GM Gawain Jones on strategic thinking in chess

Each day this week CSC is hosting pupils from our schools at the Global Chess League in London, a televised tournaments featuring many of the world’s top players. Today it was the turn of Park Primary and Stepney Park Primary, two schools from east London. Thirty children enjoyed a morning of chess lessons before watching a match between the Continental Kings and the Mumba Masters in the afternoon.

The highlight of the morning session was a talk from Grandmaster and three-times British Champion Gawain Jones. Gawain spoke to the children about the importance of strategic thought in chess, using the famous example of Game 9 from the 1984 World Championship Match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov to illustrate his point. The game is a great example of how strong chess players do not just calculate many move ahead - they also need to be able to visualise the long-term strategic implications of their moves. Karpov’s amazing 47th move clearly had a strong impact on Gawain, and we are sure his talk will also be long-remembered by the children, who gained a valuable insight into what it takes to reach the top in chess.

Following Gawain’s talk, the children were joined by two more Grandmasters: Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Dinara Wagner, who proceeded to take on all our pupils in a simultaneous display. It was a great day out and an inspiring experience for the children.