FIDE Trainer/FIDE Instructor Seminar

FIDE Trainer/FIDE Instructor Seminar
Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
27 May – 1 June 2009

The first ever FIDE Trainer/FIDE Instructor Seminar was held in beautiful Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq from 27 May to 1 June 2009 under the auspices of FIDE through the FIDE Trainers’ Commission, Asian Chess Federation (ACF), and Iraqi Chess Federation.

FIDE Trainers Peter Long (MAS) and Hassan Khaled (EGY) were the lecturers and examiners, and there were a total of 47 participants attended, of which 43 were from Iraq, 2 from Jordan, 1 from Bahrain, and 1 from Somalia.

The Trainer seminar was held concurrently with a FIDE Arbiter Seminar (another first for Iraq) conducted by Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh (IRI). Hassan Khaled who is also an experienced arbiter (IA) and organiser (IO) also served as his translator.

The passion amongst Iraqi participants for chess was evident throughout and the majority of participants demonstrated a level of chess between 2100-2300 with no one below 1900 and several at 2400.

Amongst all there was also a great desire for learning and for getting internationally recognised qualifications, and this was fuelled by lack of opportunities for many as a result of largely 20 years of war.

Topics covered included:

1. Introduction, FIDE, TRG, Regional Academies, Roles of Trainers & FIDE Trainer System
2. Benefits of Chess, Teaching Beginners, How to Organise & Run Scholastic Chess Programs
3. Tactics, Mating Patterns, Combinations & Sacrifices, Strategy of Attack, EXAM
4. Principles of Opening Play
5. Endings, EXAM
6. Working with Classical Games
7. Positional Elements
8. Decision Making (Evaluation, Planning & Choice of Move)
9. Calculation
10. Trainer’s Workshop (Methods of Teaching, Use of Computers, Purposeful Training)

Here is the full article.