Chess competitions

[GoogleyEyes]

Dd1 just started going to chess club at school, and the guy who runs it has asked her to take part in competitions on a Saturday. I'm completely in the dark about chess, let alone chess competitions - does anyone know what it involves? I'm assuming she'll be in beginners category, or do they do it by age? I'm hoping it's less hassle than ballet...

Almost certainly by age. Is it an individual or team event? Whichever, you should be aware that agreeing to take part really is a commitment to playing all the games (usually 5 or 6) in the day/weekend - chess competitions are not knock out events, and children deciding they've had enough halfway through (or the parents deciding they need to leave early to fit in tea with Granny/ a birthday party) is really disruptive to the organization. So if your dd might not have the stamina for the whole thing (including the worst case that she loses most or all of her games), then wait till she's old enough and has enough experience at the club that she can cope with this.

Don't want to sound negative! Have seen too many kids at chess competitions who shouldn't be there because their parents haven't anticipated that it will be competitive and who aren't ready for them at all.

PM me if you want more info - how old is your dd?

She's 6, and I think it's a team game / playing for the school team - the brief chat I had with the guy who runs the club said it would be a weekend afternoon, not an all day thing.

That's all useful stuff to know. She's ok at losing and would be fine with waiting around as long as she had books and snacks. Thanks!

She will undoubtedly enjoy it much more than you will!

My DD has taken part in a few and each time I swear I will never let her do another one because I cannot bear sitting around for the entire day waiting and waiting and waiting for the final round. Even worse when the games finish really quickly and there is no chance to start the next one until the set time.

It is a big commitment from parents to take your child to these competitions but definitely worth having a go, because if they don't play the competitions their progress is slower.

Hello, my daughter is 7 and started playing in tournaments about a year ago.

Its a long boring day for the parents! And when they start competing it takes up quite a few Saturdays and alot of the venues are tucked away so a bit of travel involved even for the county tournaments.

My daughter loves it though and wants to play in every single one. Its all those shiny trophies and medals!

And I think its good for her, she enjoys the competitive nature of the tournaments and it is also good for teaching them good sportsmanship. I think since she has been competing I have noticed her concentration levels have improved dramatically. A lot of the tournaments are 10am-5.30 pm, usually 6 rounds - that's a lot of concentrating for such young kids!

Go for it, and if she gets the 'bug' just be thankful its a much cheaper hobby than horse riding! ;)