10 Truths from a Chess Coach

What Every Chess Parent Must Understand – 10 Truths from a Coach’s Perspective

1. Talent Is Nothing Without Effort
   Every child has potential. Only disciplined work turns it into strength. Laziness disguised as “playful nature” destroys more talent than lack of ability ever did.

2. Consistency Beats Intensity
   Two to four hours of focused training daily is better than endless scattered effort. Long classes can’t stay intense. Short, sharp, and regular always wins.

3. Analyse Every Game
   A game not analysed is a lesson wasted. Each game must be written fully, reviewed the same day, and understood—without using engines. Real growth comes from self-correction.

4. Think, Don’t React
   Fast play and excitement show emotional instability, not genius. A good move played slowly is better than ten blunders made quickly. Thinking must become habit.

5. Solve Daily
   Tactics are the gym for the brain. A player who skips tactical training will freeze under pressure. Solve positions daily. Build calculation muscle.

6. Respect the Body
   Chess is mental war. Nutrition, sleep, and energy management matter. A tired or hungry brain can’t calculate. Nap 20–30 minutes, not more. Eat clean, rest right.

7. Detach from Results
   Trophies come and go. Progress stays. Play each move with care, analyse after, forget the outcome. Mastery begins when the child stops chasing medals.

8. Let Consequences Teach
   Shielding a child from failure weakens them. Pressure and responsibility forge champions. Fear isn’t an enemy—it’s energy to be channelled.

9. School and Chess Must Coexist
   If there’s no obsession with immediate results, let school continue. Chess complements education—it should not replace learning discipline in life.

10. Love or Fear Doesn’t Matter—Work Does
    Whether the child works out of love for the game or fear of missing out is irrelevant. Improvement has one condition: do the work, every day, without excuse.

Closing Note:
Parents, your role is to support process, not to soften the path. A child who learns to think, work, and face consequence will win—on and off the board.

Crafted by Sa Kannan, the Immortal Coach!

Randy Alstone

Reading a lot,
taking proper Action after,
creating something New,
being Determined,
staying Young forever.

Achieving great feats,
spreading Love,
being Strong always,
employing Tact,
thinking Objectively,
expanding the Name,
radiating Energy.

These are what I wish and try to do/be/achieve..

Signing Off,
Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

I Want You

I wrote this poem/want 4 months back, sharing it on Valentine's Day.

I Want You

I want someone to sit in silence with,

I want someone to learn together,

To play with each other,

To fight, at times, only to reconcile soon after.

I want someone to share dreams with,

To chase those dreams,

To write legacies together.

I want someone intelligent, beautiful and wise,

With an extreme knack for Chess.

I want someone who is equally health-conscious as me,

Someone with whom I can workout,

Talk about evils of gluten,

Share infinite amounts of coffee.

I want someone to care for, to love, to make love,

To bring a new life with.

I want someone, and I want you.

Signing off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Spark

I have written this poem in 2014, I think. Just found it while browsing through my files in the Laptop. Tomorrow a Tamil movie titled "Theri" is releasing, which translates roughly to mean "Spark".

Spark

Where is the fire in you?

The spark that created all that is meaningful,

Where is the fire in you?

The goal that showed all that is possible,

Where is the fire in you?

It is late, and you have let the fire to cool off,

But a Spark is all that is needed to light the fire once again,

Brighter than it ever was.

Here is the Fire!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

I Love You

One of my recent love poems, which I wrote 2 months back. Posting it today, for World Poetry Day..

I Love You

I prepare a million times in my mind,

What to talk to you,

Yet I barely speak a word,

When I see you.

When my pen meets paper,

Poetry flows,

When your eyes meet mine,

Silence fills.

But in silence, we converse.

In stillness, we connect.

Our eyes converge,

Our minds collide,

Our hearts embrace,

Our souls mingle.

We are two, yet One.

I Love You.

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Short

A short poem I wrote yesterday about a short Short fan(In her own words).

Short

Should I write a Poem now?

An unusual question popped in my head,

"Yes, of course", the obvious answer,

Came from my soul.

A dream has reached fruition,

A path is now starting construction,

Two souls are getting ignition,

And the world will be better for it.

You were normal, helpful, hard-working,

Friendly, beautiful, funny and calm,

The more I think of you, I get warm,

My thought trail goes cold.

You are Poetry, in miniature,

Will a Short Poem suffice?

Signing off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

No Point

A short poem I wrote today, for the occasion.

No Point

What is the point of living,

If you are not the goal?

What is the point of hope,

If you are not attainable?

I lost;

There is no point.

Let me try the next tournament.

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Verbal Overshadowing

I wrote this short poem about two weeks back, I think.

Verbal Overshadowing

I am the Poet,

Who lives his life

On Verbal Overshadowing!

You are the fast moving cloud

Above the clouds!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Regret

I wrote this so short poem yesterday, during a bus ride, if you have to know.

Regret

You are a storm of innocence

With a pinch of mystery!

I am the silent aftermath

With a load of regret!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Memory of You

I wrote this short poem on the late evening of August 12th.

Memory of You

What does not remind me of you?

You make it hard to live.

Yet I cherish all the memories,

For what are we without our memories,

The cute, funny, interesting, beautiful,

Sad yet treasurous memories.

Memories are as real as we want them to be.

I want your memories to linger till doom,

Even if it means labouring through the day.

Signing off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Of You

I started writing this poem a month or two ago, but on 23rd August I finished it. Here it is.

Of You

In sadness, I write of you,
To console myself.

In victory, I write of you,
To humble myself.

In solitude, I write of you,
To accompany myself.

In chaos, I write of you,
To reclaim myself.

In love, I write of you,
To express myself.

In hate, I write of you,
To exhaust myself.

In life, I write of you,
To live as myself.

In death, I write of you,
To accept my self.

Signing off,
Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned Forever!

Image

So, I wrote something like 3 months ago. Here it is. It is too short for a short poem, I would imagine.

Image

I don't mind dying,

If the last image in my retina is yours!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Beauty of Love

I wrote this short poem yesterday. The beauty of it is, it has a message within it, coded. What is the purpose of a Poem, without a message, right?

Beauty of Love

What is the use of beauty, if it isn't Yours?

What is the purpose of beauty, if it isn't Forever?

What is the value of beauty, if it isn't expressed in I?

What is the meaning of beauty, if it isn't shown as Love?

What is the form of beauty, if it isn't just You?

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

For You

This is another short poem I wrote, just few minutes ago. It's about a celebrity, who attracted me the moment I laid eyes on her, in my computer screen.
(Mistakes in the Poem are intentional.)

For You

I don't believe in Love at first sight,

Except for You.

It's like I have known you forever,

Known you, for You.

Your talent's plentiful,

I like you, for You.

My Love's beautiful,

I hope you see it, for You.

For You, I would do anything,

Be stupid or illiterate, or foolish or worse,

I will never be able to

Love you any less.

I will never be able to

Love you any less.

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Dream You

I had a dream, in which one of my crushes made an appearance, which woke up a creative flow in me, once I woke up, hence penned this beautiful short poem. (Dated: 22/7/2014)

Dream You

Your appearance in my dream

Distorts my reality a bit,

I am like an orbit-less Earth

Revolving around the Glorious Sun,

You.

Your smile in my dream

Still echos all over my brain,

I am like a senseless Poet

Praising the Beautiful Goddess,

You.

Your love in my dream

Messes my heart rate till now,

I am like a hopeless Romantic

Yearning for the Touch of Love,

You.

In my dream, you are fully mine,

I am Yours, always.

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Nature

Yesterday the Power went off in my home, just before the bedtime, around 11 p.m. The unbearable atmosphere inside the home pushed me to climb the stairs to the open terrace, and I spent some time there waiting for the Power to come back on.

Meanwhile, all the good stuff of Nature that I was exposed to, compelled me to write a short poem at that instant. By the way, I was live 'poem-ing', as I was 'Whatsapping' at that time with a friend. Here it is.

Nature

The calm, cool breeze induces me to relax,
The star-studded sky calms all my nerves,
The twinkling stars speak to my soul..

Life lived in touch with Nature is bliss, multifold,
He who ignores the God, travels hellish road!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Pink Angel

Last month, I wrote this Poem. I am happy to post it here, in my blog, on Valentine's Day.

Pink Angel

You are no ordinary girl,

You are indeed a Priceless Pearl.

You are an Angel, dressed in Pink,

At your view, my heartbeat sink.

When you look over my board,

My pieces tremble, in excitement.

Anytime I walk on the road,

I see your face on the pavement.

When I'm not thinking about my move,

I'm thinking of You.

Your walk radiates a patience,

Your smile twinkles with modesty.

Your mild stare accelerates my pieces,

Your glittering glare makes me resign.

Thought of You keeps me up at night,

I could not sleep or eat, until I write,

A Poem to describe your beauty and might,

For You, with anybody, I am ready to fight.

You, I want to win,

Beauty radiates from your skin,

I wish I were your next of kin,

As to not know You is in itself a sin.

I never knew myself as a Poet,

Until I met You,

My heart and brain are orchestrating a riot,

Whether to get You!

I have no questions in my mind,

You seem like a rare kind of kind,

If it's a slow game, I can grind,

You make my life go rewind.

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Wounded

I scribbled this poetic piece about 5 months back. It is being unveiled just now because of the content's topic.

Wounded

Everything reminds me of you,

What can I do?

Where can I go?

Whom shall I meet?

Few mistakes I made,

I lost you by fate,

What can I do?

Where can I go?

Whom shall I meet?

We were perfect together,

Almost of opposite nature,

Still had lots of passion,

What can I do?

Where can I go?

Whom shall I meet?

I am wounded forever,

I love you forever.

What can I do?

Where can I go?

Whom shall I meet?

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Moon or Star

The Poem I wrote today.

Moon or Star

There was a Moon and a Star,
Nothing else,
When I looked up at the Sky.

Wonder blossomed in my heart,
Instantly,
At that marvel of an occurrence.

I started to ponder on its significance,
If any,
Whether God had intended a message for me.

"Aim for the Star", was the message,
Probably,
"Or settle for the Moon".


Signing off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!

Thinking Makes It So

I wrote this poem few months back, but it fits the present situation perfectly, I think.

Thinking Makes it So

Why winning is sweet,
Losing is bitter,
Not the reverse?

Why eating is sweet,
Running is bitter,
Not the reverse?

Why fun is sweet,
Work is bitter,
Not the reverse?

Why slumber is sweet,
To wake is bitter,
Not the reverse?

In all reality, Nothing is Sweet,
Nothing is Bitter, Thinking Makes it So!
When Mind is set on a worthy goal,
Everything is Sweet, Nothing is Bitter!

Signing Off, Randy Alstone!

Stay Alstoned!