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Coach

Start here

How to run a session, roles for helpers, what to print, iPad tips.

Plan a session

Who's coming, adults, iPads. Get groups, an agenda and a print pack.

Wrap-up

Tick who came and who passed. Scan iPad pass codes and helpers' codes.

Roster & progress

Kids, placement, progress, certificates.

Club printables

Sticker chart, lesson stamps, name tents, score sheets, ladder.

Club games

Ladder, round robin and Swiss pairings.

iPads & sharing

Club iPads, helpers' phones, club files, lock a lesson.

Lessons

Kids move up by skill, not age. Everyone new to chess starts at Step 1, whether they're in kindergarten or 8th grade, and kids who already play can be placed higher from the Roster. Each lesson has a script you can read aloud, a game for the tables, and practice that works on iPads or paper.

1

Step 1: Meet the Pieces

The board, how every piece moves and captures, and setting up.

  1. 1The Chessboard20′
  2. 2The Rook25′
  3. 3The Bishop25′
  4. 4The Queen and the King25′
  5. 5The Knight25′
  6. 6The Pawn35′
  7. 7Setting Up the Board25′
2

Step 2: Capture & Count

Piece values, free pieces, good and bad trades, and reading moves.

  1. 1What Pieces Are Worth30′
  2. 2Free Pieces25′
  3. 3Good Trades, Bad Trades25′
  4. 4Reading and Writing Moves25′
3

Step 3: Check & Checkmate

Giving check, the three ways out of check, and checkmate in one.

  1. 1Check!25′
  2. 2Getting Out of Check25′
  3. 3Checkmate!35′
4

Step 4: Special Rules & Draws

Castling, promotion, en passant, and every way a game can be drawn.

  1. 1Castling25′
  2. 2Pawn Promotion25′
  3. 3En Passant25′
  4. 4Draws and Stalemate35′
5

Step 5: Finish the Game

The ladder mate and checkmating with king and queen or king and rook.

  1. 1The Ladder Mate25′
  2. 2King and Queen Checkmate35′
  3. 3King and Rook Checkmate35′
6

Step 6: Tactics I + CCA

Forks, pins and skewers, and the Checks-Captures-Attacks habit.

  1. 1Checks, Captures, Attacks25′
  2. 2Forks25′
  3. 3Pins25′
  4. 4Skewers25′
7

Step 7: Starting Well

Center, develop, castle; opening traps; a first plan with each color.

  1. 1Fight for the Center25′
  2. 2Develop Your Pieces25′
  3. 3Castle Early25′
  4. 4Opening Traps25′
  5. 5A Plan for White: the Italian Game25′
  6. 6A Plan for Black: Answer in the Center25′
  7. 7After the Opening: Make a Plan25′
8

Step 8: Club Player

Discovered attacks, overloaded defenders, in-between moves; pawn and rook endings; weak pawns.

  1. 1Discovered Attacks25′
  2. 2Remove the Defender25′
  3. 3Overloaded Defenders25′
  4. 4In-Between Moves25′
  5. 5Pawn Races: the Rule of the Square25′
  6. 6King and Pawn: the Opposition25′
  7. 7First Rook Endings25′
  8. 8Weak Pawns and Good Trades25′
9

Step 9: Advanced Track

Imbalances, bishops vs. knights, pawn chains, open files, holes and space.

  1. 1Imbalances: What's Different?30′
  2. 2Bishops vs. Knights30′
  3. 3Pawn Chains and Passed Pawns30′
  4. 4Open Files and the Seventh Rank30′
  5. 5Weak Squares and Holes30′
  6. 6Space and Pawn Breaks30′