Fourth Interview Questions

Some of these questions are similar to previous questions, but I am trying to get another opinion, seeing as I am interviewing a different person.

 

1. What is the best way to win a game of chess?

2. What is the best way to teach someone the basics of chess?

3. Are there any good techniques to use when teaching others advanced chess techniques?

4. Would you suggest any books or articles that could help me answer the first question?

5. How important is playing against people who are "better" than you?

6. Do you think solving chess puzzles increases your ability to perform well in game?

7. Would you say there are any obvious mistakes to avoid that occur often in the game?

8. Do you think any specific openings are worth studying over others?

9. What do you think makes a grandmaster so good at the game?

10. Would you agree this game increases important academic traits like logic and memory?

11. What is chess notation?

12. Do you think using chess notation increases a player's ability to improve in game?

13. What are some ways a player can benefit from studying their own games?

14. What items would you think are essential in order to teach a class about chess?

15. How important is studying "chess prodigies" for personal improvement?

16. Why would some one pursue further knowledge of chess after knowing the basics of the game?

17. What is a better use of your time in order to improve? Playing one long game against an even opponent or playing multiple quickly won games against lesser opponents?

18. How can one pursue a "higher knowledge" of the game?

19. What would be more important in game? Being flexible to your opponent's moves or being consistent in your own strategy?

20. How can one teach beginners advanced terminology of the game without having them confused and lost? 

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

 1.) For my independent component 2, I plan on solving a large amount of chess puzzles over 30 hours of time from the book, “CHESS, 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games” by Laszlo Polgar.            

2.) I will solve puzzles in intervals of at least 30 minutes, and will record every single one I solve in a journal, which will include my personal solution and the actual solution. I will try to solve as many as possible in the time intervals I have.

3.) This will be extremely useful for solving my EQ because one of my answers is to solve as many puzzles as possible. I need experience doing this to be able to instruct others on how to do it. Also, my activity will include solving a puzzle with the class, so I think it will help me with the presentation. 

Independent Component 1

Literal: 

a. I, Diego Cortez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

b. For my independent component,  from the 20^th of October 2011, I have logged in a total of 48 hours on Chess.com after playing an overall number of 181 games against ranked opponents. (The average time for a game was 15 minutes. )

Interpretive

Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.

With my topic being on chess, I can't start teaching what I don't know about. I needed a lot of experience with the game to be able to develop a different perspective on the subject. With so much experience in the past months, I have definitely improved my skill and have a better understanding of the game. 

I thought it demonstrated hard work because most of the games are only a few minutes long, so I had to play more to get the hours I needed. I could have just played turn-based games( day-long games) and gotten easy hours like that, but instead I thought more games would increase my skill and help me out more than just a couple of really long games. 

Applied

How did it help you answer your EQ?  Be specific and use examples.

My EQ is "What is the best way to win a game of chess?" It would be impossible to answer this question with relevant  answers if I had no experience with the game. My third interview( Nguyen, Thongminh "Interview 3." Personal interview. 25 Jan. 2012) told me the best way to improve was to just keep playing games, and that is essentially what I have done with my independent task. A potential answer I currently have is to learn from more experienced players when you play against them. In a game played this past week, I had a superior position the entire game but still lost from a checkmate that I had never experienced. So after the game was finished I messaged the player and I was able to learn the technique he used to pull that surprising win. Overall, these hours of independent task have provided a level of experience and understanding of the game that I previously did not have. 

Hours Log Calendar (google doc):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtOdVDzQH5hJdDFSbXgtd01BdVdWVWRoN042eC03a3c#gid=0

Evidence of 30 hours of work: 

For the evidence, I will simply provide my account's(diegocortez28) public game archive on chess.com. It keeps track of every single game I have played on the site. I used games from October 20, 2011. 

http://www.chess.com/home/game_archive.html?member=diegocortez28&show=live

Presentation 2 Rough Draft

Google doc link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ohkod8eLSIZdLfZztLy9W4s7C4NHZs6uoydHScDwQY4/edit