This book is both an excellent manual for independent study, and a valuable instructional aid for chess trainers and teachers. Many experts even consider that nothing better of its kind has been written.
As a program for training chess players, it was developed by Victor Golenishchev, a USSR master and honoured trainer. Golenishchev's programs (the present book, and also the programs for 2nd category,
1st category and candidate master) still retain great methodological value and are successfully employed in chess teaching. It is noteworthy
that the present work is extremely popular not only with our trainers, but also with foreign experts. The present edition of this classic book has been updated with numerous examples from the games of the best players of recent years, and reflects modern views on chess. The editor-in-chief is the multiple world champion Anatoly Karpov.
This program is intended for the teaching of chess in schools and junior clubs, and is aimed at trainers, teachers and club organisers, working with young chess players.
The program assumes that the pupils know the moves of the pieces and understand the aim of the game, although the more complicated rules will be unfamiliar to them.
The teaching plan is aimed at 75 lessons (twice a week, each of two hours) - a total of 150 hours.
The scheme of a lesson is roughly as follows: checking of home assignment, explanation of theoretical material, recording by the pupils of the home assignment and a practical part. The length of the theoretical part
of the lesson should not exceed 20-30 minutes, since most of the pupils will be in junior school classes. Chess attracts them above all as a game, and in an effort to cover too much the teacher may kill the keen interest of the young listeners.
