One important aspect of a Chess for Children instructional program is to introduce a few basic principles of the game as soon as the kids learn to move the pieces. When they start playing chess, many kids move the pieces randomly about the board without any idea about tactics or strategy. Teaching a few basic principles now will get them to think about why they are moving a particular piece. It will improve their chess game immediately and make it easier to teach openings later on.

Here are a few simple principles of the game that most experts agree are vital for children to understand:

1. Try not to move the same chess piece twice at the beginning of the game. This is a common beginner’s mistake which often allows one’s opponent to develop his pieces quickly while the beginner wastes time moving one piece over and over. It’s also dangerous because most of the time you cannot mount an effective attack with just a piece or two.
2. Try to control the center of the board. This means bringing out the center pawns and your knights as quickly as possible. You should try to move pieces that attack the four squares that make up the center of the board.
3. Develop your major pieces quickly. Bring your knights and bishops out early in the game after you move your center pawns out. Get them ready to mount an attack together.
4. Try to leave a pawn or two in the center. This will help hold the center and harass your opponent’s more powerful pieces.
5. Do not bring the Queen out too early. You will see kids constantly bringing out the Queen on the second or third move of the game. This is rarely productive and sometimes it can be disastrous. Your opponent will be able to chase the Queen around the board with lesser pieces. The result is that your opponent will have developed his pieces while your Queen is in constant retreat. Not very productive, is it?
6. Castle as soon as possible. Castling early gets your King to safety. You usually want to do this to the King’s side and get the King behind the protection of his three pawns.
7. Avoid premature attacks: This is another beginner’s pitfall. Launching an attack before sufficient force is gathered for the attack usually is not effective and can leave yourself open to counterattack.

Following these few general chess principles will help the beginning chess player make sense of the crowded board. Sometimes all the options and just the number of different pieces can be a little overwhelming for a child.

If you feel that your child is confused and frustrated by the complexity of the game, you might want to reduce the number of pieces and play a simplified game. The same principles can be followed with the reduced number of pieces and instead of tuning the game out, the child might be able to understand it better and probably will want to learn more. You can always add pieces as the young player gets more and more accustomed to the game.

Keep it simple and keep it fun!

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In the United States chess is finally making its move into the classroom. Schools are finally getting serious about chess for children. This isn’t a chess club that meets once a week after school. We’re talking about chess as an academic subject.

The movement in the United States has been spearheaded by New York City schools. They started in 1986 with the help of a non-profit organization. The majority of New York City Teachers feel that the program has been quite successful. They’ve seen improvement in academic performance and an increase in their students’ self-esteem.

But what do the kids think? A 4th grader at Public School #70 in the Bronx wrote to his chess teacher:

“Chess has changed my life. Last year I used to behave bad, but since I joined Chess in the Schools, it opened new doors for me. Chess is the most rewarding thing I have ever done…I hope I can keep playing chess for the rest of my life.”

Just hearing that enthusiastic response from a 4th grader speaks volumes about how New York’s chess for kids program is changing lives.

If chess instruction is not yet part of your child’s school curriculum, you might want to consider making the suggestion to your school’s teachers and administrators. If you need some facts to back up your position, please see our August 8 post, which discusses scientific studies that prove that learning chess at an early age benefits a child in many significant ways.

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