Me, my Chess and FIDE Instructor Title

Article authored by Nagesh Jayaram (FIDE ID 5058414) for the AICCF Bulletin Feb 2021.

Chess has been probably the only sport which has become more popular during the Covid pandemic. More people have started playing Chess, more events were organized Online, and thanks to Technology, the Chess players found new ways to play with each other, share their experiences and continue their Chess journey.
One of the commercially rewarding activities has been Chess coaching. As more and more children are learning Chess, there is a rush for Parents to find Online mediums for playing, practicing and learning Chess. This increase in demand has fueled the rise of many more coaches who are ready and available to teach Chess.

However, it is very difficult for parents to differentiate between the available coaching options because many of them are not very knowledgeable in the technical aspects of Chess. Also coaching is an Art and not every good player can become a good coach. Great Coaches and Trainers inspire their students to achieve their highest potential. The relationship between the coach and student is an interesting and sensitive one, it is not about what the coach wants to do, but it should be about what the student is capable of doing.

Even though i have been coaching students for the last 20 years, i realized the importance of gaining a formal Qualification in Chess Coaching. It would be like a validation for the parents and give them more confidence in myself as a Coach.
FIDE (The International Chess Federation) offers several Titles for aspiring Coaches. The process for getting these titles is explained in the details in the below link:
http://trainers.fide.com/

Various FIDE endorsed Academies organize Seminars in which reputed Grandmasters who have good experience in Coaching train the attendees in various aspects of Chess coaching and explain the required Chess knowledge. It is required to formally apply to these Seminars and confirm the attendance to them. Below is the link listing the upcoming seminars:
http://trainers.fide.com/category/seminar-news/upcoming-seminars/

Few important points to remember is that weightage is given to the actual strength of the Coach as a chess player (measured by FIDE Rating). The experience of the Coach in Training, the level of students trained, the results achieved by the students and the years since the coach is training, all these matter in evaluation for awarding the Title.

Personally for me, my experience with AICCF helped me in practicing the forgotten art of Analysis in Chess. Especially in Online Chess, Blitz and Bullet formats are very popular. So detailed analysis of a position to find out the best moves is crucial to improving your strength as a Player or a Coach.

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