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!

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!

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.

Imagine a world where people all have excellent problem solving skills, where they are patient and respectful of each other on a daily basis.

A society where citizens live for the future and plan long term, thinking of where their children’s children will be, following through, seeing each goal to its conclusion with ease.

Now add to that an indefinable quality of artistic imagination, dreaming for more than can be reasonably expected, reaching beyond the status quo.

Chess can teach our next generation all these skills and more!

I learned the game when I was young and to this day I see the world as a giant chess game where any barrier can be conquered and any victory can be achieved. No goal is impossible and when I have a target in sight there is no stopping me.

The same glint I had in my eye when I faced an opponent at a chess tournament still exists today when I face a challenge, along with the insouciant grin that comes from the pure joy of the experience.

Intuitively most would agree that chess improves a student’s grades and ability to study. Numerous studies have been done over the years throughout the world that show this to be the case. IQ increases, reading test results improve as do math and science scores. However there are so many other skills children pick up naturally from learning and becoming good at chess.

Imagination is a must in chess. You cannot form strategies and tactical plans without being able to envision your goals. It is impossible to win a game without first imagining the victory. You are the one to make the pieces dance to the rhythm you choose. Without the player the pieces just sit dormant on a dusty board.

A child’s self confidence soars as the victories pile up, especially when that child can routinely trounce adults. Allow that child to teach other children or perhaps even the adults and he or she will master the game quickly. Nothing helps someone learn faster than teaching others and nothing does more for one’s pride than to see someone improve under one’s tutelage.

In order to achieve a victory one must consistently play well throughout the game. You can make forty excellent moves and one thoughtless blunder and lose the game instantly. As a result you quickly learn to be thorough in your analysis and patient with your moves. Imagine if we all applied this little lesson to our daily lives.

Thoughtless comments, heat of the moment bursts of anger, crimes of passion might just become things of the past to be studied as a part of a history lesson.

If every parent initiated regular family chess nights and if every school taught chess as part of their daily lesson plan imagine where our country could be. Children naturally are drawn to chess.

If you don’t believe me try an easy experiment. Go to an area populated with children, put out a chess set and see what happens. I promise you they will flock to the board and become immersed in a game. We all have the power to fuel our children’s existing passion for learning and help our next generation soar.

Let’s make a difference!

(Note: Thanks to Louis Lima for the wonderful photo!)

Image by ninahale via Flickr

In a little over a week we will have our first chess tournament of 2010!  The children are all very excited.  There will be over 40 children in attendance, their ages ranging from 5 – 14.  Some are experienced chess players, while some just learned how the pieces move.

We will have the tournament in the lunchroom at Delphi Academy of Florida on Monday, February 22nd.  It is the perfect location.

Delphi Academy, Clearwater Academy and Jewish Day School will all be in attendance.  Although Jewish Day School are the “new kids on the block” for these tournaments, a number of them have been playing in local tournaments on the weekends.

In the past we have kept it informal, focusing on the win of participation. However this year we will offer prizes to the winners of each section.

Although there will still be the joy of becoming a “tournament chess player” for all our new students, prizes are important motivation for study and play outside of class.