A thing i did.

I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Is that how the great masters started? It sounds like a fun idea and not an expensive one.

A gift that will keep on giving.

PS, and yes, expect to take a beating. Soon.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Less modest man would have chosen tennis racket.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Small electric shocks after blunders will also keep her focussed.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Huck,

Why don't you get someone who actually knows how to play the game to teach her? 😉

-VR

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

So Huck, tell us how things developed.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
I bought my 5 year old daughter a chess board for Christmas. I will later offer her treats if she can recite the piece names and moving styles...I expect her to start beating me around age 7.

Keep chess fun. Start with made up games that use proper chess piece movement. Knights chase pawns to the finish square, becomes queening square later on. Knights race course. Can you get there piece? with pawn obstacle courses.

When she is playing get a computer program with multiple levels. Do your best, find your playing level. Let her do her's. See how much she has to catch up. When she grows make a big deal out of it, help her want to get better.

Don't push her to play, let her take time off. You don't want chess to become a chore. Make it a reward for when the chores and schoolwork are done.

When she is ready, reasonably likely to win a few, take her to a local chess club. Let the guys there know in advance that your daughter will be playing. Choose players that want to help and won't be sore losers.

I would not expect her to be playing 1000 level chess at age 7. Whatever level, playing and enjoying, is a great accomplishment. Give her a good start and it will start to pay off around age 9,10,11. You are too strong a player to likely end up with a: my daughter beat me when she was 7 story. If it happens, great.

Don't ever be discouraged by her progress, she will sense it. She will never deserve to feel she has failed. Keep it a happy pastime until she makes it anything more.

I hope at least some of this unsolicited advice helps, if not well phooey 🙂

Originally posted by JerryH
Knights chase pawns to the finish square, becomes queening square later on. Knights race course. Can you get there piece? with pawn obstacle courses.

This stuff sounds HARD. 😠

Originally posted by JerryH
Keep chess fun. Start with made up games that use proper chess piece movement. Knights chase pawns to the finish square, becomes queening square later on. Knights race course. Can you get there piece? with pawn obstacle courses.

When she is playing get a computer program with multiple levels. Do your best, find your playing level. Let her do her's. See h ...[text shortened]... anything more.

I hope at least some of this unsolicited advice helps, if not well phooey 🙂

Thanks man. It is appreciated, and i'll give the knight game a shot.

They have a board in her after school, and she came to me asking to play (she saw me on this site). She'll be mercing me by the time she's 7, i'm sure.

Originally posted by huckleberryhound
..., and she came to me asking to play (she saw me on this site).

Could have been worse! 😀