A Complete Guide For Teaching Chess To Kids

When it comes to teaching chess to kids, I feel like I have a lot to say. Because, although I never played a lot of chess growing up, I did teach both my girls to play when they were young. And it was, and still is, one of their favorite hobbies to this day. So if you’re worried about teaching your kids this classic game, don’t worry. If I can do it, as a complete chess newbie myself… Anyone can!

We’re going to start by talking about the benefits of chess for kids, then I’ll give you a step-by-step guide on how to teach your children chess, then I’ll share some products that I think could help you throughout this journey!

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What are the benefits of teaching kids chess?

This post goes into a lot of detail about how teaching your children chess can benefit them, if you’re interested in learning more. But I’m going to my best to summarize here…

• It builds critical thinking skills like problem solving
• It’s a STEM activity
• It improves memory
• It increases focus
• It provides an alternative to screen time
• It can present kids with valuable opportunities to socialize
• And it can even build confidence!

Teaching Chess To Kids – Step By Step

Now that you’re hopefully convinced to give chess a go, let’s talk about the steps you’ll need to take to teach your children how to play…

(Note – Older kids are likely going to be able to pick up on the game faster, so you might be able to teach them the basics in one day. But younger kids may need breaks in between each step, to allow them the time absorb what they’re learning.)

1. Start With The Pieces

Before you can ever play a game of chess with your kiddo, they need to understand what each piece is and how it moves. So you’ll need to sit them down, show them each piece one by one, tell them the name, and show them how it moves across the board.

The key is to go slowly with this, answer any questions they have, etc… You may also find it helpful to test them afterwards, to help them memorize the information in an interactive way. Think of it almost like flashcards, you can hold up on piece and ask them if they can recite the name. Then hand the piece to them and ask them to move it around an empty board.

Once you feel confident that your child has a solid enough grasp of the pieces to move on, you can proceed to step two. Remember that you can always correct your little one later on, if they attempt to make any illegal moves. They’ll solidify the rules in their mind best through repetition and that takes time.

2. Teach Them How To Set Up The Board

This step is fairly straightforward, simply set up the board on your side and then instruct/help them set up the board on their side as well. Once again, they don’t have to have a perfect understanding of this right away. It’s something that they’ll memorize over time, the more games they play and the more boards they set up.

3. Give Them A Rundown Of The Rules

Once they understand the pieces and how the board is setup, you can explain the basic rules to them. And I promise this is the very last step before you actually get to play a game with them!

• Start with explaining the winning conditions to them… What checkmate is, what checks are, and that they need to avoid their king becoming checkmated at the same time as they attack yours. And finally, talk about draws and how they can be achieved (through mutual agreement, by stalemate, etc)
• Next, teach them about taking pieces. The trickiest part of this step for most kids is understanding how pawns capture pieces, since they capture in a different direction than they move and they’re the only piece to do this.
• Finally, tell them about all the “extra” rules. Such as how to castle, how to promote pawns, and if you’re feeling fancy… how to perform an en passant.

4. Play Some Games & Have Some Fun

Now for the best part, you can finally start playing some chess games with your kiddo. Focus on simply having fun, and correcting any technical mistakes your child makes (like illegal moves). Because you don’t want to overwhelm them with theory or openings or too much strategy just yet.

This is the step where you really instill a love of the game. And then, when your child seems ready and willing to actually start practicing and not just playing, you can start to introduce some level-appropriate tips and tricks to them.

However, if you do have a solid grasp of chess yourself, you could always display certain openings and simple strategies to your little one throughout your games together. This will introduce them to some basic concepts in a natural way, even if you don’t verbally explain it to them. And they may even ask you questions about why you’re making those moves, which could give you a chance to explain and signal that they’re ready to learn more.

5. Introduce New Information Gradually

If you want your child to really fall in love with the game, you want to teach them more advanced strategies and ideas at their own pace. And there are many ways to do this, depending on your child’s current age and skill level (as well as their overall interest in chess).

• You can wait until they ask questions or ask for more knowledge, then provide them with answers or additional learning materials.
• You can randomly mention tips and tricks as they come up during play. For instance, if one of you moves your knight to the edge of the board you could quip that “a knight on the rim is grim” and then explain why if they ask.
• Or, especially if you play online chess together, you could do reviews of the game afterward. So you can trace back where any mistakes were made, and then explain what the better move would’ve been.

Helpful Resources/Tools For Teaching Chess To Kids

Online Resources

First of all… There are a lot of completely free, online resources for kids learning to play chess. Sites like Chess.com and ChessKid.com allow your children to play against other people from the comfort of their own home, and also provide lots of learning materials and puzzles to help them expand their knowledge.

My girls started out on ChessKid, then moved to Chess.com when they were a bit older. And they found a lot of value in both sites.

Beginner Friendly Chess Boards

A small investment I made when I was first introducing my daughters to chess was a beginner-friendly chess set. These boards come with pieces that display the movement rules of each one on the piece itself, with arrows that show how they move and numbers that display how many squares they can move at a time.

This really helped my daughters understand the game much faster, and saved me from having to correct them too often. Which can be discouraging for some children.

Books

Lastly, there are lots of books you can buy for kids to teach them more advanced concepts. Especially if you aren’t personally skilled at the game, and they’re continuing past your level of expertise.

Two great examples are ‘How To Play Chess For Kids’, this is great for kids between the ages of 8-12. And ‘How To Win At Chess’ by Levy Rozman (GothamChess), which is a fantastic option for teens or for you if you want to keep up with your kiddo!