What is the best way to teach a 7 year old to play chess?

Question

My son wants to learn but is a very hard game.

Answer 1

Get a chess set with the pieces movements on them.

Answer 2

I would try changing the color of the pieces on a cheap chess set to something colorful.  Then relate the strategy of the game to a subject that he is already familiar with. If he likes transformer or Pokemon, Tell him this is the new transformers chess set. This robot moves this way and this robot does that, etc.

Answer 3

"Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess"

http://www.smartkidssoftware.com/nddav22...

Answer 4

I would begin by teaching the child each of the pieces. Empty the board. First go over the King, then the queen, the bishop etc. Each time simply covering, on an empty board, all the squares the piece covers and can move to.

After that I would probably teach them basic opening principles. Don't bring the queen out too early (and show them why, don't just tell them), only move each piece one time until you have developed.

From there I would move to endgame discussion. King and Queen vs. King, King and pawn vs. king, and king and rook vs. king. These are the basic mating patterns, and it's useful in order to get a feel for how each piece can be used. Save harder checkmates like bishop, knight and king vs king for later, when the child has developed as a player.

Tactics would come next. Forks, skewers, pins, and discoveries are what immediately comes to mind. Similarly, strategy, piece placement in the middlegame, is also a good topic to move onto after tactics.

These basics will give your son a good, strong foothold into to world of chess, and he'll get the hang of it quickly. Avoid teaching opening traps and specific variations too early, as well, because this teaches memorization over analysis. A good analyst can play a chess game with no knowledge of the specific openings at all, but a child knowing only the openings will struggle with the middle and endgames.

After that, chess books are probably your best source for further teaching material.

Answer 5

There are versions of the game that show what legal movements can be made by each piece, on the base of each piece.   See link below where you can purchase a teacher set, as they are called.

Answer 6

maybe he can learn by playing by himself. or have him read the instructions and then explaining them more clearly

Answer 7

Get the beginner's chess peices, thats how  I learned...they have the moves printed on them......

Answer 8

First, start by don't saying it's a hard game. :) It's not that bad. Sure, the strategy is hard but the basic rules and ideas are not. There are basically 5 pieces that move differently, so you could learn that in a few minutes. You can just set up some simple positions with some pawns and say, a few knights. Try to eat all the pawns, or get to the other side of the board. It's not chess in essence, but it's a good exercise. When he has the piece movement down, of course you mention the importance of the king. (Check, mate, stalemate) You should also explain the en passent rule, promotion, and castling right. Repeat it every now and then. Kids do it wrong all the time. I know. They just forget if you don't repeat it. Many adults do it wrong too. So, make sure you buy a good book if you're not a good player yourself.

When you're done with the basic rules I like to teach them a few things.

1) Mating with king and  queen or  rook against the enemy king.

2) Endgame with king and pawn against king. Can you get the thing on the other side or not??

3) Basic opening moves and some nice traps. Putting a pawn in the centre, developing all pieces and castling is important, but there's nothing wrong with a fun quick win either. If you don't know any traps, just google it or use a book.

So, make it fun and try to make up some games or  positions you can play out. It will make a real game much easier. If he gives pieces away, it's alright. In the beginning most people just like to eat pieces without covering their defence. After a while you could both try to calculate ''one move ahead'' so not to give away pieces. But by then, he'll have a prety good idea of the game.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Basic Movements of each piece and their capabilities. Such as the Pawn, the Rook, the Queen and King. Once he Masters their movements and their dos and donts the strategy will be easy.

Answer 10

I bought for my little sister special program for kids. it's called "Dinosaur Chess".

i bought it here http://store.convekta.com/shop_model.asp...

try it, my sister just loves it, as it's funny and smart.