Customer Reviews

Chess for Children

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have seen countless books on chess aimed at youngsters over the years, but this is probably the nicest introduction I have ever seen, aimed at primary school children. The problem with so many books is that they are too ambitious, too wordy or just downright boring, but such criticisms in no way apply to this latest addition.

The game is taught through the medium of a cartoon character, George, and his pet alligator, Kirsty, a self-proclaimed Grand Alligator of Chess. The large format pages and large diagrams are easier on the young eye, and the language is readily accessible to a young age group.

The book consists of six parts. Part One covers the basics of how the pieces move, then subsequent parts take the young beginner through a succession of easy, welldefined stages, until by the end of the book you are able to play through and understand a complete game. The book is also very much inter-active, as there are tests interspersed at regular intervals throughout.

As I said earlier, over-ambition is the main problem with so many beginners books, but here the authors have set out with the very limited objective of getting the child started on a very basic level. Opening theory, middlegame strategy and endgame technique have no place here. The emphasis is on learning the basics in an enjoyable manner. If you have a young child or relative who wants to learn chess, then I can thoroughly recommend this book, which in addition to everything I have already said comes at a very reasonable price.

This review first appeared in the magazine En Passant.

We took the extended family on a trip to Florida a couple of months ago, and picked up a plastic chess set together with this book for the children. We hoped they might learn, but we could hardly predict they would become besotted. The book was a mega-hit.
Although both my father-in-law (from Switzerland) and I had played a fair bit of chess in our younger days, neither of us were completely up with the rules. Having this book was useful as both a refresher course and to consult in case of dispute.
I had expected CHESS FOR CHILDREN would be at least an adequate book, as a local chess coach had steered me towards it, but it was better than that, which has prompted me to do this review. The content is brilliant, and I can only agree with other reviews that this has the clearest lay-out of any chess beginner book.
Another unexpected bonus was that the kids were able to follow everything in the book without the help of an adult, even learning chess notation. Visually the book scores well, being a solid hardcover with a good mix of chess moves and illustrations.
The book divides nealy into six parts, starting with setting up the chessboard, and progressing to how each piece moves and some elementary advice on strategy. The first holiday where arcade games were almost forgotten!
Highly recommended.

I enjoyed it because it does a good job in telling you about the rules of chess and gives you some strategies to. It has good pictures and was enjoyable to read. A sixth grader will probably not like it as much as a second grader because of the lay out, but it is still good for both of these ages.

The picture stuff is a little too much for a slightly older kid like me. I am on the chess team at my school and thought it would be a good idea for me to read up some. But for someone in 6th grade I found I needed a more serious book (I think the pictures are cute for little kids, not for anyone beyond first grade). It was not consistant that some parts of the book are for little kids, but the reading level needed was way beyond that. But the book isn't bad. It still had somegood learning things in it.

This book is an excellent place to start teaching children chess. I almost gave it four stars because I don't think children under 7 or 8 will be able to tackle it themselves without an adult. It would still serve as an excellent guide for older children and teens and with an adult's help any younger child would love it. It has great outlines and pictures of how the pieces move, the rules, special rules (en passant for example) and can be referenced easily by anyone. Great job by Mr.Chandler.

I gave this book to my son, aged 5, and was impressed when he sat down and read it for two hours straight. As an elementary school teacher as well as a chess player, I would recommend this book for teaching a child how to play. It is well-organized and starts with the basics - the name of each piece, how each piece moves, how to set up a chessboard.
The format is large and the diagrams and arrows are attractive. My son was particularly excited by the Terribly Tough Tests that were set every few pages, with solutions at the back of the book. The authors have got the level exactly right, which in my experience very few beginner books achieve. There are sections on chess notation, draws, basic checkmates and some simple tactics, but these are all extras - the primary aim is to teach the rules and moves of chess to a youngster, and in this the book succeeds well.
The benefits of chess in teaching logical thinking are well known, and it has even been proved that chess can improve a child's skill at maths. As a genuinely instructional primer, this is easily the best I have seen.

This lovely hardback book proved the ideal present for the son of a friend (who had begged me not to buy him another computer game!). I had previously been impressed with other books by one of the co-authors (see Chess Tactics for Kids) and I was very pleased with this purchase also. The illustrations are unusual, but relevant to the text, but where the book really scores is the carefully considered running order and thoughtful attention to detail.
Anyone aged six and above could learn the rules of chess and the moves of the pieces from this book. A nice feature is the insertion of lots of little extras to maintain a child's interest. This was successful in the case of Peter (my friend's son). He can now play a full game of chess, and has become so entranced with the game that he is talking of joining the school club.

Finally! A book that teaches all the basic moves of chess in a clear, simple way, in a hardcover format where the level is consistent all the way. It sounds a reasonable ask and yet so few beginner books achieve it.
Any child will enjoy this well-presented book, and frankly, if you are an adult wanting to learn, wrap the cover in brown paper and read away! When you are learning chess from scratch then simplicity is the key.
On feature I appreciated was how the covers ALL the elementary topics. I have seen some starter books not including things like the en passant capture, or ways that draws can come about. This book proves that these are not too complex for youngesters. If these topics are explained and illustrated with care and clarity, they are well within the grasp of the average 6 year old. My son was so captivated with the chapter on notation that after a few minutes he came rushing in to show us how he could now write a move down!
I'm so pleased that my yongest has taken up chess, as I'm convinced it can help later in life with logical thinking. It even gets him off the computer every now and then!

We picked up a copy of Chess for Children at the sales bookstall of the chess summer camp that my eldest son attended. The book was not for him (as he is aged sixteen and reaching advanced level) but it was recommended by the chess teachers at the camp as ideal for my daughter. She is eight, and we thought it might help her to practise learning the moves. We have been hoping to teach her how to play chess for quite a while, and while she has showed interest it has been hard for her to keep remembering everything we show her, and we thought a written guide might assist.
To our surprise the plan worked amazingly well. Our daughter took to the book immediately, and probably remembered more in two hours than from weeks of us trying to show her. We would never have thought a child could learn the moves of chess so quickly, but when you think about it, it is not hard - if the material is clearly presented, which it really is in this book. After half an hour she was already challenging her brother to "mini-chess" games, which the book gives early on to reinforce the moves of the pieces. By the next day she was more or less able to follow chess notation, and keen to write her chess moves down.
Chess for Children is a good sized hardback, with illustrations and superbly clear presentation. We can enthusiastically reaffirm what the chess camp told us - this is the best book for teaching children how to play.

I am a chess coach with a personal library of over 400 chess books, including many primers that teach the basic moves. Let me tell you why I have starting using this CHESS FOR CHILDREN as a text book for my introductory classes. First, the clear writing style and large pages with attractive diagrams make it easy to follow. Second, the content is almost perfect - everything the kids need to learn (setting up the board, how the pieces move) is shown in precise order. This sounds easy, but it is amazing how many learn chess books out there have been wrecked by some graphic designer putting style over content. Lastly, the book is fun to read, and yet imparts genuine instruction - which is the best way to keep the attention of my classes.