Question: How do you keep kids engaged for a whole club meeting?

{"type"=>"root", "children"=>[{"type"=>"paragraph", "children"=>[{"type"=>"text", "value"=>"Structure your meetings so they go from the most formal instruction at the beginning to a very relaxed period at the end. You’ll benefit from fresh, attentive kids while you’re trying to teach and avoid fighting for their attention when they’re maxed out. Depending on age, break up the session with some quick puzzles, a silly stretch break, or chess trivia questions like those in "}, {"url"=>"https://www.uscfsales.com/the-chess-pub-quiz-puzzle-book.html", "type"=>"link", "children"=>[{"type"=>"text", "value"=>""The Chess Pub Quiz Puzzle Book"}]}, {"type"=>"text", "value"=>"" by Dimitri Reinderman. "}, {"type"=>"text", "value"=>"Sidenote: If your club meets after school, can you have a small snack available? While that isn’t always allowed/possible, it’s much easier to teach anything to kids who aren’t hungry.", "italic"=>true}]}]}

Question: What do real kids say about this topic?

{"type"=>"root", "children"=>[{"type"=>"paragraph", "children"=>[{"type"=>"text", "value"=>"I took an informal, unscientific poll of kids I know, and the answer was very consistent. "}, {"type"=>"text", "value"=>"“Don’t make it boring.” ", "italic"=>true}, {"type"=>"text", "value"=>"That may sound daunting, but when I dug a little deeper, it was in reality quite simple. The kids wanted to learn a little and play chess a lot. You don’t have to be wildly creative or present a multimedia extravaganza—just let them play. Chess is engaging enough!"}]}]}

Top Tips and Tricks for Teaching Kids Chess

“Guess who the most powerful piece on the board is?”

I was teaching the basic rules of chess to a seven-year-old girl at our school chess club. She was a serious girl, and she studied the board for a minute. “The king?” she asked uncertainly.

I gave her a conspiratorial smile. “Nope. It’s the queen.” Her face lit up, and from that moment, she felt ownership of her game that I couldn’t have taught her with any number of technical lessons.

Teaching kids chess is both challenging and rewarding. It requires patience and consistency, but the benefits to kids are many and impactful. From improving logical thinking to fostering friendships, read on for tips to make your experience as a chess teacher effective, and dare I say, fun!

A young girl looks at a chess board while an older woman happily explains — Chess is way more fun when you're the queen! Photo by Alex Green / Pexels.

Kids Learn Chess by Playing Chess

The most important thing you can provide in your chess club is space to play chess. Your students want to learn by doing. If your club is very casual, you may allow the kids to pair up on their own, but I recommend setting the matches yourself at least part of the time. This does two things. First, you will make sure the players are exposed to different styles and levels of play. Second, you’ll be reinforcing what you’ve taught with real situations on the board.

Even the most prestigious tournaments have a skittles room where matches can be played for fun. After your required matchups, let them loose! Don’t neglect this in your chess instruction. Kids will come to learn chess. They’ll stay because they look forward to seeing and playing with their chess club friends. Setting aside some unstructured time for socializing and chess-related fun activities will build these important relationships.

Model and Encourage a Teaching/Learning Mindset

I remember a situation where I had a very skilled player sit down with a brand-new kid. Unfortunately, the more experienced player crushed his opponent mercilessly, and we had tears and dismay from both at the end of the game. I felt bad, too, because I didn’t prevent this from happening the way it did.

After that, we all spent some time on what I call a teaching/learning mindset. If there is a skill mismatch, the better player should embrace the opportunity to help the other student learn. The learning player should try to be receptive to the knowledge being shared. Teach your players to be flexible during informal practice matches so everyone can improve.

Boy sits looking at sadly at the chess board — Sometimes, it just isn't our day at the chess board. Photo by Vlada Karpovich / Pexels.

Very new players can watch more experienced players in a demonstration match, where questions are encouraged and answered by the kids playing. This benefits all players! Explaining what you’re doing, or why you did something, is harder than simply playing. Your demonstration players will have to think more deeply about their play and strategy to explain it to others.

What if you introduce this concept, model it yourself, and feelings still run high? That’s inevitable with kids, but you can do a couple of things to encourage good sportsmanship. Walk through scenarios with your kids and ask them what they would do in each situation. Ask them to role-play both sides, the winning player and losing player in a lop-sided loss, a close battle, or a draw. Be consistent with your expectation that every game end with a gesture of respect.

Did you still get tears? It happens! Have a process in mind ahead of time to give students a safe place to get themselves back under control, and always invite them back when they’re ready. Sometimes, a hard-fought loss is just disappointing. As long as they aren’t taking it out on the other kids, let them practice coping with those big feelings.

Keep Instruction Age and Skill Appropriate

Always tailor your instruction to the students you have. If you’re starting a program from scratch, you may need to go over the basic rules several times. Chess lessons for scholastic clubs may “start over” each year as the more experienced club members graduate and new kids take their places. If you have students joining throughout the year, one-on-one instruction with you or a more skilled student can get them caught up.

Two young men play chess at the park, and one of them seems very surprised at the other's latest move — These young adults probably learned this amazing move in their high school chess club.
Photo by William Fortunato / Pexels.

Middle and high school kids may already be skilled at the basics of chess. After asking some exploratory questions, have them play matches and observe. You may find that they’re ready for more advanced techniques or a study of famous historical matches, such as the 1972 Fischer/Spassky World Championship intriguingly detailed in "The Match of All Time" by Gudmundur Thorarinsson. Identify common gaps or next level strategies and focus on those.

Kids Chess: Goals Make All The Difference

Some kids will show up at chess club every meeting because they love chess, no incentives required! However, most kids feel pulled by several different interests. Chess club will be more attractive if there are longer term goals and incentives. An in-house tournament before a break or at the end of the school year can be an easy way to both reinforce your instruction and hold their interest. Outside tournaments are even better! Tournaments with other schools or official, rated events will give your more dedicated players a motivating goal.

For older kids or a more formal club, you might use an in-house ranking system where players can move up by winning or drawing matches with higher ranked players. One caution here—make sure rivalries don’t distract from a supportive and positive atmosphere. A great incentive for younger kids is an at-home chess set that can be earned by attending meetings or completing extra study at home. The ChessKid Standard Set is an affordable yet sturdy option.

Have Additional Challenges Ready for Kids Who Want Them

One of the best resources you can grow for your club is a chess lending library of books at all levels. If you’re lucky enough to be meeting in the school library, find out where the chess books are and offer to set aside books for kids to check out when the librarian is available. If you need to build your own chess library, start with a few high-interest books and add as you have resources. Appeal to parents or the school parent organization to add to the collection. One cute addition is "Someday I’ll Be a Queen, A Pawn’s Journey Across the Chessboard" by Christel Minne. (That would have been perfect for the little girl I was teaching chess moves!)

Another strategy for kids with high interest levels is use of “extra credit” handouts with puzzles or practice assignments to be done outside of club time. You can provide a small incentive for completing the task by the next meeting. Recommend chess curriculum software, such as the "Learn to Play Chess With Fritz and Chesster" series (find Volume One here), for enthusiastic elementary students.

Chess and Kids Are a Grand Mix

The record for the youngest Grandmaster in chess is currently 12 years old! Kids who play regularly often surpass adults--never underestimate what your chess club kids can do. Their natural curiosity, combined with the positive and encouraging environment you provide, will help them grow into avid and skilled chess players.

Children sitting attentively at chess boards — Chess is inherently interesting! Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva for Pexels.

Additional Resources

Check out ChessKid for video lessons, puzzles, and free teaching resources: ChessKid.com

Frequently Asked Questions

My best tip for using online chess in your club is—don’t. I’m sure this is an arguable point, but playing over the board has many benefits online play doesn’t. Kids can learn from each other, make friends, and practice sportsmanship in person. As the instructor, you’ll have the chance to watch multiple games and provide suggestions. When you teach chess notation (required for official tournament play), your students will benefit from practicing on paper with in-person games. Online chess can be a valuable way to practice and improve, but it shouldn’t take the place of over the board time.

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