Chess coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

by Alexey Root
3/24/2020 – IM Dagne Ciuksyte has represented Lithuania and England in Chess Olympiads. Her peak FIDE rating was 2450. Now she coaches chess, in the shadow of COVID-19. Inspired by a ChessBase article, she is adding “chess writing” to her career. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Dagne Ciuksyte.

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Coping in crisis

IM (and WGM) Dagne Ciuksyte emailed me after ChessBase published "So you want to be a (chess) writer?" a couple of weeks ago. Since COVID-19 (aka “the Coronavirus disease”) has curtailed her in-person chess coaching, Dagne wants to add chess writing to her chess-playing and chess-coaching careers. I interviewed her via email to learn more.

AR: How are you as a coach adjusting to COVID-19?

DagneDC: It is hard to believe how quickly everything we are used to has ended! One after another, my chess workshops, events, and private lessons have stopped. At the time of this writing, the schools in the UK are still open, so I have my lunchtime and after-school chess clubs running. Not to despair, I’ve moved my chess coaching services to online chess websites; the websites are ready and have everything in place. I use my prepared material in ChessBase files with my students.

Are any of your family members chess players and, if so, in what ways do they participate in your chess business?

Unavoidably, my three children are chess players and have a few deep insights into chess up their sleeves. It’s all down to their mum always willing to share something new about chess.

From time to time, I run junior chess coaching events. At those events, my 12, 10, and even 7-year old children teach others, including some 6-year-olds. I call it the 'Kids to Kids' project.

My children are familiar with my teaching style. We look for a twist in explaining the basics of chess. For example, we started using sparkly 'jewels' as roadblocks as in Jaan Ehlvest’s brilliant book Chess Gymnasium.

rook drawingIt’s so wonderful to run my chess business with my children! Usually, my chess events' leaflets have drawings by my children and their cousins. Or my business’s Facebook page may have a post by my 10-year-old. It is our family’s day out to run a fun and social chess event locally with my children playing in the tournament and selling the light refreshments in between the games!

How has being a woman helped or hindered you in your chess-playing and chess-coaching careers?

Being a female chess player is nice in some ways. Win a female prize or a game against a grandmaster, and your performance is already a success. However, as a female player, you may not be taken seriously. I have had a few grins and puffs from grandmasters in the past when trying to convert the material into a win. Regarding my chess-coaching career, over the last few years, I’ve been leading the advanced group of girls for a registered UK charity ‘Cambridge Girls’ Chess Initiative’ (CGCI). We aim to promote chess among the girls, providing them with a welcoming, pressure-free space. It is a joy to be a role model for the girls!

What will be your next career moves?

Listening to Natasha Regan’s and Matthew Sadler’s insights on AlphaZero play (as in the YouTube video “Exactly How to Attack” DeepMind's AlphaZero vs. Stockfish), I started wondering what if we are delaying our students’ progress in chess by teaching our infamous point system for the chess pieces?! Only after rigorous training of valuing material by that point system, a chess coach usually switches to teaching the relative values of the pieces. But perhaps that later switch is too late. Maybe, instead of teaching the point values, we should concentrate on analysing various positions with regard to the pieces’ activity and mobility in the battle. Those twists and turns of chess will be discussed if I create chess videos.

In the immediate future, I look forward to a few days with my children setting up our 600 chess pieces into different scenarios for a photo shoot session. I'll need these photos for my standard chess and for my variants of chess events, once we are allowed out again!


Two highlights from Dagne Ciuksyte's chess career
 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 b5 6.Bd3 Qb6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.0-0 Nf6 I wouldn't play 8...Nf6 anymore... 8...Qb8 9.Re1 Bd6 10.a4 b4 11.Nb1 Nge7 9.e5 b4 10.Ne4 Ng4 11.Bf4 Qa5 12.Re1 Ngxe5 There's no way back for Black, other than accept the pawn... 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qh5 Nc6 15.Ng5 g6 16.Qf3 Be7 17.h4?! Unnecessary delay. Better is 17.Nxf7!? 0-0 18.Ne5 17...0-0 18.Qg3 Bb7 19.Ne4?! 19.h5 19...e5 20.Bh6 Black to play. What would you play? 20.Bg5?! 20...d5 It is so nice to show your opponent (who happens to be a Grandmaster!) you've got your own ideas! 21.Ng5 e4 22.Bf1 Bf6 23.Bxf8 Rxf8 24.a3 Be5 25.Qe3 Bxb2 26.axb4 Qc7 27.Rab1 Black to play. What plan should they choose? Bd4 28.Qd2 Ba7 29.c4 Ne5 30.c5 Bb8 The threat is stronger than the execution! (A. Nimzowitsch) 31.f4 exf3 32.gxf3 h6 33.f4 Nc4 34.Bxc4 hxg5 35.Bf1 gxf4 36.Bg2 f3 Doesn't AlphaZero teach you that pawns tend to get in your pieces' way?! 37.Bxf3 Qg3+ 38.Qg2 Qxh4 39.Re2 Kg7 40.Qg4 Qf6 41.Rd1 Bf4 42.Bxd5 Rd8 43.Qg2 Qf5 44.Qe4 Rxd5 45.Rxd5 Bxd5 46.Qxf5 gxf5 47.Re7 Kf6 48.Ra7 Be3+ 49.Kh2 Bc4 50.Kg3 Be2 51.c6 f4+ 52.Kh4 Bf2+ 53.Kh3 Your move. Bxa7 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Bauer,C2562Ciuksyte,D23340–12002B4326th Christmas Open Masters5
Radulski,J2513Ciuksyte,D23380–12004B423rd Open3

The Scandinavian is a rarely employed opening on the hightest level und guides your opponent on much less familiar terrain than for example the Sicilian, French or any 1.e4 e5 system. After 1.e4 d5 Black fights for the initiative from move one.



Alexey was the 1989 U.S. Women's Chess Champion and is a Woman International Master. She earned her bachelor’s degree in History at the University of Puget Sound and her doctoral degree in Education at The University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies at UT Dallas since 1999 and is a prolific author.

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