One piece at a time
Ready when: The pawn game (b1) done.
What you are learning
How each piece moves, one new piece a week, by playing that piece alone against a row of pawns: the rook, then the bishop, the queen and the knight. Knowing how far and which way each piece goes is the base of every plan.
Words on this card Board, Diagonal, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Pawn, Capture, Knight's tour
- Board
- The board has 64 squares, light and dark in turn.
- Diagonal
- A slanting line of squares of one colour.
- Queen
- Moves any number of squares in a straight line or diagonal.
- Rook
- Moves any number of squares along a file or rank.
- Bishop
- Moves any number of squares along a diagonal, so it stays on one colour.
- Knight
- Moves in an L shape (two squares one way, then one square to the side) and jumps over other pieces.
- Pawn
- Moves one square forward (two from its starting square) and captures one square diagonally forward.
- Capture
- Taking an enemy piece by moving onto its square.
- Knight's tour
- A puzzle of moving a knight to visit every square of an area.
Set up
A board, one rook, bishop, queen or knight against pawns.
Weather: any weather
Show it first for the one teaching
- Put the week's piece on the board and show every square it can reach.
- Rook: straight along rows and columns. Bishop: diagonals only, so it stays on one colour.
- Queen: both. Knight: an L shape, jumping over anything.
Your part while they practise
Be the pawns; a coin toss decides who plays the piece.
Step by step
- One piece against a row of pawns.
- The piece side wins by capturing all the pawns before one reaches the far side.
- A new piece each week: rook, bishop, queen, knight.
How much: 2 games each 15 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Knight's tour race
Visit every square of a small 4 by 4 area with the knight in the fewest moves.
Who plays: the child against you, each taking a turn with the same area.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Mark a 4 by 4 area of the board with coins on every square
- Start the knight in a corner; each move, pick up the coin from the square it lands on
- Count the moves until every coin you can reach is gone, or no new square can be reached
- Fair play
- A grown-up must start in the middle of the area.
- Points
- 1 point for each knight move; the lowest total is best.
- Fouls
- Add 2 points
- A move that is not an L shape
- Moving the knight outside the area
- Winning
- The lower total.
- 25 points or fewer for 1 star
- 20 points or fewer for 2 stars
- 16 points or fewer for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Fewer pawns.
More pawns, or the piece side must capture in order.
What you will see, and what to say
- the bishop changes colour
A bishop stays on its colour
Diagonals only. - the child thinks the knight is blocked
A knight jumps over pieces
Nothing stops an L.
Self-check
The child names every square a piece can reach from the centre, for 4 pieces.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains piece movement, tactics of capture.
awiseathlete.com/sports/mind-sports/mind-sports-b2