Over the past few years, transitioning to learning chess online had become a necessity for most people. Today we have the option of returning to traditional, in-person lessons. But what have we learned over these past few years? It’s become apparent that chess education can be seamlessly transitioned to online tools, which can actually enhance the learning experience in many ways.
Chess Entertainment as a Learning Tool
We’ve been using online chess tools for decades, yet still the pandemic has forced us to accelerate our adoption of more fringe learning tools. In particular, many beginner chess players have been binging chess streams on Twitch, melding entertainment and learning.
Chess streams are a great way to get yourself invested in the chess community. Especially as a beginner, you might be in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of chess. It’s important to foster this passion, and where most traditional learning tools ignore this, Twitch is great for it. You can also join associated Discord channels to make connections, ask questions, and listen to other skilled chess players evaluate what they saw on stream. These insights can be very valuable when coming from the right source, which leads us to our next point.
Online Chess Coaching
Taking advice from online sources, whether Discord or Twitch, should be passed through a filter before you take it too seriously. That’s part of what makes having a chess coach so crucial. Your coach can help direct you to the right channels, and help you pick out good advice from bad advice. Professional chess coaches are also up to date with online chess tools and literature, so the right coach can provide you with the right resources to help you best.
Reputable coaches also have a wealth of students learning from them, and you can take advantage of this through group lessons. Your coach will have the ability to build small groups of players that compliment each other in just the right way to accelerate learning.
Are There Any Drawbacks?
When it comes to school aged children getting into chess, online courses can lack one important thing – their friends. Having friends in the same class as you is a huge advantage of school chess clubs. That fact alone is a major factor in motivating students to participate in and enjoy chess. We love to focus on community alongside teaching chess, which a huge part of why we see so much success teaching youth chess online.
If you’re considering learning chess, online or offline, we can help. We host in-school and online chess clubs/lessons year round in London. We have a team of experienced teachers that can help you make your chess journey a fun one. Get in touch with us here.