Jessica E Prescott - Learn to Play Chess

Learn to Play

Chess

Learn to Play

Chess

easy and fun chess activities for children aged 7 years +

Jessica E. Martin

For my sweet Baby Albert, my absolute joy. And for all children, girls and boys, who want to play chess: you can do it, and dont give up!

This edition published in 2021 by CICO Kidz

An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small

www.rylandpeters.com

First published in 2014 as My First Chess Book

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text Jessica E. Martin 2014

Design, illustration, and photography

CICO Kidz 2014

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 80065 057 2

eISBN: 978 1 80065 073 2

Editor: Robin Gurdon

Designer: Barbara Zuiga

Photographer: Penny Wincer

Stylist: Isabel de Cordova

Animal artworks: Hannah George

Step artworks: Rachel Boulton

Art director: Sally Powell

Head of production: Patricia Harrington

Publishing manager: Penny Craig

Publisher: Cindy Richards

Contents

Introduction

Chess is fun and universal! You can play with your friends and family, with anyone of any age, all over the world! Its also much easier to get started than youd imagine as you really only have to learn how to move six different pieces. Once youve got the hang of that, there are lots of exciting activities to master, each of which will make you a better chess player!

Every activity in this book has a skill level of one, two, or three (see below) so you can tell when youre ready to try each one. There is also a helpful glossary on , which explains special chess terms that are used throughout the activities.

You can learn a lot with this book, and end up beating your dad or mom quite soon! Sometimes you will win and sometimes you will lose, but remember always to be a good sport, and bow or shake hands with your partner when the game is over.

Activity skill levels

Level 1

These are quick and simple activities for new players.

Level 2

You will need to have mastered Level 1 activities before you try these, but they are easy once youve done that.

Level 3

Trophy level! These activities are more challenging and you may want to ask an adult to help you with them.

Starting Out!

The Materials

What do you need to play a chess game? Really very little: all you require is a chess set, which includes a board and pieces. Plus, though you could play by yourself, its usually more exciting to play against a friend!

Your board could have numbers and letters on it (see ), or be blank around the edges. It could be made of wood or marble or glass, but the easiest (and safest!) board to carry around is simply made of vinyl or cloth. Similarly, the pieces could be made of any kind of material. You can even create your own set out of clay or papier-mch! It doesnt even matter what color the pieces are as long as the two sides are different. Ive seen red and blue, pink and blackyou could choose your favorite colors!

Naming the Squares

Lets take a look at our board first. There are 64 squares on a chessboard. Each square has a namea first and a last name, just like you and me! Its very easy to remember all these squares names, because their first name is the letter below, and their last name is the number to the side. We say the letter first, then the number. So the first squares name is a1. (In chess, we dont capitalize the squares names.)

What if you move up a square? This squares first name is still a, but now its last name is 2. So its full name is a2. What about the one above that? Its a3! Im sure you can figure out all the squares names just by looking at the letters and numbers! Try itpoint to any square on the board and say its name.

The horizontal and vertical rows also have names. The horizontal rows are called ranks, while the vertical rows (or columns) are called files. So, for example, we would call row number two the second rank, and we would call the column labeled c the c-file.

Setting up the Board

As youre looking at the board, whether youre playing as White or Black, the white square always goes on the right-hand side. (White and right rhyme, so it should be easy to remember that one!)

If your board has letters and numbers on it, remember that a1 is always on the same side as Whiteitll be the bottom left square. (So if you are playing as Black, the bottom left square from your viewpoint is always h8.) Now you need to find out where the pieces go!