Someday I’ll Be a Queen - Toolbox - Playing Chess with One Kid & Group

This toolbox full of tips and games accompanies the picture
book, Someday I’ll Be a Queen, which incorporates all the rules of chess. Teachers, parents,
grandparents, and chess coaches learn how to build it up step by step.

The message is, have fun! Enjoy the book and the game together. Take your time. Don’t go through the book all at once but learn piece
to piece after which you rehearse the chess piece.

I work with small groups of 6 to 8 children for a maximum of
30 minutes at a time. With the four-year-olds, I explain about the king and
after that, we play four different games. During the last game, before they
learn to move the rook, I put a car on the chess board. Every toddler
knows not to stand in the street when a car approaches. So they have to move
their king to safety each time. Actually, they are already lifting check
without realizing it.

The hardest thing for experienced and trained chess players
is to apply the game in such a way that you think at the toddler’s level. Make
it very simple. Don’t overwhelm them with too many rules at once. Tackle it
playfully using the language of their environment.