- Check the space and the kit.
- Get your child's attention first.
- Show it from two sides.
- Say one thing only.
- End on one that works.
Put the phone down where you can see it. Tap Next with your thumb, or use the arrow keys.
Is the space marked?
- Set the board with a white square at the bottom right of each player
- Queen on her own colour
A board and a pencil.
Three minutes to get warm.
Easy jogging on the spot, then arms and legs. How to warm up well is explained at workonfitness.com.
- 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.
Show it once from the front and once from the side, slowly. Then let your child try.
- 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
Count before you trade
Trade or not
The rules
You show a trade on paper; the child says whether it gains or loses, and by how much.
- 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
- Win
- More points after 10 trades each.
- 8
- 14
- 18
4 of 5 trades judged correctly by the count.
End on one that works. If it was hard today, finish with the easier version.
Well played.
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