teaching chess to kids?

i want to teach my 7 and 8 year olds how to play chess. we tried it the other night and they wre enjoying it for awhile but became frustrated with all the different pieces and different moves that they each make. particularly troublesome was the knight. they are really bright kids (top in their class and my 7 year old already skipped a grade) and i think that teaching them to love chess will really benefit them both greatly. if any of you grandmasters have any advice on how i can better teach them the basics id greatly appreciate it.

Well, remember that it takes time. It just plain takes time.


If you are asking shortcuts to teach them the rules, I can't help you. It's just rules. Part of the interest in the game is it's complexity. Maybe the easiest way to do it is to humanize the game; make up a story about each piece. For example, the rook was originally based on the elephant; elephants don't do a lot of moving side to side, they move in a straight line. So does the rook. The knight is a problem for players up to the very top levels; one of the key games of Kasparov-Anand was decided when Anand missed a knight fork (for which Kasparov mocked him later).


If you are asking for good ways to teach them strategy, I'd advise going to your local bookstore and picking up Yasser Seirawan's books. They are all very simply laid out with lots of explanations.

I taught several kids with various types and degree of disabilies. Some were at the level of 7 and 8 year olds.


I'd always start with the pawns, and play for an hour (or however long they were interested) with only pawns on the board. The next day I would add the rooks, and play with only pawns and rooks. Then with only: pawns and bishops; pawns and queens; pawns and kings; and finally, pawns and knights.


After they had all the moves down we would play with the whole set, and introduce the concept of winning by taking the king. It takes a while, but they all learned. I'm sure I had more fun than they did.

I think Phat Mack's ideas are great. My daughter gave me a book by Horacio Cardo "The Story of Chess" It's very well written, and I believe perfect for kids that age. Read it together. Most of all you have to make it fun.


SPM,...Queen pawn to Queen 4...

King's knight to King Bishop three?

ChessMates software. nfm.

Teach them the term, sicilian. grain it in their brains.

And then the words Grand Prix Attack and all there problems will be solved.

...since they will never have to worry about their results again: Opposition Below 2000, they win. Opposition above 2000, they lose.