a below-average chess player could learn that in maybe 4 hours, tops. I'm speaking as an average chess player, how long it took me, and most of my peers, to master these checkmates. I say most because the rest are some of the more 'talented' people you speak of, who took like 30 minutes to grasp both concepts. That's not all. A bunch of points in this blog are overreactive and exaggerated, I will not list them all, but perhaps others will. I don't mean to be negative, but it's true... and not just on Endgame Checkmating.

@AnshFortnite1 , I have never seen a person get the two bishops so quickly, not in the first 6 months of learning how to play, as where many beginners get to mating with the King and Queen on the first lesson.

And still to my point that most casual players. Even studying endgame patterns itself is a sign of advancement that most player never reach. But could be mating with 2 Bishops can occur about 800-900 on the current USCF system, maybe higher.

But the main pedagogical advantages of chess can be learned at the beginner level, Goals, Progress, Coordination and Efficiency. Becoming a competitive chess player is not needed for the main pedagogical benefits.

@AnshFortnite1 , I have never seen a person get the two bishops so quickly, not in the first 6 months of learning how to play, as where many beginners get to mating with the King and Queen on the first lesson. And still to my point that most casual players. Even studying endgame patterns itself is a sign of advancement that most player never reach. But could be mating with 2 Bishops can occur about 800-900 on the current USCF system, maybe higher. But the main pedagogical advantages of chess can be learned at the beginner level, Goals, Progress, Coordination and Efficiency. Becoming a competitive chess player is not needed for the main pedagogical benefits.

You are right that most beginners learn KQvK first, but my point is, one could START learning 2 bishop checkmates at any point after they learn how to play the game, and no matter when they decide to start learning it, the process takes, as I stated, less than an hour. Under the same circumstances, maybe a couple of hours for Bishop+Knight. The rating on USCF system has nothing to do with this; I learned these checkmates at 400 uscf. That's not the point. Even someone who plays rec chess could learn 2 bishops checkmate really easy. I think maybe learning bishop and knight shows some commitment to chess, so I agree with you on that. And this is all assuming people don't have a coach or chess class they go to.

You are right that most beginners learn KQvK first, but my point is, one could START learning 2 bishop checkmates at any point after they learn how to play the game, and no matter when they decide to start learning it, the process takes, as I stated, less than an hour. Under the same circumstances, maybe a couple of hours for Bishop+Knight. The rating on USCF system has nothing to do with this; I learned these checkmates at 400 uscf. That's not the point. Even someone who plays rec chess could learn 2 bishops checkmate really easy. I think maybe learning bishop and knight shows some commitment to chess, so I agree with you on that. And this is all assuming people don't have a coach or chess class they go to.

@AnshFortnite1 thanks for sharing, but does not match my experience, could be someone could learn 2 Bishops right away, but I have never seen it. I would propose that King and two Bishops against King requires some larger pattern recognition and higher skills that require hundreds of hours of practice.

@AnshFortnite1 thanks for sharing, but does not match my experience, could be someone could learn 2 Bishops right away, but I have never seen it. I would propose that King and two Bishops against King requires some larger pattern recognition and higher skills that require hundreds of hours of practice.

Huh. I'm just replying based on my experience and the experience of others at my club, some 25 people. I might be wrong.

Huh. I'm just replying based on my experience and the experience of others at my club, some 25 people. I might be wrong.

Btw, your bio says you're going to super nationals. I'm going too! What a coincidence!

Btw, your bio says you're going to super nationals. I'm going too! What a coincidence!

@AnshFortnite1 blessings, will be with the Detroit teams, blessings, have a great tournament! Our regular chess club in Detroit is not meeting this Friday.

@AnshFortnite1 blessings, will be with the Detroit teams, blessings, have a great tournament! Our regular chess club in Detroit is not meeting this Friday.

@DIAChessClubStudies thanks, I got 5.5/7. Really successful national tournament. I was playing u1400 though...

@DIAChessClubStudies thanks, I got 5.5/7. Really successful national tournament. I was playing u1400 though...

@AnshFortnite1 , awesome, congratulations, keep it up. Reasonable if you work hard to gain 200 rating points a year., especially in your youth!

@AnshFortnite1 , awesome, congratulations, keep it up. Reasonable if you work hard to gain 200 rating points a year., especially in your youth!