Chess coaching guide

How we coach at MentoChess, written for coaches, parents and players who train on their own.

• How the level system works
  Eleven levels on the standard rating-class ladder, grouped into five coaching stages, with clear criteria for moving up.
• Assessing a new student
  A diagnostic first session that tells you where to place the student and what to work on first.
• Planning a lesson
  A repeatable lesson structure: warm-up, new idea, guided practice, game work, homework.
• Teaching a thinking process
  Checks–captures–threats, the blunder check, candidate moves and a calculation routine students can actually use at the board.
• Training tactics
  From single themes to mixed sets, timed solving and repetition of the same sets.
• Training endgames
  Theory first, then play the position out against the engine, then practical endings and studies.
• Opening training by stage
  Principles, then a simple system, then a real repertoire, then preparation.
• Teaching strategy and planning
  Imbalances, pawn structures and model games — how to make positional chess concrete.
• The game analysis protocol
  Student first, coach second, engine last — and every important mistake becomes training material.
• Time management
  Using the clock as a resource: budgeting, critical moments and avoiding time trouble.
• Tournament preparation and competition routine
  What to do in the weeks before, the day of the game, between rounds and after the event.
• Psychology and motivation
  Confidence, handling losses, tilt, and the differences between coaching children and adults.
• Homework and accountability
  Concrete, measurable homework that students actually do.
• Working with parents
  Keeping parents informed, involved in the right way, and realistic about progress.
• Group classes and private lessons
  How to structure group classes, and when private coaching is the better choice.
• Coaching the Beginner stage
  Teaching the game to newcomers and young children: playful, short, safe.
• Coaching club players (below 1500)
  Turning chaotic games into controlled ones: safety, tactics, technique.
• Coaching strong club players (1400–1999)
  Depth: positional understanding, calculation precision and serious game analysis.
• Coaching the professional track (2000+)
  Coach as partner: preparation, analysis and season planning towards titles.
• Using this app day to day
  A weekly workflow: sync, analyse, review, assign, report.