I’m just an episode in The Queen’s Gambit, which means that I am six episodes behind the rest of the world, but even one episode was enough to prove that chess is actually cool. It is a game of skill, strategy and perseverance. And we must teach it to our children.
Start when they are young
Chess is not just for adults or high school children. Young children with their sponge brains are prepared to learn – and this can help them improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Each child is different, so there is no exact age for all children to start learning, but they are probably ready sooner than you think, as Beth Weinhouse writes for Parents.com:
Not all experts agree on the ideal age for children to start learning to play chess. Some simply say that the sooner the better. “I believe that the younger the child, the greater the impact,” says Dr. Ferguson, of the American Chess School, who taught kindergarten students the game. “These kids have brains like sponges.”
Although some children are ready to learn the game at 4, the consensus among chess teachers seems to be that the second grade – that is, at 7 or 8 years old – is the ideal time to start. “I have had mixed results when teaching kindergarten and first graders, but in the second grade, they are all ready,” said Tom Brownscombe, school director for the US Chess Federation.
My own son started asking to learn to play chess around Brownscombe’s ideal age of seven or eight. But since I didn’t know how to play myself, I avoided the request for a while. Finally, I decided that the only thing to do was to try to learn to play with him. And I learned some tips along the way.
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Spend a lot of time with the basics
When I started looking for help to learn chess, I discovered Chess Without Stress, a beginner version of the game aimed at children from seven years old and is the perfect way to start if you are also learning to play. The beauty of this set is that it puts all strategy on the shelf while you learn the basic moves. It comes with a deck of cards, each containing an image of a chess piece and a visual reminder of how the piece can move.
For each time, a player takes a card and moves the piece pictured on the card. This makes some games pretty crazy at first because you have very little control over how the game progresses, but it helps to reinforce how each piece can move on the board. Once you’ve downloaded this, you can move on to the next “level” where each player gets three cards. This means that a little bit of strategy comes without being too overwhelming. When three cards start to feel very limiting, you move to the next level where each player receives five cards, giving you more and more options. And finally, you play full legitimate chess.
(By now, my son had mastered the movements of each piece. My older brain apparently needed more reinforcement, so I kept a card for each piece facing up as a visual reminder for a little while longer.)
If you already have a chess board and don’t want to jump to the starter set, try to play only with pawns first. Let them get used to how the pawns can move and capture. Then, one at a time, add the knights, bishops, towers, the king and finally the queen. Go slow and allow enough practice with each type of part before adding the next to avoid overloading them.
Be sure to also emphasize the basic key elements of the game while playing, including the importance of protecting the king at all costs and that the queen is the most powerful piece in the game. After they learn the basics, you can start teaching them different strategies. If you don’t already know some strategies, the Kids Academy YouTube Channel will be your friend:
Play regularly and have fun
As a beginner, I can say that probably the most vital thing for a beginner is to play regularly. Play one or two games together every day for a few weeks, if possible, and then set up a permanent “chess meeting” each week. Repetition will help reinforce the rules of the game and improve your strategic thinking over time.
If they want to practice on their own or more often, you can also sign them up for a free subscription at ChessKid.com, where they can play live against other kids (or a bot) and access puzzles and other content for beginners.
But most of all, make sure that they are having Fun. If they don’t would you like to play, do not force.