Chess is a game where children have fun while developing their thinking skills. In many countries it is taught at school as a lesson or club activity, and youth tournaments are held regularly for children.

What age should children start?

Most children have the attention span and abstract thinking to learn how the pieces move between ages 5 and 7. Younger children can start with playful activities, such as a 'pawn war' played with pawns only. What matters is not age but the child's interest and keeping the game fun.

Benefits of chess for children

• Attention and focus: it teaches children to stay concentrated for a whole game.
• Planning and problem solving: moves are thought through in advance.
• Patience and handling results: it teaches how to win, lose and learn from mistakes.
• Responsibility: there is no luck in chess; the result depends on your own decisions.
• Social skills: clubs and tournaments are a place to make new friends.

How to teach at home

• Short sessions: 15–20 minutes is more effective than long lessons.
• One piece at a time: introduce the pawns first, then the rook, bishop and the others one by one.
• Mini games: small games with only pawns or a few pieces make the rules fun.
• Let them win, but not always: they should stay motivated, but winning without effort loses its value.
• Simple puzzles: mate-in-one puzzles build attention and pattern recognition.

Clubs and tournaments

Once a child knows the rules and enjoys the game, a chess club or school team is the best next step. Youth tournaments (for example under 8, under 10, under 12) let children play opponents at their own level. In the mytourneys calendar you can find 'youth' tournaments filtered by country and city.

💡 Praise effort, not results: saying 'that was a great idea' instead of 'you won' keeps children motivated even after a loss.