In Peques and More We keep an eye on the momentum that chess is taking in Spain and we are delighted to introduce David Martínez. David was born in 1981, is international chess master and he has been teaching since 2006 when he started training David Anton. He currently works for chess24.com where he is in charge of the Spanish part, a job that combines with the high level training of chess players. He is also part of the board of directors of the Spanish Chess Federation and is the captain / coach of the women's absolute chess team. In the interview we will focus on your task as chess trainer at the highest level and especially we will present the work with Irene Nicolás and David Antón, in the image the three, and those we could already see in Peques and Más when they won the silver medal in the World Chess Championship within their category. We will get to know more about the work of a chess coach who works with kids from the infant stages.
How is the state of the art of Chess in Spain and how is it compared to the chess practiced by the current world champion Carlsen?
Chess in Spain is gaining a lot of popularity, a good job is being done at the base, with many amateur tournaments, there are a lot of licenses and tournaments evaluated very high and gradually it is getting closer and closer to people.
On a competitive level we need to take one more step than I hope they give the new promises. Our number 1 is the Grandmaster Paco Vallejo which is currently around 50 in the world rankings, therefore far from Magnus Carlsen. However, the current great promise is the Grandmaster David Anton, 18, runner-up of absolute Europe and although now around 150th place in the world rankings it is expected that it can reach very high. Of very similar level is the Grand Master Ivan Salgado, four years older than Anton, but with a similar ambition, talent and work spirit, so I also think he can get very high. If David and Iván manage to overcome Paco's records and place themselves around the top 20, I think that Spanish competition chess will suffer a boom that will influence all layers.
Should we introduce chess in schools and what do you think about initiatives like Checkmate to school failure?
Chess as a pedagogical tool has a fundamental value and also enhances numerous qualities that are "forgotten" in the training of students such as decision making in situations of uncertainty (something key in economic moments like the current one), constructive self-criticism, accepting some rules with their exceptions and, in general, logical reasoning. All these characteristics are enhanced from the moment the student passes the first phase of initiation and has to learn to coordinate his pieces, draw plans and take into account the rival.
I do not know about the project "Checkmate to school failure" more than its existence but the painting, without a doubt, is excellent and I wish you the best.
Chess as a pedagogical tool has a fundamental value
How is chess training in schools separated from extracurricular activities and what can be learned in a Chess Club?
Training in this regard has to be very different and completely adapted to the level of the students. If the extracurricular activity in the school is the first step by which the student can approach chess (because they do not have chess in that school yet), the training will be very basic, learn to move the pieces and play! Give the student simple and easily understandable instructions so that from the beginning he understands them and can play and have fun. The goal in this case is fun.
When there comes a large base of students interested in something else, such as competing, you can think of a chess club where you can give a twist and start teaching basic concepts of the game, strategy and learning that already requires an effort of student and a willingness to work that, of course, has to be done in the most fun way possible.
What is your experience with Head Chess and what kind of preparation do you do: future champions, playful learning, academy, etc.?
In Chess with Head one tries to enhance chess at all levels by providing the interested student with specialized training from the beginning. The experience in this sense of Guillermo Head It is huge since it has been carrying out an important dissemination work in chess schools for many years and being able to keep many of those children hooked to chess which, in the long run, gives way to great results. Again insist that these results are achieved with a combination of effort and fun that must be transmitted to the student to enjoy while giving the best of himself as in life itself!
The results in chess are achieved with a combination of effort and fun that must be transmitted to the student
What is the recommended age for children to approach chess?
The younger, the better. There are many examples of children with 4-5 years who are able to play and with some logic. I can't think of a better way to teach such a small child to reason.
What qualities does it contribute and which does not contribute to children practicing chess?
Those mentioned above: decision making, self-criticism, accepting the rules and learning to look for exceptions all under logical reasoning. Also, and although studies are lacking in this regard, I think it has a great impact on memory.
Hard to know that it doesn't contribute. Curiously, and contrary to what one might think, the high level chess players usually have a more messy mind than the average population, perhaps because of what we have said before about learning some rules but knowing that they have exceptions, look for them and use them in your favor. It may be that it favors the disorder.
We are going to introduce Irene and David, in the picture with David Martínez, and their latest successes. What kind of preparation is necessary with Irene and David to become world runners-up (in their age range), and runner-up of Europe (absolute) in the case of David, in addition to many other successes?
David and Irene are two totally different types of people, both in their game and in their personality and therefore my treatment towards them is totally different no longer at the coach level, more as a person. If something unites them both is the ambition to succeed, keeping their feet on the ground, self-criticism and their ability to strive.
His training as players has also changed a lot over the years, as is normal. When I started working with David, at the end of 2006, he was 11 years old and obviously gaps everywhere. We started working on logic reasoning and the understanding of positions, basically strategy together with the tactical part that is essential to execute the strategic plans. In a short time, which right now would be difficult to specify, I realized very clearly his enormous capacity for learning and respect for chess. At 13, more or less, it was already obvious to me, since I worked with him, that David would reach the elite since I managed to master the positions, understand them and demonstrate their great talent when something was explained to them, so then my work was based on expanding the number of positions I knew, the finals and giving great importance to the ability to execute, the calculation and the ability to analyze. Already with 14-15 years he showed to have a very universal style, without great deficiencies and without a clear preference over some positions or others and from there it is already just polishing small defects, improving strengths and helping him to remain motivated, to take advantage even more own work and look for the right weather and positions for training.
Irene is completely different. We started working at the end of 2010, she was 13 years old and was coming from a very bad world championship. Irene is emotional, lives and feels very intensely and over time has learned to control her emotions, accept defeats better and also not be afraid in positions where she may feel more uncomfortable. Irene has an incredible fighting ability, it falls, it falls again and every time it rises better. His way of learning has also changed over time. He has learned to work alone, memorize better and respect chess. She is very critical of herself and it is quite usual that after a great victory or an excellent tournament she asks me, just after finishing, for her mistakes. Under her shyness is a very nice girl who when she is comfortable is very close, this also reflects in her game that without ties is an exceptional creativity. With her it was necessary to do an important tactical work first and after expanding the number of positions where she was within her comfort zone.
David and Irene share the ambition to succeed, keeping their feet on the ground, self-criticism and the ability to overcome
List the qualities, with chess language, that you would highlight from the two champions Irene and David so that we can know them better. And what are the challenges they have left to achieve?
David would highlight his ability to understand positions, ability to calculate, thirst for victory and privileged memory, as well as a great interest in chess.
I would highlight Irene's critical ability, as he is able to find concrete solutions in any type of position, flexibility in the rules and fighting spirit.
There are many challenges left to both. For the closest years, David must first try to place himself in the top 50 in the world in the absolute category while Irene has a shot to get the U18 world championship and soon enter the top 100 players in the absolute world.
What do you think will be the decision for the future of both, will they want to become Carlsen or is there a lot of pressure to get it: investment, health, time, passion, training, etc.?
There is no pressure because in both cases their families support and encourage them regardless of the result. David is starting at the university and obviously that makes it impossible to compare himself with the best in the world, especially the first 10, who are dedicated exclusively to chess, with a very serious job, and that in that sense I see it impossible to reach them while Last your university education.
Irene for her part is already dedicated exclusively to chess and its progression, both in results and in understanding the game, show serious possibilities of becoming one of the 20 best players in the world. In this sense, the pressure is great, but it is exclusively what she feels, which sets very high goals and, to the delight of many, usually meets them!
How do you work with computers and where do you get the most out of them: openings, half game and endgames?
My technical work with them I do almost 100% with the computer. Today the analysis modules are much better than the best player in the world and also never tire! This makes, for these levels, it is absolutely essential to do the work with the computer, although not getting carried away by it, understanding what it tells us and "translating" your answers so that they are didactic and help in the training. We use it in all phases of the game and, although people usually give more importance to the job in the opening, in my case I get the same game for the middle game and the finals, where they force to review the assessments and calculations and usually give more concrete and exact variants than in the opening, where it is often more difficult for a specific game, where the computer really shows all its strength.
How do you teach children to think and face play?
Much of my teaching method is based on trial-error and experience learned. At these levels, with some exceptions, the concepts are already learned and assimilated so we train with varied positions where the issues are not clear, we must discover them, mix tactics with strategy and, in short, face a position as if it were a game . This of course is only applicable to high level players, who are the ones I work with today.
My method of teaching chess is based on trial-error and experience learned
Guillermo is specialized in basic chess and he is responsible for transmitting, in addition to respecting the rules, the first concepts, where the teaching and objectives are completely different and should not prioritize the interest in the competition and yes in the participation, enjoyment and knowledge of the chess world.
What weighs more in chess, intuition, work, effort, memory, analysis, rival analysis, etc.? And how does it evolve over time?
Talent is essential to reach very high ceilings but without work there is nothing. The most talented are able to learn from their own mistakes and this is a great step forward in training, not only as chess players, but also as people. The more you improve chess, the more logic and pattern recognition gain, since the positions resemble each other but you always have to discover nuances that can completely change the position for small details and this is what chess really does so interesting.
How can parents help to know and practice chess with our children?
Learning to play and enjoying playing games with the children. Of course you have to adapt to their level, let them express themselves on the board, not crush them and make the sessions fun. But without a doubt the key is to play with them as you would in any other sport. No one would think of competing football against a 4-5 child and imposing the greatest physique. We must do the same with chess, play with them, adapt to their level, help them reason and, in short, enjoy playing.
How can we get teachers to become more involved in chess teaching?
It's hard to say because I suppose there are a thousand different types of personalities as a teacher. For the vocational teacher the motivation is very simple. Chess teaches to think and there is nothing more comforting for someone who wants to teach than to be able to improve the thinking capacity of another person. Observing that someone is capable of doing things with his head that he had been impossible for some time was simply priceless.
For less vocational teachers, you should look for a motivation that includes your own fun since teaching chess is quite fun since you discover positions, new tricks and can investigate new positions and reasoning while explaining them. To myself, that I am a very vocational teacher, I love to analyze and teach new positions instead of the material that I have prepared years ago since I analyze it so carefully as if they were teaching me and the student notices that you are enjoying yourself learning from the position, you can teach and learn at the same time!
Chess teaching has also been revolutionized with the Internet
Why do they say that Chess clubs are running empty and how has the Internet influenced it?
Internet is perfect for chess. Playing online or teaching produces, today, the same feelings and more among young people. Given the flexibility of schedules, location and comfort that the Internet produces, chess clubs cannot do anything. Right now that I work on chess24.com we can watch videos of elite players that explain to us as if it were a class and without any difference to what a live conference would be, with the advantages of the schedule, interactivity and repetition that can offer a well-worked platform in such a way that teaching has also been revolutionized with the Internet.
And here the interview with David Martínez to which I thank the dedicated time and the complete presentation of his work and congratulate him for the extraordinary training work he is doing with the young chess players in Spain and specifically with Irene Nicolás Y David Anton. We wish you many successes for your school, for their projects and also for their students to maintain progression and a pace of improvement. We will be very attentive to know the future achievements of their students in tournaments that are celebrated around the world. We will also follow the advances of Chess with head and surely we will talk to them again to know more about Guillermo, which has been mentioned several times especially for his work with the kids.
