Chess for Rookies: Avoid Blunders!

Completed by 7 learners

Ages 7-12

Live Group Class

In this course, students will learn to track the important elements on the chess board in order to avoid blunders.

Louisa Hou

Average rating:

5.0

Number of reviews:

(216 reviews)

Star Educator

Live video meetings

1x per week, 2 weeks

3-6 learners per class

55 min

About Learning Overview Teacher Reviews

What's included

2 live meetings

1 hrs 50 mins in-class hours

Class Experience

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Hello Learners! 

Welcome!

This class is aimed for young students who are already familiar with the rules of the game, but struggle with blunders. (mistake moves) Blunders can be especially frustrating because one move can turn the game around completely, for the better or worse. A player can prepare thoroughly for the opening and learn all the tactics and still give pieces away. Often time, young chess players are told to "just be careful", but are not offered the correct tools for the job. For this reason, we will go through all the elements that a chess player should track throughout the game. Of course practice makes perfect and chess is not an exception. Eventually experienced chess player will be able to go through the process automatically. In order to add the element of practice, we will also play a full game in the end of each class. 

Class 1: 
- Watch out for attacks! 
- Game demonstration 
- Game time! 

Class 2:
- Squares and territories 
- Game demonstration 
- Game time!

For the class, I will be using an online platform as well to make sure that everyone can follow on the screen and have the same starting point. An online account for chess platforms is not obligatory for the participation. 

At home, I recommend everyone to have a chessboard for general practice and play because in the case of tournaments, students will have to use real chessboards. To play with real chessboard will habituate students to not only play online. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to communicate with me! 

Looking forward to meeting you!

Louisa

Learning Goals

Students will learn to keep track of all the pieces throughout the game.

Other Details

Supply List

We might play a game in the end using the platform Chessonlinefree. This website should not track your data. Depending on your browser, I would recommend to have an add blocker to avoid distraction.

External Resources

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Meet the teacher

Louisa Hou

Joined July, 2020

5.0

216reviews

Star Educator

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

To try out chess club or classes, please reach out for a new student coupon.

Dear parents and learners, 

Welcome to my profile! Thank you for your interest in my classes. 

I have a degree in psychology from McGill University with a strong interest in child development. Previously, I worked on multiple projects on the development of e-health tools for breast cancer prevention at the Loiselle Lab and education-related studies at the Pragmatic Lab at McGill where we experimented to better understand young participants’ learning process on screens. To further my insight on the delivery of information online and e-learning, I am currently conducting research on the effects of Zoom fatigue as a graduate student at Laval University.  

I have more than 6 years of teaching experience working with children from the age of 6 to 14, from the McGill joint program like the Taylor Adolescent program at the Montreal Fluency Center to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry program at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. I also taught ESL online to children from China and Japan. In addition to working with children, I worked as a teaching assistant for the sleep mechanism course at McGill. (Highly recommend it!)

These experiences equipped me with scientific knowledge, strong observational skills and flexibility to adapt my teaching style to work with students from different cultural backgrounds or with different needs. I believe that learning is supported through intrinsic motivation and a growth mindset. In addition to the content learning, It is important for all learners to understand the learning process and psychology. For this reason, I put a great emphasizes on breaking down each step and representing all ideas as concretely as possible through imagery. Lastly, the best way for knowledge to stick is through fun discussions and real-life applications. My vision is for my students to become independent learners and be able to improve their own study plan according to their strength and weaknesses. 

Lastly, and most importantly, I played chess throughout my childhood and I wish to introduce my passion to young learners. I played competitively in Canada for many years, notably at the Canadian Youth Chess Championship and had the chance to represent my country in international competitions such as the World Youth Chess Championship. I think this game is a fun way to develop strategies, analysis, planning, empathy and most importantly, make friends with others and the self. 

I look forward to seeing you in the classroom!

Warm regards, 

Louisa