Piece values and promotion
Ready when: King, check, checkmate, stalemate (b3) done.
What you are learning
What the pieces are worth (queen 9, rook 5, bishop 3, knight 3, pawn 1), so the child can tell whether a trade is good; and promotion, when a pawn reaching the far side becomes another piece.
Words on this card Board, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Pawn, Check, Promotion, Piece values, Trade, Minor piece
- Board
- The board has 64 squares, light and dark in turn.
- 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.
- Check
- Check is an attack on the king; checkmate is check with no way out.
- Promotion
- A pawn reaching the far side becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
- Piece values
- A guide to what pieces are worth: queen 9, rook 5, bishop 3, knight 3, pawn 1.
- Trade
- Both players capturing pieces, one after the other.
- Minor piece
- A bishop or a knight.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Write the values on paper: queen 9, rook 5, bishop 3, knight 3, pawn 1.
- Show a trade: you take a knight (3) and lose a pawn (1): you gain 2.
- Push a pawn to the far row and swap it for a queen.
Your part while they practise
Ask "should I trade my rook for two minor pieces?" and add the points together.
Step by step
- Learn the values.
- Do chess sums: add up what each side gives and gets.
- A pawn reaching the far side becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
How much: 8 chess sums 10 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Trade or not
You show a trade on paper; the child says whether it gains or loses, and by how much.
Who plays: the child against you; swap halfway.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Write a trade, such as "my rook for your bishop and a pawn"
- The child adds up both sides and says "good", "bad" or "even"
- 10 trades, then swap
- Fair play
- A grown-up answers in under 5 seconds.
- Points
- 1 point for the right answer; 1 point for the right number.
- Fouls
- No points
- Guessing without adding up
- Forgetting a piece in the count
- Winning
- More points after 10 trades each.
- 8 points for 1 star
- 14 points for 2 stars
- 18 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Pawns and knights only.
Include promotion choices.
What you will see, and what to say
- the child gives up a queen for a pawn
Count before you trade
Add it up first. - they always choose a queen
Is a knight better here?
Sometimes it gives check.
Self-check
4 of 5 trades judged correctly by the count.
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 evaluation, counting.
awiseathlete.com/sports/mind-sports/mind-sports-b4