There are many reasons to teach children chess; some of the reported benefits include helping to improve visual memory, attention span, spatial-reasoning ability, critical thinking skills, math, and reading skills. There are even some studies that suggest playing chess can help increase a child’s IQ.
There are lots of different ways to get kids interested in chess, so we have included links to the best websites, apps, books, sets and online videos that will help parents find the best ways to teach their kids how to play.
Chess Websites /Online Chess Courses for Kids
- Chess Kid is the #1 chess site for kids. It has some free content that you can access if you sign up for a free account. There is also an option to upgrade to a gold membership that gives you greater access to videos and some of the other playing options on the site. They have a few different pricing options, the basic is for one kid for one month for $7.99 or $49.99 a year, up to 3 kids for $99.99 a year.
- Chess Kids has some free online lessons for kids and has a feature that allows kids to play against the computer. This site also has as many chess resources for parents and kids, including videos.
Chess Apps for Kids
Most kids love playing against a computer once they have mastered the basics of chess. Several apps offer great introductions with fun tutorials, as well as the opportunity to play against the computer.
- Chess Academy for Kids is designed to teach children chess in a step-by-step way, where they can learn as well as practice. This app is suitable for older children aged 8+ to teach themselves the rules and basic strategies of chess, as well as for younger children aged 5+ to learn chess with adult help. This app has tutorials and a game mode.
- Dinosaur Chess: Learn to Play! is another app designed specifically for kids to learn how to play chess. This app has 11 interactive lessons as well as 20 mini-games and puzzles, all with a dinosaur theme.
- Newbie Chess isn’t designed for kids, but it is a good beginner chess app that is okay for kids to use. This app has lots of graphical effects that make it easy for new players to understand game rules and tactics.
- t Chess Lite is another chess app that isn’t designed for kids, but it is fun and easy for any beginner to use.
- Chess Invaders is a game where alien forces are invading the galaxy, and the player must defend the galaxy where everything behaves according to the rules of chess. The player has to move pieces according to their chess movement rules, so kids will learn the rules of chess while playing a fun game.
- Shredder Chess Lite if you are looking for something a little more serious, you can try Shredder. It’s one of the most successful chess apps with lots of features for the serious player.
Beginner Chess Books for Kids
It is useful to have a reference book for kids who are learning chess so they can read about the various pieces and learn rules and strategies. There are quite a lot of children’s chess books; these are some of the most popular and best-reviewed:
- Chess for Children: How to Play the World’s Most Popular Board Game by Murray Chandler teaches kids the basic moves of chess, and it explains all the rules in a step by step manner. The game is introduced through a cartoon character, George, and his pet alligator, Kirsty, a self-proclaimed Grand Alligator of Chess. Murray Chandler has a few other top-rated chess books, including Chess Tactics for Kids, Chess Puzzles, and How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, but if you are looking for a great beginner chess book Chess for Children is the one to get.
- Chess for Kids by Michael Basman is another excellent book to help make chess understandable to children Like most other DK books the pictures are outstanding, the text is simple, and the information is arranged in such a way that so kids can easily refer to the book as they play. It covers all the basic information that kids need to know about chess, including the history and detailed information about each of the pieces.
- Checkmate!: My First Chess Book by Garry Kasparov is another very popular choice as an excellent book for beginners. It covers the basics, the pieces, and their moves, notation, winning and drawing, etc.
- Chess is Child’s Play: Teaching Techniques That Work by Laura Sherman and Bill Kilpatrick is a book specifically written for parents who are trying to teach their kids chess. This book has a step-by-step method for teaching chess to children. This book is especially useful for parents who don’t know how to play chess themselves because it teaches the parent the game while showing how to teach your children.
Chess Sets for Kids
If you already have a chess set there is no reason to buy any particular type of set. Still, if you are having a bit of trouble getting your kids interested in chess and are looking for a cool set that might help spark an interest in chess, or you are just looking for a good beginner set, you could try some of the following sets that are easy and fun for kids to use:
- No Stress Chess is a neat way to approach chess for a beginner. This chess set uses cards that tell you which piece to move. Once you become comfortable with the moves and what each chess piece can do, then you can flip the two-sided board over and play regular chess. This set includes rules for two variations of playing using the action cards and all the necessary rules for standard chess. This game is excellent for anyone who might be a little intimidated by learning chess.
- ThinkFun Solitaire Chess is another fun game that is a different approach to learning chess for a beginner. This game is more of a puzzle game than a chess set, but it is an easy way to help kids learn the rules of chess. The game has one set of pieces that lets the player use the movement of chess pieces to clear the entire board. There 60 puzzles that include levels for easy, medium, and hard.
- Super Mario Chess would obviously be a good option for any child who is a Mario fan. The set is a little pricey, but it’s a nice set with great reviews, so it would be fun if your kids are into Mario, and you would like them to learn chess.
Teaching Kids Chess Videos
Chess Kid has a great introductory video that will help your kids play chess
This video is a good overview of chess done by Archie Jennings and his eight-year-old son.
Hopefully, you found something that will help you teach your kids chess. If you have any resources that you have used and really like, let us know in the comments below.