Chess is synonymous with intelligence because it involves intensive mental planning and strategizing. Whether you're hoping your child will become the next Bobby Fisher or you just want to give them a little brain training and fun, learning to play chess online can be helpful.
Here are some techniques and games used to teach chess online to children.
Building Up to Chess
For children, learning to play simpler games can be a bridge to a more complex game like chess. Some of the best learn chess online programs for children start with other games before starting chess.
- Tic Tac Toe: teaching children to master a basic game like Tic Tac Toe can help them build both confidence and proactive game theory skills. For Tic Tac Toe, a chess online learning program will engage in a speed round of increasingly difficult moves and permutations. As your child gets better at forcing a win or draw, the online chess learning program will prompt them to make predictions about the moves they and/or their opponent should make one to two moves ahead.
- Connect Four and Checkers: once your child graduates from Tic Tac Toe, they can experiment with Connect Four and checkers. The best learn to play chess online programs will have your child begin to experiment with both offensive and defensive maneuvering. For instance, your child might be instructed to play checkers with the goal of preventing their opponent from reaching the back row of their side.
Mini-Games and Scenarios
A complete chess game can be daunting for children. Learn to play chess online programs will chunk the learning curve by having your child play mini-games and work through scenarios.
- Pawns to Players: the variety of moves each chess piece can make can be difficult to master. For instance, your child might be given a mini-game of chess with a few pawns and a rook, bishop, queen, king, or knight. The goal of these mini-games is to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of each chess piece and how to maneuver them on the board.
- Avoiding Checkmate: another tool to help children learn chess is working through scenarios they'll encounter when they play. For instance, your child might drop into a game where the next move could put them in a checkmate situation. They will then be given opportunities to avoid checkmate for as many moves as they can. By breaking the game down into these scenarios, they build skills they can apply to actual chess matches.
