The school we teach chess at, Everett Elementary in Lincoln, is changing the CLC program to a quarterly basis from a semester basis, so chess doesn't start until November this year. Since I'm out of vacation, that helps a little, but I'd really rather be there teaching with Melanie from the first day on if I can find a way to make that happen. At least next year I get 3 weeks of vacation, that should help.

If I could, I retire and teach chess full time to kids!

I just finished the audio book of Josh Waitzkin's The Art of Learning. I really enjoyed it, and while it seems more autobiographical than instructional, the way in which Josh ties the threads from the stories he tells with the lessons he learned from them is worth the price alone.

I found many reinforcements of some ideas and concepts that I've long held, and even some reminders of ones I used to think were so important when I was younger. I want to listen to it again soon and make specific notes of these items so I can include them in my own chess sessions with my students.

My next lesson with Pujaa is on Saturday, and I can hardly wait to work some of these ideas into our session!

A few days ago I got a call from a 13-year old who was hoping I could help train her to be ready for the Cornhusker State Games chess tournament . I've watched Pujaa grow up in chess playing halls for a few years now, and I was absolutely thrilled to be able to work with her. She's a great kid with a really wonderful attitude about the game so I'm looking forward to our sessions over the next 4 weeks before the tournament.

Our first session was yesterday, and I have to admit to loving first sessions more than any other. So many kids are taught the wrong things when studying chess, in my opinion. Pujaa had two chess books with her - one on the openings and one on tactics. I told her to read the tactics book as many times as she could and to leave the openings book on the shelf - for the next few years. She was taken aback by that comment, since openings are taught so universally as important. But for anyone at her level (about USCF 1000), and even at my level (about USCF 1600), chess games are not won, they are lost. They aren't won by knowing the latest in the Catalan- they're won because you didn't hang a bishop and your opponent did. Eliminating tactical mistakes over the board is the single most important consideration upon which all other chess training is built.

What I find particularly effective to be taught alongside building tactical awareness is what I call listening to the board. As I am fond of saying to my students, if you know how to read the board, how to listen and interpret what it tells you, you'll never be stumped trying to figure how what you should be doing - what your plan should be. I also refer to this as asking the board the right questions - to become a board whisperer.

Becoming a board whisperer involves asking yourself a few simple questions and then being able to examine the answers the board gives to you from a tactical perspective. Questions like: Which of your opponent's pieces are not defended? What are the strengths in your position, and how can you use them? Are there pieces of my opponent that are in my way, and how can I get rid of them? There are many, many questions to master - tactical questions like looking for undefended pieces should be asked every move, while other questions are more subtle and take time to learn when the position is begging you to ask them.

But it always comes back to the board - learning to listen to what it is trying to tell you. Become a board whisperer and you'll see your games in a whole new light.