Hi,
I just played my first game of chess Monday.Got it at Food Lion on a clearance rack for $1.25.Cheap thing but it serves the purpose for now.

I have only played a few times with my 9 yo son and he has beat me like 3 out of 5 times,his first time to plat also,but he does have a good eye.Yesterday I had to let him win because he pitched a fit cause I was winning,I could have got him 4 times but moved so he would have another chance to win.He did win fare-n-square but I let him think I let him win.His horse got my King.Excuse me,his Knight.

Found out that the Bishop can move as many squares diagnal back and forth,en passant(?),and he dont like those rules cause thats how I got him.

This is one game that is addicting,always thinking about your next move.

Now I do have questions,do I ask here or in another thread?

Thanks.

Welcome to chess! I recently taught my 8-year old daughter as well. Its a great game and my best memories are of playing my grandfather when I was a kid

I'm one of those who think its not a good idea to let new players win because losing is part of the game- its what drives some of us to get better. Better to point out what they did well and let them feel challenged- builds good life skills and character. After all- did a more experienced coworker ever let you get a promotion in his place

Here's site I found useful when teaching my daughter: Duif's Guide for Chess Fans: Teaching Your Child Chess

The Exeter Chess Club has been one of my favorite sites for years. They have loads of stuff for players of all levels, and have it organized so you can design a basic course of study to improve. This page has some fun games that help develop some of the deeper ideas that you'll come across if you start to study the game even casually. Its not formatted the best.

To take full advantage of all the chess stuff out there and at the Exeter site, you'll need to learn (takes just a few minutes) chess notation.

If all else fails, just play for fun

Questions can be put in the general forum most likely- as you gain knowledge you'll know if it fits better in a more specific forum.

en passant is a special pawn capture, so saying a Bishop moves diagonally is just fine. They're usually referred to as 'sitting on the diagonal'.

Thanks for that info,and I did find my self saying "are you sure you want make that move?" several times,then he would see his mistake.But we have only played 4 games.
Now off to the question board.

Welcome to the forums and the game!

Giving him hints like that is a good teaching method. Don't lower your level of play to let him beat you - instead, you're helping him to raise his level of play.

--Fromper

Hmmm I disagree!

I understand the good intentions of counseling you to not lower your level of play so your son can improve in chess. I think asking questions about if he's sure he wants to make a certain move is okay. I don't teach kids chess, there may be some here who do, but I certainly remember as a kid, If I tried some sport or hobby that friends or adults dominated 99 percent of the time, I lost interest very quickly, sometimes for life.

It seems to me a fine line. Kids need the occassional satisfaction and skill affirmation of a clearly thought out win, but they also shouldn't be able to pout their way to victory! (for obvious reasons no?)

In any case, I'd be interested what other forum members have to say, as I've been thinking about volunteering to teach kids chess. Best of luck!

I think giving him hints should be enough to help him win some of the time. So he'll still get to win sometimes, but without anyone intentionally throwing a game. That's how I play against my nephews, though I don't have a lot of experience with that, since they live far away and I don't see them often.

--Fromper

I dont know,he has beatin me several times now,mostly I'll let him slide a few moves or not capture him all the time,then he corners my king.
If I didnt help him out I could probly win most of the time,but he watches my moves and can guess what I'm about to do.If he's not sure he'll ask me if I can capture him if he moves to a certain square.