I tutor chess at a residential facility (and school) for juveniles who have severe substance use disorders.
To help celebrate the end of the school year, I have been invited to give a simul–or perhaps more than one, depending on the level of interest generated.
Many, but not all, of our players (ages 13-19) are beginners. We have about 30 chess players at the moment.
I would welcome any and all advice on how to make this event as beneficial as possible for our students.
I particularly would like to know what is a reasonable number of players to include in a session (we will have about 2 hours and 15 minutes per session), and how I should plan for, and play, during the event.
If you have 20 players in the simul, you can get it done in around 2 hours. 5 to 10 seconds per move X 20 players X 40 move average game = 80,000 seconds or around 2+ hours. Of course, this assumes you are moving fast, keeping up a patter to entertain the players, and not worrying about your result. Some games will go faster as players resign early, some will drag on. You have to keep up a consistent pace and not dawdle over moves if you want to stay within the 2. 25 hour time frame.
Not sure what your rating is, but a strong player can play fast and loose and win lots of games. Do not try to win every game. A few losses and draws sprinkled in keeps the whole crowd of players and the spectators involved and motivated. Grinding out and winning all of the games over a long period of time makes the players not want to play in another event like this. This is a classic mistake by GMs who, believing they have some sort of reputation to uphold even though 99.99% of the people do not know who they are, try to rub out all of the players over 11 hours. They never get invited back to play, crimping their income in the long run. Nobody buys a GM dinner when he crushes everyone. They forget that a simul is an entertainment to make people happy and excited to play chess.
Players who win games or draw have a story to tell for years. They are more likely to keep playing chess, with attendant improving of behavior as well. They will realize that everyone makes mistakes and that they should keep trying even when all seems lost. The occasional “oops” you make you should laugh at and resign graciously. Make draw offers to tenacious players near the end of the time period and congratulate them on a tough game. Everyone is likely to be grateful that you made such a great effort on their behalf.
In many simuls, players are given one or two passes. Some GMs give no passes and demand a move be made. One idea is to walk around with a stack of poker chips and place it by boards you are giving a pass. You collect the chip when you come around again or place a second trip for a board. By the third pass they have to make a move as they have had about 5 to 8 minutes to think on one move. Given the time constraints, you might limit passes to one. Use you discretion. Players should wait to move until you come to the board. You must make your moves as quickly as possible, spending only a few seconds to think and move. In the end you will be physically tired, but emotionally charged as you see these students grow and improve in all sorts of different ways.
Depending on the time constraints and how long you think the simul will last, you might want to give a brief lecture before the simul. An interesting or instructional game can help peak player interest. I remember when former World Chess champion Tal gave a lecture before his simul. The game featured a position where both Queens were under attack, but neither Queen could be taken as that lost the game. If the players are weak enough you may be able to finish the simul in under 2 hours. I possible recourse is to put a clock on the last few games to get them over with. This is not a great thing to do, but it does guarantee a definite end time for the event. I believe it is usual to wait until there are only 2 or 3 games left before doing this, and usually the player get 5 minutes versus 10 minutes for the simul giver.
I would not use clocks just to finish the games. By that point you have only few games and are at their boards quicker putting a lot of pressure on. If the time you set for the event runs out, the last couple of games can be called draws or be adjudicated using players or spectators to decide the result. Make sure to thank all of the players and spectators for being there. Ask them if they want to do another event some day.
One time, I gave a clock simul with 24 kids at a camp. We had only two hours to do it and set one hour each on the clocks. Bad move. The little rascals figured out that if they played fast I would not be able to physically get around to all of the boards and play a 40 move game. At an average 2 minutes a circuit I was able to get around about 30 times. In the beginning I was almost running to the boards and banging down moves and clocks. They hung on tenaciously and encouraged each other to play faster and better. While I won 14 games and drew two, I lost the last four on time and four others on blunders. Since I promised chess books to anyone who won a game or drew, 10 good chess books were handed out. It was a little costly for me to do, but it was worth it to see them clutching their prizes. It was tiring, but fun. The parents took all of us out to dinner.
I’ll never forget a simul that Walter Browne gave in Pittsburgh in the 1970’s. It started with 30-40 players but got down to one tough game, against a future master named Mark Eidemiller. Browne got out a clock and gave both players 5 minutes (I think). That got the game over on time and provided an additional shot of drama, because Eidemiller was certainly a competent 5-minute player.
Well, that’s a little far afield. It doesn’t sound like any of your opponents would warrant that kind of treatment. If it comes down to one game that looks like it’s going to drag (or two games or three), as some people have already suggested, you can just offer a draw. But, if the game is looking interesting, it’s tempting to play it out; whoever is left will enjoy watching. Whatever works.
When I have given simuls in large areas with novices present (i.e., college, shopping mall, etc.) I have found it useful to have available a list of key simul rules. In those “public cases” new players might sit in during the simul. In cases where everyone starts their games at once, with no new players during the simul a review at the beginning will be useful.
The following was paraphrased from The Official Chess Handbook by Kenneth Harkness with some tweaks. You may have to edit, or shrink the size for your situation.
The MASTER plays with the White pieces in all games, unless he agrees otherwise.
The PLAYER (contestant in the display) plays a move only in front of the MASTER when the MASTER reaches his board. Even if he has already thought of a move, the PLAYER must wait for the MASTER to reach his board and move only in front of the MASTER.
If the PLAYER does not make a move when the MASTER reaches his board, the MASTER may claim a won game.
The PLAYER may, when the MASTER reaches his board, occasionally make the following and more moves while the MASTER is there, provided that he can immediately reply to the MASTER’S moves.
On rare occasions, the PLAYER may postpone his move, but only with the MASTER’S consent – this is called a “pass.” Typically 3 “passes” per player are allowed during the exhibition.
While the MASTER is at other boards, the PLAYER must not move the pieces. Touch-move is in effect for the PLAYER but not for the MASTER. If the MASTER sees that the position on the board has been changed, he has the right to claim a win.
The PLAYER may not change a move he has made. However, for the MASTER, a move is considered final only when the MASTER has played a move on the NEXT board.
If the PLAYER must leave temporarily, the PLAYER should place a sheet on the board indicating they will be right back. If the PLAYER resigns, after resignation all pieces should be picked up, or placed in the middle of the board.
Pragmatically, if you are decent at blitz and know openings better than your opponents, RUN for the first few cycles of the simul. They will blunder with fast moves and make the games quicker.
GM Larry Evans gave a simul in Lincoln once, for about 30 people, including a couple of experts and A players.
He knew which players had high ratings, and he played them cautiously while stringing the weaker players along. Then, when the games against the strong players started getting to key stages, he quickly knocked off the lesser players.
The strong players, who had gotten used to having several minutes between moves, now had Evans standing in front of them every 30-40 seconds. Evans wound up giving up one draw.