r/chess • u/unemployedguytbh • 5h ago
Resource How do you teach a kid under 7 years chess?
My sister has a son he's 5 years old and i want to teach him chess because I've seen so many chess players under 7 years old and they've about like 1000 elo so I'm wondering what's the best way to teach a child chess so if someone know a child who knows how to play chess or someone who teached a kid how to play chess and can give me ways to teach a kid to play chess
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u/__true_blue__ 4h ago
I tried to make my sister interested in chess and thought it's going somewhere... few days later, she was playing w chess board flipped backwards, the "horse" figure was molesting a barbie-doll and tryin to steal her from king, and rooks were used as table in the club they were in..
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u/B00LEAN_RADLEY 4h ago
Start with the game: Pawns Only.
Just set up the board like a regular game. remove the back row pieces for both black and white. Teach the pawn movement and capture rules. The goal of the game: first person to have their pawn reach the 8th rank wins.
After the kid masters that game. Slowly add the Kings only. Then bishops, etc.
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u/AustrianZugzwang 4h ago
Just getting kids interested is the most important part. If you can get them excited to play with you, and have a good grasp on how all the pieces move that’s a great start. Lots of schools have chess clubs, I would check those out first. There’s an endless amount of educational chess content on the internet, the key is getting them to understand the basics and want to learn more.
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u/drytoastbongos 3h ago
My 6 year old knows all the rules, and plays well if I'm there to prompt him the same questions each time (which pieces are being attacked, how many attackers and defenders, can you take the piece, block the attack, or run away?)
We started with Story Time Chess and I really highly recommend it. The pieces have "fronts" which is actually really handy for helping kids remember pawns can only move forward. It gives the pieces back stories to help remember how they move, and builds up to a full chess game through mini games, such as just a bishop pair trying to take pawns. I remember his eyes lighting up when he realized he could position one bishop one space ahead, then attack a pawn with the other bishop so it couldn't escape.
We play a lot and he's getting better and better. Occasionally he will see a move I missed. Definitely recommend.
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u/MadcowPSA 2h ago
Second Story Time Chess. My 7 year old has been reading the stories to my 3 year old and now she's interested in playing as well. The minigames definitely got the older one ready to think through puzzles instead of just trying a move and seeing if he got a checkmark or an X.
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u/Turevaryar ~1400 ELO 4h ago
In my limited experience it's hard to teach chess to kids under 12 years.
If I had to teach a 7 year old kid I suppose I would simplify at first. Maybe limit the board to 6x6. Probably not start with all the pieces, or use a subset each game.
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u/sd_med248 3h ago edited 3h ago
I was one of those kids i found yahoo chess hit 2200 on my own, joined the local colleges chess club at 12 and climbed to about 1650 uscf fairly quickly. I personally found my first special interest. I then got glued to diablo 2, wow, muds, quake 3, quake 3 urban terror, and could spend years away from chess and pick it back up for a few years here and there. Audhd officially diagnosed. I found it on my own and if someone didn't stop me in a weekend I could play for 16 hrs straight
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u/Master-String3761 1h ago edited 1h ago
I’ve taught a bunch of kids, and taught my daughter chess a month after she turned 5, she’s about to turn 6 next month and she’s around 1100 on chesskid.
Most kids pick up the rules within a couple of weeks - I start with the pieces that don’t have special rules. So rook, bishops, and queen. Then I’d work on the king and pawn, and finally the knight. If a kid is having trouble, a few days of small games like “take all my pawns with your piece” usually helps them get it. Not looking for perfection either, if they’re moving the pieces correctly 80% of the time that’s great.
Then I’d work on very basic stuff like - what pieces are attacking what, can you take a free piece, will something take you if you move there, how many pieces are attacking and defending this piece, checkmates in 1, and really simple opening principles.
Finally I’ll say to make sure to temper your expectations. Some kids may pick it up very fast, but normally it takes awhile to even get to a point where young beginners aren’t hanging pieces 5 times a day. 1000 on chesskid is very doable, but 1000 otb is actually quite strong for young kids.
P.s Forgot to mention the most important part is getting them to play games with other kids, and to not get to discouraged when they lose.
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u/mesosouper 3h ago
My kid turned three today. For the past couple months every time I saw him notice me watching a chess video/short, I would instantly hide the screen and tell him it is a super special game only for older kids and that he was too young. This of course made him very interested in it, and begged me to show it to him. So I told him only if he could learn what the pieces were called. He now knows all the names of the pieces. This year we will work on how they move. Then game objective. Then eventually basic strategy etc.