Blog

Following last week’s visit to Oxford, the following day I asked the members of one of my school chess clubs how they could get more children in the school interested in chess. Some of them suggested running an open day to promote chess to the whole school.

This week the children told me they’d had an open day that morning. The teachers involved in the club and one of the club members spoke about chess in morning assembly, and at lunchtime they invited anyone interested into a classroom, splitting them between children who couldn’t play at all, children who knew some of the moves and children who could play a complete game. They had 41 children in total, 26 boys and 15 girls (there’s only one girl in the school club).

They’re going to do the same thing again the next two weeks. I said I’d come along for free and bring some copies of Chess for Kids to show the children. I’ll also write a letter for them to take home to their parents explaining how they can help and advertising my books, websites & coaching services.

The teachers were happy with this, and also hoped that there would be enough interest to run a beginners’ club next term, while keeping the current club for children who know all the rules. They were also interested in the idea of running an inter-class tournament at the end of term. I suggested four players per team representing each class from Yr3 (7-8 year olds) to Yr6 (10-11 year olds), with at least one boy and one girl in each team.

I’ll post again to let you know what happens next.

 

An algorithm is a sequenced set of instructions. All dynamic computer programs are algorithms. If you’re cooking a meal, assembling some flat pack furniture, or setting a digital chess clock, you’re following an algorithm. It should be a clear and unambiguous description of how to produce a delicious plate of food or a cupboard for your chess books.

You always need a plan when you’re playing chess. In endings in particular, concrete plans are important. You’ll very often develop and follow an algorithm to achieve your aim.

All chess endings are, in effect, minichess games, as they use a subset of the pieces, and so are ideal learning tools. Perhaps the most important minichess game of all is King and Queen against King. It’s absolutely vital that every ‘big chess’ player can do this quickly and efficiently while avoiding stalemate. If you follow an algorithm it’s not so hard.

Here’s one possible algorithm, taken from Chess Endings for Heroes.

1. Place your queen one row away from the enemy king. Whenever he moves towards the side, again move your queen to the next row.

2. Place your king two rows away from the enemy king.

3. Force the king towards the edge of the board. Every time he moves towards the edge place your queen on the next row.

4. When the black king reaches the edge move your king towards him, keeping two rows away, until you can get checkmate. Remember to put your queen in place first to avoid stalemate.

Many children prefer an alternative algorithm, which is also explained in Chess Endings for Heroes.

Place your queen a knight’s move away from the black king. Then keep on doing the same thing until he is stuck on the side of the board. Just make sure you don’t stalemate him in the corner. Then approach with your king until you’re close enough to get checkmate. (You might well think this is not sufficiently clear.)

There are several ways to run competitions using the king and queen checkmate. Here’s one idea. Start with a white king and queen, and a black king. Black chooses the starting position of the pieces (with the black king not in check). White wins by checkmating the black king within 15 moves (you only count the white moves). You might also want to play that illegal moves lose, so White can capture the black king if it moves into check. Black wins by surviving 15 moves, by getting stalemated, or by capturing the white queen.

Alternatively, take it in turns to play White. Count the moves: the winner is the player who gets checkmate more quickly.

Get children to write their own algorithms, for example to plan checkmate with two rooks. Or, for a harder task, to plan checkmate with king and rook against king. These tasks involve both language and mathematical skills so are great for schools.

 

 

A lot of rather vague and unsubstantiated claims are made about chess improving children’s thinking skills.

I prefer to take a different approach: to teach very specific thinking skills through chess puzzles and activities.

One thing I do is teach Scientific Method though checkmate puzzles.

1. Consider the facts
2. Create a hypothesis
3. Test your hypothesis
4. Either accept or reject your hypothesis
5. If you reject it, create a better hypothesis using the additional facts you now have

I might start with puzzles where I just ask whether or not the position is checkmate. All my pupils have to do is Step 3. They have to ask four questions. Is it check? Can the king move to a safe square? Can I block the check? Can I capture the checking piece? If the answers are ‘Yes, No, No, No’ you accept the hypothesis, otherwise you reject it.

If I set a puzzle where my students have to find a mate in one move they have to go through the complete process.

1. Consider the facts: the fact is that there’s a mate in 1
2. Create a hypothesis: that move x is the solution
3. Test move x to see whether or not it really is mate
4. If it is, write down the answer
5. If it’s not checkmate try another move: if, for example, the king can move to e4, you can create a better hypothesis by choosing a move which controls e4.

Here’s a simple example taken from Checkmates for Heroes:

You might start by looking at Qf6+. Black has several ways to get out of check. There’s Re7, Kc7, Kc8 or Ke8. So let’s look for something else. Qh8+ is a better try. Now Black can’t block or stay on the back rank. But it still doesn’t work: Black has Kc7 or Ke7. So try Qb8+ instead. Close, but not quite good enough: Ke7 still gets out of check.

You might then notice the rook on b1 and try Rb8+. This time it is checkmate. Black cannot capture, block or move to a safe square.

In a classroom you might move on to look at other areas where you might use scientific method, and explain how scientists work. Can your students use this thinking skill in their science lessons? In any other lessons? In any other aspects of their life?

My chess teaching colleague Andrew Varney (you might have read about him here) kindly invited me to spend an afternoon and evening in Oxford, shadowing him at the two primary schools discussed in the book, followed by a boarding prep school and a coaching session for the county junior squad.

It was great to visit schools where chess is really valued, and is seeing as being an integral part of school life rather than just a game played by a few children in a distant classroom after everyone else has gone home.

To be fair, there are schools in my area which take a similar approach: I’ve been involved with them in the past. But too many schools don’t value chess at all. They might run a club to keep the parents happy, or they might not even want to do that. At least one of my colleagues spends much of his time on public transport lugging a heavy suitcase full of chess sets round schools across London. If they can afford to pay for a chess teacher, surely they could also afford to buy a few sets.

I now have a lot of ideas about promoting chess in the schools with which I’m currently involved. I’m throwing out suggestions and asking both teachers and pupils how we can get more children interested in chess.

Here in my affluent corner of London, not encouraging chess shouldn’t be an option for primary schools. Having a club which attracts children who can play and children who can’t play, children who want to play serious chess and children who want to play social chess, children who are enthusiastic players and, on occasion, children who are not interested at all.

We have to start by promoting a positive image of chess, for its social as well as its cognitive benefits, and, most of all, as an amazing game which will provide some children with a lifelong interest.

 

In competitive chess there’s a code of etiquette. At the start of the game you introduce yourself to your opponent if you’re playing someone you don’t already know. You shake hands. You say ‘Good luck’ to each other. You play fair. You avoid doing anything that might possibly annoy or distract your opponent. You play in silence so that you, your opponent, and those around you can concentrate on the game. After the game you shake hands again. You say ‘Good game’. If you lose you might congratulate your opponent. If you win you might tell your opponent he/she played well. You don’t show off or gloat when you win. You don’t cry when you lose.

If you’re playing in a team, you congratulate your team mates who have won their games, and commiserate with those who have lost their games.

Most primary school teachers will agree that these are important lessons for all young children to learn.

If you’re playing competitive minichess, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use the same ideas. We believe that ALL children can benefit from minichess, so ALL children can learn these important life lessons.