Chess related: How to nurture a 4 yr olds interest in chess? [ back to forum ]
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 How to nurture a 4 yr olds interest in chess?
My questions are....
When should he be exposed to theory?
Are there any basic concepts that this learned group would agree on, to stress to a precocious 4 yr old that really likes to play the game?
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He has played against computer programs at their lower levels and fared well. (with minimal direction as to possible results from his piece movement in positions)
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bhidragon
11-Oct-09, 12:24
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My two cents
1. Don't let the other guy get your pieces for free.
2. Basic tactics, maybe some tactics, tactics may be a good place to start, I'd think about teaching him a few tactics.
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I have a thought on it ...
I may have been about the worst Chess coach in the world, the couple times I tried it. And do not even have any specific advice. Bearing that in mind ... I did have a thought as to how I would try to approach it as a generallity...
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It seems to me that for that age, it needs to be something Fun to do, and need to Stay Fun to do, in order to keep real enthusiasm and not let it become something that he feels he "has to do"
... such as the way one would feel about "homework".
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So my goal would be to keep it Fun and Keep Expanding his knowledge 'as he asks for it'. And to avoid Limiting his play.
For instance, if you piled on a lot of center theory at the start, you would be Restricting his creativity because all of a sudden there would be many things "not to do". Such as playing contrary to center theory in the openings. Rather I would let him try to find his own way thru game awhile and thinking of things to try himself. See what he may pick up from how you play, as well. Then if he becomes bored of that game or obviously eager to see more ideas, showing some theory to him would tend to Expand his concept of the game, rather than limit it. All of a sudden, he has new ideas to try and new ways to look at things then.
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I might also try to trickle in some ideas one at a time, that may set up what you want to teach later about theory. Or put forth some basic idea as a game, such as "lets try each of us putting our King pawn forward two and see who can keep a pawn there the longest". As a means of showing how to create a strong point center ... leads to learning overprotection... leads to learning attempting to then advance the d-pawn to beside the e-pawn, can lead to use of a Lever Pawn to attack the center, etc. Trying to keep things bite size and palatable. You can actually teach Chess-proper by turning it into dozens of different units of instruction that can be presented tho as "playing" a dozen "different kinds of Chess" ... which actually represent prerequisite skills toward the overall game. And this would let him be able to "win" some things as he progresses, and feel he is mastering the game. Showing the basic Mates for EG. Q vs K, R vs K etc.
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Just my ideas. I may be way off the mark tho. Never actually tried to teach one so young. The one pre-teen I did show a bit to seemed to have a very gestaltic day when he suddenly "got it" tho, about thinking not only of moves, but combinations and how moving one piece may affect another. That seemed to be a major milestone in understanding. It seems like you may be beyond that if he can face a computer already :) One nice thing about a computer ... you can always retract some moves after the game and say " I wonder what would have happened here if you tried this?"
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Anyway, that would be the three initial areas I would think best to learn first....Basic Mates, Center Theory & types, and basic knowlege & complete familiarity with board and pieces. Maybe then to pawn structure. I'm sure you'll get a lot more from others tho, as I've seen GK has quite a number who are good and experienced coaching.
G/L }8-)
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My daughter (6) loves LegoChess, she does not seem to tire of the animations when a piece is captured. The game drops pieces often - after some normal opening moves - so she can actually win regularly - which is needed to keep her interest. She also loves 'mate in one' puzzles, which is somewhat useful in teaching piece coordination (how is the king restricted). But I have not introduced her to theory, even the basic mates are somewhat too hard for her. I think baronderkilt's advice is very sound, above all keep it fun!
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By the way
If you consider buying Legochess: It is somewhat unstable on Vista, even with the patch. It especially does not like being mated and often crashes on the final move :-)
So I would not spend money on a new version, but one can get second hand copies for around $5. See for instance www.amazon.com
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This post was deleted by alice02 on 12-Oct-09, 08:22.
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does he like to talk chess?
would he enjoy telling you why he made a move - not for every move - just some. If he does you can pick up on how he is thinking and the concepts he is very close to picking up by himself. And you can work on those.
However it may be that experimentation is his major enjoyment. It may be that his best learning is how to experiment with various piece moves.
For some little kids - having an activity where no-one tells then what to do can be important as a means of developing age appropriate autonomy - and being boss of all those pieces is such fun:).
Another way for an intelligent child is to make up stories - e.g. an ant wants to steals crumbs from people at a picnic and have the ant use tactics and strategy (but not labelled as such) in a context totally unrelated to chess. Then see if the child is interested in saying what he thinks the ant should do. But only if he thinks it is fun. If he is not interested then you will know to delay chess tactics and strategy.
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Fritz and Chester
is a very good chess learning program. It splits chess in subtasks - like the different units of instruction which baronderkilt is talking about. They are implemented as arcade-style games. For instance one learns the bishop moves by 'smashing toilets' with a bowling bowl. The game is full of little animations which kids love. It is really well done, and it was my daughter's favorite game until she got legochess (I'm not sure why that one is more appealing). I sould say 'favorite strategic game', since she likes princess' games better.
Here are some reviews of this program www.amazon.com
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hortstu
13-Oct-09, 07:59
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My 6 year old niece has just taken an interest in chess from watching me play. She's played less than a few dozen games.
I recently picked up a used copy of chess master 9000 and it has a kids option in it. I wouldn't recommend this for kids but it is helping me improve my game. I let her play it and she'll play game after game running around the board scooping up all her opponents pieces. She's just starting to realize that it's not always a good idea to swap pieces.
She understands the relative value of pieces now and most of the time remembers how they should move... sometimes she spaces out and the program corrects her. She has the most trouble with knights but I guess that's understandable.
The one thing I'm having trouble getting across to her and her 8 yo brother is keeping their eye on the prize. Get the king. I haven't pressed the issue because I don't want to take the fun out of it for them, but they have never mated against the computer, or each other, without me coaching them through an end game. I can see when I'm doing it that it is taking all their powers of concentration to come up with the answers I'm trying to guide them to so I try not to do it unless they ask for help.
I'll be watching this thread for similar experience/ tips from others about teaching the end game.
Great thread vocihc
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As long as they're playing, they're learning. Don't push it. That's the hard part about it. Sometimes we inadvertently impose our own enthusiasm for the game upon kids. We need to step back and let them develop their own desire for the game, if they choose to pursue it.
If they want to get better, they will indicate so. Chess Master is a good learning tool for any age. Actual play is rather stilted at maximum strength; but it can be beaten.
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Thank you all for the input. I will refer back to this thread periodically for guidance.
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billyjaxin
26-Oct-09, 17:56
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It's easy to tell when kids are ready to learn. They want to. (Who makes all those six year old boys become dinosaur experts?) When their brain development hasn't progressed to where they can grasp a concept, they just ignore it or go off on some silly tangent.
It's different when they are older and are ready to work at a skill. At that point you demand committment, whether they choose chess, piano, boxing or whatever. If you decide that this will be your skill, then you WILL do the work. All skill development follows the same pattern. Initial learning is fast and fun. Then comes a long period of frustration when the learning is internal and nothing seems to be paying off. Then comes a relatively sudden gain when it all comes together. Repeat parts two and three.
But for young children, allow their interest to guide you, and when they drop it you drop it too.
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