How To Teach Chess Tactics For Kids?

Chess is a highly complicated and dynamic game that takes years of study and practice to be mastered. Due to that, and for that matter, some other characteristics of the game, most people choose to learn it when they are adults rather than in their early years.

In the end, these players normally face the hard truth that they could have reached higher ratings if they had started learning chess earlier in life. So, is it a good idea to teach chess to kids?

There’s hardly a person in the world that would say that it is not. Chess helps develop kids’ intelligence, personality features, and much more, thus its importance in their lives since early childhood.

But if chess is such a complex game, how to break it down so a 5-year-old kid would understand it?

Chess Tactics For Kids

It’s fairly simple, actually. Start with the basics and allow the kid to develop his or her critical thinking as the rules and movement of pieces become more fluid. Most teachers begin with the aspects of the board and the way pieces move on it.

Remember that the younger the kid, the shorter the attention span, so make sure to keep the teaching fun and dynamic so you don’t lose the kid’s focus.

Another useful strategy is to make the learning simple and use more visual elements to help the kid remember game aspects rather than prompting. That, allied with the correct pace, should cause the young student to quickly show a certain development.

It is also important to allow the kid to learn at his or her own pace instead of outlining a schedule or establishing time limits for aspects to learn. Once the kid starts to show interest, there will be a natural search for the more complex aspects.

Parents who teach their kids chess also point out the bonding factor that comes with sharing a game board. Kids normally look up to their parents for guidance, help, attention, care, etc., and the more parents interact with their kids, the more they will help in the development of the kid’s learning.

So, grab a chessboard, the set, and sit your kid down to show him or her the first steps. Let the kid show what is more interesting at each step of the way and follow that lead. Attempting to force learning upon the kid rarely results in anything other than a lack of interest.

There are lots of web pages and other online content that can aid you in that long task, and even if some are not for free, it may even be worth it to pay as they would still be cheaper than most of the extracurricular activities kids normally do.

In Conclusion

Lastly, don’t give up if your kid doesn’t show much interest at first. Simply allow them to experience the game at their own speed and, if chess speaks to them, be sure they won’t stop until they get what they want.