How to create a chess culture by coaching, training, organization and communication
by Karel van Delft and IM Merijn van Delft, 240pp. (KVDC, 2010)

Read an excerpt here

From the Foreword by Arthur Yusupov
"In this book you will find a lot of ideas about the development of chess talent and about the creation and stimulation of a local chess culture. Karel and Merijn explain their views and share their experiences in the area of training young talents, coaching pupils, organizing chess events, and communicating and transmitting information to the chess audience.
The reader will find many useful topics and answers to many practical questions: what is the role of the parents, how to stimulate creativity, how to develop self-management, how to analyse your own games, and even: how to organize a weekend tournament..."

A great number of subjects pass the review: the educational value of chess, talent, motivation, the role of coaches and parents, goal-setting, self-management, making training programmes, physical factors and nurture, experimentation, mental training, creativity, concentration, psychological tips, chess thinking, workshop day in Apeldoorn called ‘Youth Meets Masters’, the study of strategy, endgame studies, youth chess players as trainers, didactics, self-study, the analysis of games (the Apeldoorn Analysis Questionnaire), the use of databases, training forms, training decathlons, talent days, the use of computers, theme tournaments, opening study, tactical exercises, variation calculation, visualization, working with volunteers, top-class sport versus recreational sport, making press releases, attracting sponsors, a study guide of the SBSA Youth Academy, email newsletters, making a chess newspaper, organizing tournaments (with a scenario), a list of team captain’s tasks, and school chess.

Developing Chess Talent also contains information about research done by Karel van Delft: on chess as a subject on primary schools, and on the question whether the study of positions is more effective with two-dimensional positions or three-dimensional ones.

Jan Timman, David Bronstein, Artur Yusupov, Loek van Wely and Rob Hartoch give their vision on talent development in interviews.

The book contains an extensive glossary of chess terms.

Merijn van Delft is a psychologist, an International Master, and professional chess trainer.

Karel van Delft is a psychologist, a freelance journalist, chess organizer and youth trainer.