Chess is Child's Play: Teaching Techniques That Work (utgåvan 2012)

I've been holding off on reviewing this book because I'd like to use it with my children (now 2 and 3). The entire setup behind its structure is interesting, but thus far, my kids have been too engaged by all the pieces coming out of the bag (and dropping them all over the house - did I mention they are 2 and 3?) to pull it back down to only doing a piece at a time.

One thing though: I'm an experienced amateur and my husband is a skilled (ranked) player, so much of the basic information is too simple. I do understand that people who don't know chess would like to teach their kids (and I won't really question their reasons) but I'd recommend you find another book for yourself first and teach your kids even with this book once you've a grasp of the game yourself.

This book is an easy read for parents. Sherman and Kilpatrick have partitioned subject matter of the game into sensible chapters. The book gracefully introduces play and concepts in a linear manner without compromising variety. I have not yet been able to test this on my son (a few years away from this), but it helps remind seasoned players on how to structurally approach the game to a complete beginner (an easily distracted one). One should not expect this book, chapter-after-chapter, as the literal guide to teaching a child. Parents and teachers should use this book to set up their frame of mind and recall the game from a simple introductory perspective.

Well structured and written guide for parents and teachers. ( )

I have two bright sons (two years apart) who both like chess, though the older has a better understanding of the game. I know nearly nothing of the rules myself, so this book was as much for my own education as that of the boys.

The book's lessons are clear, brief, and through. This makes them great for use by parents who don't know chess themselves, and for kids who need time to absorb one concept before moving on to the next. But for my fifth-grader -- and even the third-grader -- the lessons are a little too simple. They didn't want to stick to one thing, but instead wanted to play a full game.

They found the pacing frustrating, and ultimately abandoned the lessons in order to just play the game, looking things up online or in another book as they went along. I intend to keep the book as a reference for them and to try to teach myself. ( )

Good approach for the very young (early grade school), programmed instruction with plenty of exercises.

The book could benefit from further suggestions for older kids, e.g. middle school. The authors just recommend doing several lessons at a time at this age, but many are so basic that it is hard to hold an 11-12 year old's attention. ( )

I held off on reviewing this book because I wanted to fully test out the teaching methods described in the book. That said, I never made it through the whole book with my children.

By way of background, I am an enthusiastic amateur (emphasis on amateur) chess player. I play online regularly and enjoy playing games in person with friends. I wanted to try this book with my seven-year old daughter who has expressed an interest in chess but had not started playing the game.

Initially, the book was very helpful. It gave me a good way to discuss the game, the set-up of the board and the various pieces. Some of the early mini-games described in the book were also helpful in reinforcing how the pieces moved and attacked. The lessons were interesting enough that it drew my five-year old son's attention who also demanded to play chess with dad.

From there, the book grew a lot less useful. My children rapidly tired of the games. More importantly, their knowledge of the pieces grew so quickly that they leap-frogged over several parts of the book and had no interest in the drills. Ultimately, the chess app on my Iphone proved to be just as useful in teaching them the basics of movement.

Based upon my experience the book proved to be a good starting point but failed to hold my kids' interest. I am going back to the tried-and-true manner that I learned with - regular games with dad. ( )