My oldest daughter loves board games and wants to play them with me constantly. However, I was starting to get a bit sick of the kids’ games in her room and was craving something a little more adult. So, after some consideration, I went to the store and picked up the game of chess.
When I did this, I realized it wasn’t going to be easy to teach my daughter. After all, Chess is a complicated game. However, I also felt it was a good game for her to learn because it teaches everything from memorization (about which direction each piece moves) to awareness. Plus, it is a game that makes her have to use some strategy.
Even though I had some doubts about being able to teach her, I was successful by following a few simple steps.
The first thing I took the time to do with my daughter was take every piece individually and teach her, one-at-a-time what they were and which direction they moved. This was somewhat time consuming and, yes, she did get bored at times. But, it was something that definitely helped her when we started playing because she understood every piece (with the exception of the knight, which she still needs a reminder about every once in a while).
Incidentally, it does help to let your child have the instructions while playing too since they do show the various pieces and how they move; just in case they need a refresher.
When we started playing, the second thing I did was the fatherly thing of giving her plenty of do-overs during the game. By doing this (and pointing out why I had her do her move over), it helped her understand how to see the whole board and think out more than one move at a time. And, eventually, she didn’t need as many do-overs.
The third and most important thing I taught her about this game is it is OK to lose. My daughter (much like me) is a competitor and hates losing. But, by preparing her by explaining she is more advanced than many adults simply by knowing how to play, it built up her confidence and, as a result, she was willing to take a few more chances when playing; something I think she would have been afraid to do otherwise.
As a result of all of this, not only does my daughter know how to play Chess and loves playing the game, she has even managed to beat me a few times (something that I know helps keep her interest).
As I said before, Chess is a good game to teach kids for a number of reasons. If you follow my advice above, you can make teaching the game to them a lot easier.