Bill Kilpatrick, owner of Real Ability in CA, and I are working on a book based on our experience with teaching young children to play chess.  Over the last year we ran a pilot of an ecourse, teaching parents how to teach very young children to play.

The pilot program was a smashing success!

We are in the process of writing everything up in a book format, which will be published by Mongoose Press (an elite chess book publisher).

This particular book will be geared to parents of children aged 2-7.  Any parent will be able to pick up this book and learn along with the child, teaching them in a way that keeps them interested and wanting more.

We had parents on the pilot who knew nothing about chess, who did very well.  Various parents reported that they had incredible bonding experience through teaching chess and that their children remained interested in playing even after the lessons ended.

We’ll keep you posted on the book’s progress!

Dan and I are working on flyers for the new fall season of chess classes in our local schools.  We are interested in your thoughts on the benefits of chess for children.

In the comment section below, please tell us which one of the following benefits most interests you.  If you don’t have children, consider which attributes are most important for today’s youth.

It is important that you only select ONE benefit.  And please do not review the other answers until you have decided.

Which ONE of these life skills would you most like your child to achieve through chess?

• Self-confidence
• Patience
• Logical thinking
• Imagination
• Problem solving
• Focus

After you answer the question, please tell us why this is important to you.

Thank you for your help!

Summer is here and I imagine that you and your children are having fun!  Now’s a good time to take out a chess set and start teaching them the wonders of the game.

Did you know that you can start teaching a 4 year old the basics?  They are ready at that age to really enjoy chess.  Start slowly, one piece at a time.  Try teaching at the beach or at the park, after they had some good exercise.

If you want to get adventurous, you can even start teaching your 2 or 3 year old about the names of the pieces and how they move.  Make up little games, which help them practice the piece movement.

If your older child wants to teach your younger one, let them try!  My 6-year-old son really enjoys teaching our 3-year-old daughter.  They will play for almost an hour sometimes.  It can be a great bonding experience for them (as long as the older one is patient and encouraging).

You can also organize a chess party and invite your children’s friends.  If they know the game well, make it a little tournament and give out prizes.  Kids love tournaments and get very excited about them.

Enjoy your summer!

I am hosting a free writing contest here on my blog!  Please email your story to LauraSherman@earthlink.net.

The winner will receive a small prize geared especially for them.  Plus their story will be featured on this blog, as well as my writing blog.

This is a “Flash Fiction” contest.  Flash Fiction is a story that is very short (typically less than 1000 words).

Write about a personal chess memory you had as a child.  It could be the first time you played a parent, or when you stepped into your first tournament or when you played in your school’s chess club.

I have so many wonderful chess memories.  I look forward to hearing about yours!

Deadline is June 30, 2010.  Enter as many times as you like.

Image via Wikipedia

I asked my husband to write a piece on his tournament chess experience as a child. Here is a fond memory from Dan:

Tournament Life
By Dan Sherman

As I became more interested in chess as a boy, I knew I wanted to play in a tournament. Of course I hoped for success, but mostly I longed to be part of a competition with rows of players at their boards, each pitting their skill against an opponent.

Finally the day arrived. I walked into the large tournament hall, on the ground floor of a hotel by the airport. There were a few hundred players, of all ages and abilities. I found the pairings sheet, which tells all the players their board number and whether they have the white or black pieces, and sat down at my board. The Tournament Director thanked everyone for coming, made a couple of announcements and instructed us to start our games.

I lost my first game, but there were five more to go and I was thrilled to be part of this chess gala. Yet the best part of the tournament, the one that would improve my play the most, took place between the scheduled games.

I walked with a group of chessplayers to a nearby fast food restaurant. There was plenty of time before the next round. Inside the restaurant was an incredible scene, one I had never imagined. Chessplayers were everywhere. Most of the tables had a roll-up board in the middle, with players seated on both sides looking on as someone “went over their game” by reading moves from their scoresheet and re-creating the tournament game he or she had just played. I found an open seat at one of the tables and sat down.

The player showcasing his or her game gave their opinion of various moves, whether each was good or bad, and what moves might have been played instead and why. The onlookers chimed in with suggestions. You could ask a question, like “Why can’t white go here?”, and the player going over the game might say, “Right, I thought he might do that, and I was going to play this…”, or “No, he can’t do that…” and he or she would show you why. No one criticized you for suggesting something or asking a question.

For the three days of that tournament I happily lived and breathed chess. There was the morning game, then over to the fast food place to go over games and eat, or just sip a drink if you weren’t hungry, then the afternoon game.

I finished with two wins, three losses and a draw in the tournament. Yet starting with that tournament my skill improved greatly. I could beat my friends at school every time now. At subsequent tournaments I could see I had improved. And of course I always went with fellow players between rounds to eat and “go over games”.

Chess gives children so much self-confidence.  In a world where they are often ignored, their viewpoints and opinions are overridden by adults on a regular basis, it is wonderfully exhilarating for them to have an area where they are king or queen.

You may think that a child needs to be a champion in order to feel great about themselves.  Actually I have found that children just need to start playing.  They get an almost cocky edge when they know a bit about the game.  It’s the slightly crooked smile that is the dead give away.

When we teach at schools we are often greeted with an enthusiastic “CHESS!!!” when we enter the room.  Some days we come in and volunteer time in order to give the children a chance to just play.

Last Wednesday we went to Delphi and I entered a lower school class of 8 year olds.  Their teacher had given us permission to take them to the library to play a little.  It was open to anyone who was interested.  We were all amazed when every single student jumped up and formed a line.  They all wanted to play.

They love to play and learn.  They love to show off their skills and try new things.

Consider teaching your children to play chess.  Allow them to be proud of every step they take, praise them and watch their self-confidence soar.

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

Dan and I started a chess club at one of the schools where we teach.  We volunteer our time to come in and set up boards and pieces and just let children play (without instruction). 

We set up a chess ladder, where the children a ranked by victories.  If they win a game they swap places with the person they beat (if that child is higher on the ladder).

This is a time honored chess club tradition, one that is proving to be popular with our students.  We started this to encourage students to play more.  It is important that they practice during the week, trying out what we teach them about the game.

We update the ladder weekly and post it up in their lunchroom for all to see.  They love to see where they stand and enjoy playing with each other to move up to a higher position.  I hope to find a way to get them to play more, at home and during free time at school.  One of the best ways to improve at chess is simply to play. 

At the end of the school year we will offer the winner a trophy and prize.  Hopefully it will carry over to the next year and many students will try to be number 1 on the ladder!

Cole is six years old.  He loves chess and enjoys playing us and friends at school.  I thought I’d interview him:

What piece do you like the best?

The queen, because it can almost move like any piece.  It can’t move like the horse though.

What do you like best about chess?

When I win!

Do you still like to play if you lose?

Yes.  I still like to play when I lose because it’s still a game.  It’s not like you get a trophy or a million dollars if you win a game!

Have you played in tournaments?

Yes.  I have because my mom and dad teach me and the other kids in my class.  They put on tournaments at the school.

Do you like tournaments?

Yes!  Because it is exciting if you win or not.  It is tricky, like a riddle.

What kind of chess game is your favorite?

I like long games, because it takes longer to see who wins.

Do you ever teach chess?

Yes!  I teach my little sister.  She’s three.

Tell me about teaching her!

She doesn’t know how to play, so I teach her so that she knows.  I like to be the big brother. That’s what being a big brother is all about – teaching baby sisters what it is!

Image by andreasnilsson1976 via Flickr

There are not many official rules in chess. Once you learn how the pieces move and how you win the game, there are very few other isolated rules to learn.

There are a number of rules-of-thumb, though. These are principles to follow most of the time. They cover where to place your pieces at the beginning of the game, when to trade one piece for another, etc.

Once you understand these concepts and have gained some experience with chess, you can begin to play around with breaking these rules.

Dan and I taught a new student online last Friday. The lesson had been a birthday present for a 12-year-old boy. He was fairly new to the game.

The thing that impressed me the most, was his willingness to try new things, take a few risks, think outside-the-box.  Even though he knew that a bishop was worth more than a pawn, he was willing to experiment with sacrificing it to gain an attack against my king.

Although that sacrifice did not work in that case, if he continues to try out new ideas, he will be successful.  It helps to go over these ideas with a coach, who can teach a student more about how to implement those concepts.

It is important for a beginner to have good stable principles when they first learn chess.  It helps them navigate through all the potential confusions.  However, at some point, it is the right thing to allow them to play around with breaking the rules.

Image by avlxyz via Flickr

One common misconception that I hear a lot, is that in a game of chess, the king can be captured.  It makes sense, since every other piece can be taken. However, during the game, the king is never removed from the board.

Sometimes a student of ours will become puzzled because their parent or grandparent will insist that the king can be captured.  After all, it was how they were taught.

After I ran into this problem a few times, I started offering to give parents a free 1-hour lesson.  The purpose was so that they could play with their children in between lessons, and we’d all be on the same page.

When I hit on this concept, I was pregnant, so I would stipulate that they needed to buy me coffee and a scone (I’d get hungry at the drop of a hat).  It was a hit and I’ve kept it in as a tradition.  Even though I’m no longer pregnant, I still ask for a scone.  I like scones.

One father pointed out that sometimes people knock the king over.  Perhaps that helps to create a confusion.

Knocking over the king is more of a dramatic statement than a true ritual of chess.  It looks good in a picture or movie, but you rarely see the gesture in a tournament. Certainly you wouldn’t knock over your opponent’s king (that would be very rude).

One friend pointed out that throughout history, when a war was won, the losing king was often permitted to live, out of respect.  Perhaps this is the reason that the king isn’t captured in chess – it mirrors life.

Whatever the reason, trust me, you do not remove the king from the board.  He stays on, through to the very end.  If you have any questions on this, buy me a coffee and a scone, and we can talk about it some more.