Guiding Principle: Keep it simple.

I begin with pawns only. I teach three rules for pawn use.

1. Pawns move one step forward only,
2. Each pawn has a chance to move one or two steps forward only the first time it moves.
3. Pawns only ‘take’ on the diagonal.

We then play a game I call it ‘Pawn Chess’. We simply move across the board giving and taking pawns as moves permit. As no more moves become possible, we call it and count pawns still standing. Winner has most pawns standing.

We play this game repeatedly until kids have a good grasp of how pawns move and ‘take’. Each new day we play, I ask kids to tell me the 3 rules for moving pawns. I may ask them to show me.

I then show them how to move Knights.

1. Knights move forward 1, 2 and turn onto one space. They may initiate the move in any direction but it must remain, 1,2 and turn onto one space.
2. Knights may step over figures.
3. Knights ‘take’ by landing on a figure on the 3rd step (the turn).
4. A Knight may not move if, on its 3rd step, it would land on one of its own figures.
5. Knights are tricky; most common errors I note are, overlooking one of the directions a Knight may turn and, counting the step you occupy before the move begins. Count the 1st step on the frist space you cross on your path.

 We play just with pawns and knights until I observe a child has a pretty good grasp of how pawns and Knights move and ‘take’.

I then propose, I remove Knights and we play with pawns and Bishops. Usually, kids object to removal of the Knights. They are ‘chomping at the bit’ to see the game in all its glory. I may or may not remove the Knights. I make a judgement call about whether the child needs to simplify the game to learn to manage the Bishops. If their learning process was pretty fast, I’ll let them play with pawns, Knights and Bishops. If their learning process was a little slower, I’ll remove the Knights to simplify the game for them.

1. Bishops slide, diagonally. If a child does not understand what diagonal means, I use drawing paper to show them parallel, perpendicular and diagonal lines. I do not say, stay on the same color. That strikes me as an easy bypass of an opportunity to learn something important with immediate applications that will facilitate their understanding of directionality.
2. Bishops do not jump; if one of their own pieces is on the diagonal, their progress is blocked.
3. Bishops ‘take’ on the same diagonal they use to move.

We play Pawn-Bishop Chess (or pawn-Knight-Bishop Chess) as many days as it takes until I observe easy use of the figures. Each new day, I ask’how do pawns move?’. I get a quick answer (kids can’t wait to play). I ask how do Bishops move? I get a quick answer. I ask, how do Knights move? I don’t get such a quick answer; they’re beginning to see the complexity. Interestingly, children remain undaunted, even children challenged in school settings and children ostensibly suffering from ‘ADD’.

I then introduce the Queen and King.

1. Queens are the trickiest players. They can move any way they want.
2. Queens can slide as far as they want until they bump into a figure of their own.
3. Queens do not jump.
4. Queens can ‘take’ sliding backwards or forwards, left or right and diagonally in any direction.
5. Kings can move any direction also but only one space.
6. Kings can take any direction but only from spaces 1 step away.
7. Kings cannot step into danger. If I see you moving your king into any space where he is immediately vulnerable, I have to say, ‘illegal move’ and you have to choose a different move.
8. If I step into a position to ‘take’ your king on my next move, I have to say ‘check’; I have to warn you so you can move him.
9. Loss of the King ends the game.

I let ‘white’ start. I don’t teach castling. I don’t teach strategies. If a child already knows Chess, I’ll teach him or her Go.

I want to pique a child’s intellectual interest, observe cognitive processing in action and create opportunities for them to observe, analyze (tapping memory of rules governing movement) anticipate future developments and plot. This exercise alone increases efficient mental procesing which is necessarily dependent upon use of particular clusters of neurons. Repeated use of those clusters renders them generally available for all manner of intellectual effort.