Many people learn chess in the same traditional way: this is a pawn and it moves like this... here's a knight and it moves like this... if I land on your piece I can take it... now let's play!

Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases people who learn chess this way either:

  1. learn the rules incorrectly or incompletely, and/or...
  2. incorporate bad chess habits from the start that can be difficult to shake later on.

The Kids & Chess curriculum was developed by founder Rob Soul in an effort to teach kids proper chess fundamentals and solid habits from day one. There are five levels:

  1. Introductory - for beginning students or those who aren't sure about all the rules.
  2. Novice - students who have learned the rules study basic endgames and checkmates.
  3. Intermediate - a study of attacking play with emphasis on top players and their styles.
  4. Advanced I - here, students will develop their opening repertoires for tournament play.
  5. Advanced II - students at this level study complicated endgames and pawn structures.

Additionally, there is a beginning Chess Tactics course that can be taken at any time but is recommended between the Novice and Intermediate levels. In this course, students will learn about all of the basic tactical devices available to a chess player: pins, forks, skewers, removal of the guard, decoys, and many more! This tactical knowledge is essential for any student interested in playing the best they possibly can. For professional chess players, tactical knowledge is indispensible.

Every level of the curriculum has been developed with kids in mind so that the concepts are easy to understand and apply. Workbook material is structured clearly and consists mostly of chess diagrams with some fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice answers. Class time is tilted heavily toward actually playing chess because chess, after all, is a game and games ought to be fun! However, Kids & Chess students soon understand that the more they learn about chess the more fun it becomes and our classes are full of eager students.

If you would like to sit in and observe a Kids & Chess class in action, please contact us at: coachrob@kidsnchess.com