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Nkosilathi Sibanda, Online Reporter
SCHOOL teachers have to be capacitated in coaching the game of chess as this will help in setting proper standards for grooming players at a grassroots level.
This was said by the chairman of the Plumtree District Chess Association, Petros Maphosa who stressed the need for the incorporation of skills training between teachers, academies and other sporting institutions.
Maphosa said the growth of chess in schools has brought in as many coaches but they lack the requisite training to grasp the right fundamentals and keep up with international trends.
“Many schools now take chess seriously. Competitions are becoming stiff. While we acknowledge the growth of the sport, we however see the need to train teachers through coaching clinics. These training programs have to be done regularly by experts in the game. In so doing we are making it easy for school coaches to groom their players.
“Training teacher as chess coaches brings great benefits to the learners and the country. The few trained teachers have greatly increased interest of learners in playing chess for example in Matabeleland South Province where schools now contribute players to the junior national teams,” said Maphosa.
He added: “Teachers have access to children in their early childhood years. When well equipped with adequate chess knowledge the teachers can impact that knowledge to the children which in turn will make their understanding easier.
“Chess improves thinking capabilities of players and their arithmetic capabilities hence having children learn that at school from their teachers will also increase the provincial and national academic performances of learners.”
By training teachers, Maphosa believes it is a good move that will see more International Chess Federation (FIDE) masters and candidate masters emerge hence the need to equip teachers.
“As the Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF) is pushing to have chess as a subject that is taught in schools like in the former Soviet States which are now powerhouses, having well-trained teachers will go a long way in realizing that dream,” said Maphosa.
He urged schools that are planning to embrace chess to consult the ZCF and follow the prescribed standards.
“By using the Zimbabwe Chess Federation system of training coaches, schools would be better off. There is a system that aligns to district chess coaches, provincial and national coaches,” he said.
Chess coaching clinics targeting schools and independent coaches are regularly held in Bulawayo and Matabeleland South by certified instructors such as Moses Mutipforo and Thadeus Ndebele.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo based Chessmates Academy has planned a number of activities earmarked to help teachers coach chess.
The Academy’s director Priscah Sibanda said they are doing all they can to make sure that the next generation of chess masters in the country is in good and capable hands under the guidance of their teachers.
Bongani Ndlovu