Teach the Game of Chess to Kids

There are a number of good reasons for teaching young children the game of Chess. The sharing of time between you and the child can be priceless. Chess is more then just a game. It can be a bridge to the future. One in which the child learns to respect your views, your sense of fair play, and even how to deal with success and setbacks that occur in life. Chess can help develop all aspects of the child's intellect, both of the practical and artistic. The game of Chess can enhance a child's ability to think in the abstract. It can increase the visual acuity so important to the skills needed in mathematical, and critical thinking.

If done right, teaching the game of Chess can be just plain fun too!! It can be fun for both of you. Over the years, I have read a lot of books on Chess. There are scores of them on how to play the game. There is book after book on "How to" do this or "How To" do that in Chess.

You can easily find books on: " How to Handle Chess Openings," or "How to Play the Middle Game in Chess," or " How to Play The End Games." There is, of course, always the, " How to Win In Chess" books. Many of them are produced either by or with some notable in the chess world. Such as one book called, " Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess." The one draw back of a "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" type book is it does just that, and only that!!

They teach the rules and basic strategy of the game, yet lack any fundamentals on how to capture a child's interest in the game to begin with. I anticipate you are now asking, "Well just how do you get the child's interest?" In addition "At what age should I start?"

Lets start with the:

"What age do I start with?"

The answer to this is dependent on a couple of factors. The first, but not the most important is; how deep is your knowledge of the game? Are you just a beginner yourself? Are you an accomplished tournament player and perhaps even a registered USCF (United States Chess Federation) member? The answer to those questions combined with the following, "How well do you know the child?" determines what to do first.

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