9 simple and effective ways to teach children to play chess

Many parents want to spend time with their children, do homework with their children, learn life skills and explore the world around them. Others want to play with their children educational games such as chess. Chess is a game that brings many benefits to a child's development, but teaching a child how to play chess sometimes causes many difficulties for parents.

If you want to teach your child how to play chess, please join aFamilyToday Health to find out in the following article!

How to teach children to play chess

Teaching your child to play chess will be difficult if you do not know how to play yourself. In case you understand the rules of the game, it is not easy to convey to your child to understand and play. In addition, in order to play chess well, children need to hone their own skills and play style as well as apply their own thinking to each chess position. Therefore, the first step in teaching your child to play chess is to start by teaching your child the rules of the game and the basic steps to help your child get used to how to play this intellectual sport.

1. Identify the chess pieces and chess board

Before learning about the rules and rules of chess, it is a good idea to introduce your child to the game pieces and their role on the board. Since the chess pieces all have their own shapes, children will distinguish them quite easily. After you identify the names of the pieces, teach your child how to arrange the positions of the pieces on the board.

2. How do I win a game?

Once your child knows the names of the pieces, now is the time to know how to win a game. To create excitement for your baby, you can build a story about two countries with kings, queens and soldiers. These two countries are fighting with each other and to win, your child must command the army in the chessboard so that he can "check" the opponent's king.

3. Start with pawns

Each piece has a different way of moving on the board. So your child may find it confusing and confusing if he starts playing all the pieces at once. First of all, you should introduce your baby to the pawns. Let your child understand that the fundamental role of pawns in the board is to defend other pieces. From the way the pawn moves and the way to take down the opponent's pawn, your child will get used to the straight and diagonal moves.

Although considered the weakest chess piece in the chess board, the pawn that has an advantage is the ability to "level up". When your pawn reaches the last row on the opponent's board, it will be promoted to another piece (code, statue, vehicle, tail) depending on where they reach.

4. Let the knight dominate

After your child gets used to the movements and roles of the pawns, continue to teach your child about horses. Children can easily identify these pieces because they have the shape of the bust of a horse. The knight can follow the shape of an L and each move has a total of 3 tiles. That means a knight can advance 1 square and then turn 2 spaces or go 2 squares and then turn 1 square. The knight has the ability to "jump over the head" of other pieces, so it becomes the only piece that can move without being blocked by any pieces. Let your child get used to the moves of pawns and knight pieces before continuing to add more pieces to the board.

5. Export the bishop

When your baby gets used to the knight, you can add them to the board. The move of the bishop is a bit more difficult than the previous 2 pieces, but if your child is used to moving diagonally then this is not a problem. The bishop can only go diagonally, but doesn't limit the distance.

6. It is the vehicle's turn

The last piece in the military formation of a country is the rook. The rook can go along or sideways with an arbitrary number of boxes on the board. When you have a complete army, you can arrange it into a chess board, train your child to arrange tactics to promote the strengths of each piece.

7. Queen - Keep the king safe

Even though it is the chess piece with the most power, you should not introduce it to the queens from the beginning because she will probably emit this piece first. The queen can move in any direction without limitation, so it is considered the strongest piece in the board. The queen should not be sent out too soon because it can provide an opportunity for the opponent to check the king's secret. Your child needs to understand that a good chess strategy is to combine the strength of the "army" and the queen to protect his king. Understanding the value and role of other pieces on the board can help your child figure out the best timing and strategy for using queens to turn the game around in critical situations.

8. King - The most powerful chess piece

The king is considered the most powerful chess piece in the chess set, although its range of movement is limited to 1 square around it. The reason for the king is very important because as long as the king is checked by any opponent's piece, the game is over. You need to teach your child the importance of a king and how to use other pieces to protect it.

9. Start the game

There is no effective way of teaching a child to play chess by letting him practice playing real chess. After you guide your child about the roles, positions, and how the pieces move, you should be able to play the first game with your child. If your child still can't remember them all, you can make a list of the pieces and their movements so that they can refer to when they forget. Give your child time and guidance every time he or she breaks the rules. It is necessary for the child to make the wrong moves so that they realize the importance of each move in protecting the troops or losing the troops. Through many games will help children learn many strategies to play.

Benefits of playing chess for your child's development

Chess is not only a simple game but also a good way to help children develop brain, strategic thinking and team spirit. There are many different benefits to playing chess, which is why it's a good idea to start teaching your kids chess early.

1. Stimulate creativity

People often think that chess is a game that requires strong logic due to strict rules and rules of play. But it is from these principles that children need to use their creativity to find new strategies. Your right brain will be active as you play chess and help your child find more creative ways to play.

2. Develop reading skills and increase memory

Playing chess enhances your memory skills. This is because you need to always pay attention to all your moves as well as those of your opponents. It is important to remember your opponent's moves, in order to figure out their tactics and strategies. This will help your child strengthen his nervous system, making it stronger so he can remember things better.

Although you cannot record all the progress of the game, your eyes can still recognize the moves you can take. This will have a good impact on children's reading skills at an early stage. A 1991 study found that kids who played chess regularly were better at reading than kids who didn't. Scientists believe that this is closely related to brain development ability when playing chess.

3. The ability to focus longer

The emergence of video games, technology equipment and hasty habits reduce children's ability to focus. This can make it difficult for children to focus, especially when studying in class or when listening to lectures. Chess is a game that requires a lot of concentration. So, playing this intellectual sport regularly will help your child's brain train focus and help your child develop in many other areas.

You can never play chess if you are thinking about something else and not paying attention. A game can last from a few dozen minutes to a few hours, even a few days to decide whether to win or lose and during this time, players need to stay focused so as not to make hasty decisions that lead to mistake. Playing this game of chess will help your child develop stamina and concentration in the long run.

4. Ability to make quick decisions

When playing chess, your child needs to make moves in a very short time. Playing chess will help children react faster to situations in life and more sensitive to find out timely solutions.

5. Form strategic thinking

Children are often unable to plan for the future and most have to grow up to learn this skill. However, when playing chess, children need to think about strategies and moves in order to win against their opponents. Regular play of chess helps children form strategic thinking and can be applied in everyday life.

One of the similarities between chess and real life is that you cannot go back when you make a decision. Each decision has an outcome and a wrong move can have serious consequences. Playing chess regularly can help your baby realize the importance of planning as well as the possible consequences if he or she makes a wrong decision.

6. Improve IQ IQ

It is not difficult to realize that most children who know how to play chess are quite intelligent and often achieve high results in school or good in many different fields. Good chess play has been shown to improve a child's intelligence stats. Many researchers believe that chess helps to stimulate the development of both brain hemispheres, thereby also helping children develop many other aspects of life.

Various studies have shown that chess can help children increase their math skills, especially space-related types of math.

7. Make the most of your brain to think

Chess is not a game that requires only rules. Even children with good logical thinking ability can have difficulty playing chess. To play this game, your child needs an additional element of space, determined by the workings of the right brain hemisphere. With each different game, your child will have to use all of his brain's thinking power to win. Playing chess helps stimulate the brain to function better and more efficiently.

8. Better problem solving skills

When you play chess, you don't have time to regret your own move or panic when you get cornered in a difficult situation. At this time, children need to think of many different ways to turn their chess pieces from a "passive" position to an active position. This is very beneficial in your child's development, helping them develop the ability to quickly find solutions and solve problems.

In addition, playing chess also helps your child stay calm when facing difficult situations. Panicking will cause your child to make wrong decisions and sometimes cause very serious problems. Therefore, chess will help your child learn problem-solving skills more quickly and effectively.

The benefits of chess for child development are endless. If your child's school does not have chess in the curriculum, you should teach your child to play chess at home or take them in chess classes so that they can develop themselves more comprehensively. .