Chess for Children :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Outstanding

2008-07-31
Great book. Uses things to interest kids. For example, the alligator story throughout the book is written on a kid level. While teaching chess, get them to read the conversation also. And the use of a "terribly tough test" is great. All questions are worth a point, so it gets them interested if they know they are scoring points. Much like the searching for Bobby Fischer movie. The points get them interested and wanting to do more and better. Also teaches them in a good progression. For instance, rooks and bishops, then queen. Makes sense since a queen is a combo of the two. Also gives great diagrams which they will see later with chess puzzles, such as the ones in chessmaster. I highly recommend. My son is 8. I can see this working for a 7 year old, but 6 and under might be hard.

Great!!!

2008-04-02
I am using this book to teach my two older children (6 and 4) and my wife (who never learned) how to play chess.

It is WELL done at having bite sized lessons followed by exercises. (I add some additional ones of my own.)

I was concerned about the algebraic chess notation lesson with my four year old, but he did great!

The best part about this book is that it isn't just a "here are the rules" book. Last night we went through the lesson on the value of pieces and talking about whether a swap is good or not. Some other really good lessons are the ones showing common checkmates, that talk about what to do when in check, and the chapter on forks, pins, and skewers.

This is a great book, but understand that it is for the absolute beginner. I think it is going MUCH better using this book than if I had tried to teach the kids just by myself.

It is just fine.

2007-10-17
I bought this book for my children's school library. I am the chess coach at their school and have been making efforts to increase the library's collection of chess books for children. This book is a fine addition to the collection. As I read through it I thought that my K-2 crew would probably enjoy it more than my 3-5 crew, but so be it. I think learning any activity should include reading about it, in addition to having personal instruction. This book will help those little ones to develop good learning habits and good chess habits as well.

Excellent primer

2007-01-18
This book is an excellent place to start teaching children chess. I almost gave it four stars because I don't think children under 7 or 8 will be able to tackle it themselves without an adult. It would still serve as an excellent guide for older children and teens and with an adult's help any younger child would love it. It has great outlines and pictures of how the pieces move, the rules, special rules (en passant for example) and can be referenced easily by anyone. Great job by Mr.Chandler.

Nicest introduction to chess I have ever seen

2006-02-21
I have seen countless books on chess aimed at youngsters over the years, but this is probably the nicest introduction I have ever seen, aimed at primary school children. The problem with so many books is that they are too ambitious, too wordy or just downright boring, but such criticisms in no way apply to this latest addition.

The game is taught through the medium of a cartoon character, George, and his pet alligator, Kirsty, a self-proclaimed Grand Alligator of Chess. The large format pages and large diagrams are easier on the young eye, and the language is readily accessible to a young age group.

The book consists of six parts. Part One covers the basics of how the pieces move, then subsequent parts take the young beginner through a succession of easy, welldefined stages, until by the end of the book you are able to play through and understand a complete game. The book is also very much inter-active, as there are tests interspersed at regular intervals throughout.

As I said earlier, over-ambition is the main problem with so many beginners books, but here the authors have set out with the very limited objective of getting the child started on a very basic level. Opening theory, middlegame strategy and endgame technique have no place here. The emphasis is on learning the basics in an enjoyable manner. If you have a young child or relative who wants to learn chess, then I can thoroughly recommend this book, which in addition to everything I have already said comes at a very reasonable price.

This review first appeared in the magazine En Passant.

Nicest introduction to chess I have ever seen

2006-02-21
With this charming book, children will delight in learning the basic moves of chess - the most popular and challenging strategy game of all. All the rules of chess are clearly explained, step by step, assuming no prior knowledge. The lessons are reinforced by the inventive tales that George is told by his pet alligator Kirsty, self-proclaimed Grand Alligator of chess.

Chess is recognized in many countries as a useful tool for developing creative thinking in children. Although chess can be regarded as a rather complex and mysterious game, the rules themselves are straightforward. It doesn't take long to learn how the pieces move, and even children as young as five can enjoy exciting games. They will also thoroughly enjoy outwitting friends and relatives!

Re-discovered chess with this excellent teaching book 2005-11-08
We took the extended family on a trip to Florida a couple of months ago, and picked up a plastic chess set together with this book for the children. We hoped they might learn, but we could hardly predict they would become besotted. The book was a mega-hit.
Although both my father-in-law (from Switzerland) and I had played a fair bit of chess in our younger days, neither of us were completely up with the rules. Having this book was useful as both a refresher course and to consult in case of dispute.
I had expected CHESS FOR CHILDREN would be at least an adequate book, as a local chess coach had steered me towards it, but it was better than that, which has prompted me to do this review. The content is brilliant, and I can only agree with other reviews that this has the clearest lay-out of any chess beginner book.
Another unexpected bonus was that the kids were able to follow everything in the book without the help of an adult, even learning chess notation. Visually the book scores well, being a solid hardcover with a good mix of chess moves and illustrations.
The book divides nealy into six parts, starting with setting up the chessboard, and progressing to how each piece moves and some elementary advice on strategy. The first holiday where arcade games were almost forgotten!
Highly recommended.

Good First Book on Chess 2005-10-25
I enjoyed it because it does a good job in telling you about the rules of chess and gives you some strategies to. It has good pictures and was enjoyable to read. A sixth grader will probably not like it as much as a second grader because of the lay out, but it is still good for both of these ages.

A perfect present for my friend's son 2005-10-12
This lovely hardback book proved the ideal present for the son of a friend (who had begged me not to buy him another computer game!). I had previously been impressed with other books by one of the co-authors (see Chess Tactics for Kids) and I was very pleased with this purchase also. The illustrations are unusual, but relevant to the text, but where the book really scores is the carefully considered running order and thoughtful attention to detail.
Anyone aged six and above could learn the rules of chess and the moves of the pieces from this book. A nice feature is the insertion of lots of little extras to maintain a child's interest. This was successful in the case of Peter (my friend's son). He can now play a full game of chess, and has become so entranced with the game that he is talking of joining the school club.

Ideal first book for ages 5 to 15 2005-09-26
Finally! A book that teaches all the basic moves of chess in a clear, simple way, in a hardcover format where the level is consistent all the way. It sounds a reasonable ask and yet so few beginner books achieve it.
Any child will enjoy this well-presented book, and frankly, if you are an adult wanting to learn, wrap the cover in brown paper and read away! When you are learning chess from scratch then simplicity is the key.
On feature I appreciated was how the covers ALL the elementary topics. I have seen some starter books not including things like the en passant capture, or ways that draws can come about. This book proves that these are not too complex for youngesters. If these topics are explained and illustrated with care and clarity, they are well within the grasp of the average 6 year old. My son was so captivated with the chapter on notation that after a few minutes he came rushing in to show us how he could now write a move down!
I'm so pleased that my yongest has taken up chess, as I'm convinced it can help later in life with logical thinking. It even gets him off the computer every now and then!