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I highly suggest taking him through the puzzles in Polgar's book. The book starts off with very simple chess problems, with only a handful of pieces, with the idea of "solve for checkmate in x moves". The problems are designed with a logical progression, highlighting specific tactics and strategies, and become increasingly complex and demonstrating more ...

There are a variety of ways to level the playing field in chess. The two most common methods are material advantage and time odds, although there are also a number of more exotic handicaps that one can conceive of (e.g. giving away free moves, requiring a given piece to give checkmate, allowing the King to move two squares, etc). With material handicaps, ...

Yours is a good idea: introduce him to the pieces gradually (though not too gradually - five-year olds learn fast!). Here's another one: to make sure the rules of moving stick, place a piece on the empty board before each game, and ask him to point out all the spaces that piece can move to. After he's got that down (a few days/weeks, depending on how often ...

I think you should teach them as soon as they're old enough that they won't eat the stones. One thing you have to watch out for with really young players is that they will focus too much on capturing, and you have to try not to encourage that. I started teaching my daughter when she was five, and she's surprisingly good at reading. Unfortunately she hasn'...

I am teaching an 8-year-old right now. He is so competitive that he was immediately addicted. We play with all the pieces. I think this is fine because he wants to feel he's being challenged and playing like an adult. When he wants to move a piece, and isn't sure what his legal moves are, he just asks me, and we talk through which moves are a good idea and ...

When I was teaching my cousin, I started out by explaining the rules for capture and the strategies of territory. We started out in a 9x9 area so she could get a feel for the rules without feeling overwhelmed by the size of the board. After a few games we decided to move to the full 19x19 play area. I let her play as she pleased for most of the game. ...

Found it! It's name is "Ghost Hunters!" by Brian Lee and it's not a board game but a book, published for the first time in UK by Tango Books in 1998. ISBN (for Italian edition) is 88-450-7851-5, and you can see it online at http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/9788845107351/Gioca_con_gli_acchiappafantasmi/Lee_Brian.html

Go get Emanuel Lasker's Manual of Chess (there is a modern version with modern notation). It is an old book and definitely as a full book too detailed for a 5 year old, but the structure it offers to teach chess would be a very solid one for you to use with your son. In particular it does a bit of what others have suggested but in a more formalized manner - ...

I was going to say CandyLand and Chutes and Ladders, because as annoying as they are they are still a huge hit with my 4 year old. I am hoping that she will soon be old enough for Catan Junior! She already wants to play Catan with Mama.

In my experience, kids like the colorful names for shapes, especially animal names like "tiger's mouth" and "dog's head". If you want a kid to be happy about continued Go experience, do your best to make sure they're having fun. I'm not saying necessarily that you should let them win, but if you don't make sure they're having fun even when losing! Hint, ...

My recommendation is to: Introduce recording of the games. This would allow her to study her own games offline, and come back with questions. The habit of recording one's own games is a gift beyond price, and the sooner introduced the stronger the habit will be. Ask this young girl her own opinion on these questions. A sense of control I believe is vital, ...

I contacted the publisher and got the official rule: "In concept, a small fish moving into a square occupied by a predatory fish means the small fish gets eaten." So, the small fishes can indeed rush head on into the mouth of a predator. Seems like my daughter can continue feeding my beautiful little fishes to sharks, and there's nothing I can do about it.

N.B. The links to terms are for third parties, rather than the questioner, who as 7 kyu will already know them. Where she is now The best approach depends on the sort of person she is and what she hopes to get from playing go, so stay alert to any feelings, wishes and opinions she expresses. As Forget I was ever here’s answer says, I think you should find ...

I once saw a good suggestion elsewhere on the web: in a one-on-one game, allow the kid to swap places with you at any point in the match. The original example was chess, but it would work with many duels. Dominion and Star Realms would be as easy as swapping decks. Helps to keep a bored child's interest if he gets to pilot a winning strategy for a while. It ...

For a child that young, I'd suggest No Stress Chess. You begin by taking a card each turn that describes one of the pieces and how it moves. You then have to move one of those pieces. You win when you capture the opponent's king. Once the child gets the hang of how all the pieces move, there are transition games giving you more autonomy until you ...

My experience with Legends of Andor is that it is primarily a "puzzle". Time is very limited, and you need to be very strategic about what actions you take in order to succeed. I don't think most 5 year olds will have this level of analytic thinking yet. So while your daughter can probably learn the available decisions and be able to choose ones she ...

A "third" handicap other than material or time is a "propositional" game. An example is that you lose (or cannot win) if you have lost all your pawns before administering checkmate, no matter what else happens. That proposition would lead you to play out your pawns more conservatively at the beginning of the game, and perhaps not use pawn storms. Other ...

Try something new. A new opening, or relying overmuch on an unusual piece. This works best when the junior opponent knows how to play and is getting the hang of your usual opening, but you are still better. Try something wild and new, it might be a disaster, it might actually work, either way you might both learn something. PS - Especially fun in ...

There are a few handicap ideas I use: Material Advantage Time Advantage Swapping colors midway through the game Material Advantage: Depends on the difference in skill of the two players. For beginners playing against moderately good players, you can take off whole pieces such as Queens, or Knights (since Knights are notoriously good against beginners due ...

Chess (as any other complex system) consists of: 1) Parts(pieces), 2) Interrelationships between them, 3) Goal/purpose. Seeing these interrelations and understanding roles/functions pieces have when interconnected is the most critical skill to acquire early. The same way as a QB must develop a great field vision with the ability to quickly scan the field ...

My question is, are there any techniques or simplified rules or setups that can help teach the game of chess? Not really. He has to learn how each piece moves, What is the starting position, then how to check mate, then some openings. I was thinking of setting the board with only pawns and kings and playing a game. Then adding in the rooks and ...

The best training for playing chess is the game itself. But if you want to "dumb down" the game, then remove the two sets of knights. Those are the pieces with "special" moves that are relatively hard to understand. The other pieces all move on straight lines and/or diagonals. There's really no need to play with simplified rules. There are only five ...

At that age they will have a bit of trouble just figuring out how pieces move. It will take a few games for them to remember it. In games with kids that are too young to quickly grasp how pieces move I simply make sure that on nearly every move I have a piece available for them to take (for free), and the problem I pose to them is which piece they can take ...

Unlike GO, handicapping chess with missing pieces completely distorts the game; it is better to handicap on time. Buy a a chess clock, and use it for the game. Give yourself 5 minutes for a game, and give your son 60-75 minutes or more. This will give him a chance to actually win (because you are under such time pressure). From the start let him know that ...

It is called 'Horror House' I used to have it 3 dimensional board game with moving party and divided in to four large rooms, something used to roll down the stairs as I recall ad knock you over if you happened to be on that section.