Every Grand Master was once a beginner!
My kids love chess. This is due to a beloved uncle, not their parents. However, as we saw this love grow, we decided to embrace the world of chess and dive right in. We started a chess club at the elementary school. My teenage sons run the club and I serve as the adult supervisor (even though 80% of the kids can beat me.) We have taught over 100 kids how to play chess and have even ran a few tournaments. Here are some ideas for starting your own chess club.
Chess Club Strategies
We have one major obstacle at our chess club: We don’t have enough teachers to keep all of our kids busy. We have done a few things that seem to work well. The first is to put the kids in teams where they can teach each other. The teams are a mix of strong players and new players. The experienced kids teach the newer kids. We can also use these teams to have team competitions. The kids rank themselves in their teams and then the number ones play each other, twos play each other, etc.
Chess Club Curriculum
The other thing we have used is a self-starter worksheet. We have a file with the worksheets organized by the kids’ last names. When they come to club, the kids can pull out their worksheet and begin working on rank advancement. Here’s a picture of our worksheet:
The back side of the worksheet has a table with 30 squares. The kids are supposed to sign a square when they play someone. Our hope is that they’ll play 30 different opponents by the time they reach King Level. Each number in a level has a requirement to complete. When a student completes a requirement, we circle the number on their chart. We are happy to share printable versions of our worksheets:
Chess Club Worksheet Page 1
Chess Club Worksheet Page 2 (Print on Back)
Below is the list of requirements for each level.
Printable Version: Chess Club Worksheet Requirements
Pawn Level
- Demonstrate how the rook moves.
- Know how to take the other player’s pieces.
- Demonstrate how the bishop moves.
- Know how to attack and defend pieces.
- Demonstrate how the queen moves.
- Demonstrate how the king moves.
- Know what “Check” means.
- Know what “Checkmate” means.
- Demonstrate how the knight moves.
- Show how the pawns move and capture.
Knight Level
- Know the names of all the pieces.
- Learn the three ways to get out of Check.
- Know the number of points each piece is worth.
- Show the teacher how the board is setup.
- Learn how to castle – including the rules and restrictions to castling.
- Know the scholar’s mate (or fool’s mate).
- Learn how to defend against the scholar’s mate.
- Demonstrate what stalemate is.
- Know what it means to draw.
- Play 6 games in the club (you can count any you’ve done in prior weeks).
Bishop Level
- Know the 3 important opening principles (Control the center, develop pieces, get your king to safety). Explain them to a friend or coach.
- Complete at least one exercise on each page from pages 18-25 of “Chess Tactics for Students” You can do this with a friend.
- Know the rules of En Passant.
- Complete at least one exercise on each page from pages 26-33 of “Chess Tactics for Students” You can do this with a friend.
- Demonstrate how to checkmate with 2 Queens + King vs. a lone King.
- Show an older player or teacher how to checkmate with 1 Queen and 1 Rook + King vs. a lone King.
- Demonstrate how to checkmate with 2 Rooks + King vs. a lone King.
- Know how to notate your games (Bishop = B, Rook = R, Queen = Q, King = K, Pawn = none).
- Notate one complete game.
- Play 10 games in the club (you can count any you’ve done in prior weeks).
Rook Level
- Demonstrate how to checkmate with 1 Queen + King vs. a lone King.
- Demonstrate how to checkmate with 1 Rook + King vs. a lone King.
- Introduction to forks (or double attacks). Complete at least one exercise on each page from pages 34 – 40 of “Chess Tactics for Students”. You can do this with a friend.
- Teach another student about knight forks.
- Know the rule of the square.
- More forks. Complete at least one exercise on each page from pages 50- 56 of “Chess Tactics for Students”. You can do this with a friend.
- Teach another student about forks (using a piece or pieces other than a knight.).
- Introduction to pins. Complete at least one exercise on each page from pages 2 – 8 of “Chess Tactics for Students”. You can do this with a friend.
- Teach another student about pins.
- Play 16 games in the club (you can count any you’ve done in prior weeks).
Queen Level
- Opposition: Know how to win with 1 Pawn + King vs. a lone King.
- Know how to use a chess clock. Play three games using the clock.
- Play one game of speed chess. (Two minutes on each clock.)
- Play a full game against each of the coaches.
King Level
- Play 30 different opponents. (You should be keeping track on the back of your chart by having each opponent sign a square.)
When you complete this level, you will have reached the King Level and will be declared a Mini Master!
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Chess Club Awards
When the kids complete a level, we award them with a colorful chess piece key chain. We buy these from wholesalechess.com. They are inexpensive and the kids love to display them on their backpacks. Everyone can see the level they have reached by the chess piece hanging on their backpack!
Chess Club Etiquette
One more thing: Here’s our rules for chess etiquette. It’s important to teach your students these expectations. Chess Etiquette
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You are welcome to ask questions in the comment section. We’ve learned a lot over the years and are happy to help others who want to make their schools a great place to learn and grow!
