Julia Kostina

Dear parents!  You are holding a chess book for children. It is OK to start teaching a five-year-old child to play chess. Nowadays many children at this age are already familiar with letters, numbers, and geometrical figures. They can distinguish “much” from “little,” “more” from “less.”  It makes them also capable of learning chess.
    Playing games is one basic form of learning. This chess guide is written as a game book, and you can extend it by adding your own stories. It is important that the child enjoys the process of learning to play chess!
     15 to 20 minutes a day will be enough for your child to improve his memory, thinking and to master chess.  Make sure you finish each lesson with a game. You can play with cars, trains and other toys on the chessboard.  Let your child enjoy the game and to use their imagination!
    Use a medium-sized chessboard and classic shape chess pieces. Do not use a souvenir chess set as it may embarrass your child. Do homework on the chessboard.
    Tell your children your own chess tales; they like stories connected with their life. Puppet theater is good for teaching. Make up skits and act them out!  Draw and mold using chess. Learn poems about different chess pieces. Doing these things will help your child to remember how the chess pieces move.
Good luck and success to you and your children!