New way for youngsters to learn chess... and geometry
THE very successful Dutch Chess training programme starts very slowly with a lot of exercises on how to move the pieces and games with only a few pieces on the board.
This approach is a sharp contrast to our traditional model of teaching juniors how to set up the board, and then running through all of the moves of the pieces at one sesssion. Last week we looked at how the Rook moves.
This week we will look at the bishop and queen. Let’s start with the bishop. It moves diagonally across the board. My experience suggests that a lot of young children have a rather different understanding of the word diagonal to adults.
We see it as a 45 degree angle bisecting the vertical and horizontal..
They have a looser picture of anywhere between up and across. To correct this you might use words as follows.
On an empty board place a white bishop on square c1. It is a black square. This bishop can only move on black squares. It goes through a corner of the square to either b2 and a3 or it can go the other way to d2, e3, f4. What comes next? (g5,h6)
Starting again from c1, how can the bishop get to d6? It needs two moves, c1 to a3, then a3 to d6. If the child works this out correctly then put a white pawn on a3 to block the path. With the bishop back on c1, can you find another way to d6?
Some children spot it straight away. Many need a prompt.
Reinforce this by placing the bishop on any black square and asking them to move it to any other black square.
If they find a route block it with a white pawn. Oh dear that way is blocked, can we find another way. When they are confident with this then place another white bishop on f1.
This is the bishop which covers all of the white squares. Do some similar exercises. If they are doing really well you can make it more difficult by putting more pawns on blocking more routes. If you are using the f1 bishop then any number of pawns can be placed on black squares without changing the routes.
You may want to stop here and look at the Queen moves later or you may continue .
The Queen is the strongest piece. It can move like a rook and like a bishop. But not in the same move.
The White queen starts on d1. If it needs to go to d7 and there is nothing in the way it can simply go up the file. one move d1 to d7. Put a white pawn on d2, The queen now has two choices to get to d7 in two moves, like a bishop ( d1 to a4, a4 to d7 or d1 to g4, g4 to d7) Block these two routes. The queen is not easily blocked it can use the three moves like a rook eg d1 to a1, a1 to a7 , a7 to d7. Or a mix eg d1 to a1, a1 to d4, d4 to d7. You can easily create loads of little exercises with the Queen. It’s good for learning geometry.
One of our club juniors set me the puzzle starting with the Queen on h1 aiming to get to h3 with blocks all over the board. It took six moves
Try these. With a bishop get from a1 to a7 only using the a, b and c files. With a rook get from c1 to f7 via h8. With a queen get from h8 to a8 in two moves.
You may want to create some puzzles like these yourself.
If you generate any that you are really pleased with then I’d be pleased to receive them at mikesmith41@yahoo.co.uk