Artwork by Mike Magnan
What are some of the things that you have done to motivate kids to learn and stay with chess? The idea of this post is for parents, coaches and teachers to share ideas with each other.
My father made chess very fun for me and I was hooked to the game for the rest of my life. In the beginning, he started slowly and I learned to play pawn wars and mastered one piece at a time. It is very important to make chess fun for kids!
What are some of the cool things you have done with your kids or students?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I think the first thing to do to get kids interested in chess is to read them interesting stories (the book “The Kings of New York” for instance), and also to show them movies about the game (such as “Searching for Bobby Fischer” for instance, or the “Knights of the South Bronx”).
I was intrigued watching my dad and his friend play when I was a child. The shape and smell of the wooden pieces and the intensity as they played fascinated me. He thought I was too young to learn, so I got books form the school library and learned to play.
I teach 2nd through 5th graders. To get students interested I write 30 second announcements for my principal to read on the morning closed-circuit tv to promote our club or share news throughout the year.
We had a lunchtime group that played every day. They had a tournament and every student received a magnetic travel set for participating.
I also recruited strategic kids that others saw as clique leaders; if the cool kids played chess then it was okay for everyone to like it. Strategic use of peer influence.
After two years of groundwork the librarian is adding chess books to the school’s collection.
A bit of humility when talking about my passion for chess helps, I compare it to being a huge fan of golf, darts or skeet and non-chess people get it.
I remembered that my son enjoyed playing with Chessmaster and changing the pieces around so they looked like animals or soldiers or whatever.
My father enjoyed playing chess with me, and the game became the thing we did when we spent time together. To this day when I think of my father I also think about the time we spent playing chess.