Challenges of the Nigerian Chess Coach

The challenges of the Nigerian Chess Coach is multi-faceted. Top of the list would be competence and technical ability. Chess is one sport where you have to be relatively good to qualify to effectively Coach or tutor others. Every good Chess Coach has to be a decent player himself. A cursory look at the FIDE Nigerian rankings list exposes the problem. With our very top players struggling to cross the 2300 Elo barrier, it's clear that Nigerian players, most likely don't have what it takes to be quality coaches. Mediocrity breeds mediocrity. The current crop of top players got little or no professional training, and gleaned the little they have in their arsenal from reading books and playing thousands of games. Most lack the fundamentals. Knowledge of the basics is what separates chess players into their various categories. Second on the list would be the obvious - inadequate funds. You could watch football or basketball, understand and enjoy it without having ever touched a ball. Not so for chess. Chess spectators have to be chess players themselves inorder to understand what's going on during a game, let alone enjoy it. Bottomline? Chess is not a spectator sport and this translates to difficulty in getting sponsors of any sort. With a dearth of funds, the Chess Coach won't be able to procure resources like books, or gadgets necessary for chess development. He won't be able to research trending training techniques or go for courses to acquire the requisite information for upgrading himself, which would translate into upgrading his wards. Third would be the hostile chess environment. Chess tournaments in Nigeria are far and in between. Tournaments are the best platforms for testing the students to find out if they are grasping what's being taught, where shoring up is needed and where weeding should be carried out. And where there are tournaments, prizes are abysmal. Those for children are alot worse; organisers seem to feel they are doing them a favour, so a pittance is all that's left on the plate. Thus, coaches aren't able to properly weigh the effects of their methods properly or regularly. With little or no hope of any financial gain, the Nigerian Chess Coach has to be selfless and willing to sacrifice alot to give his wards the best training possible under the harsh conditions of the Nigerian Chess terrain. He has to glean knowledge whenever and wherever, research training methods, psychology (sports psychology), and do whatever he can to improve the students. Just like the proverbial teacher, he has to await his reward in heaven.