chess for children

The main ingredient for teaching chess to children is motivation.  If a child is interested in learning, you will be able to teach chess.   I taught my son chess when he was only 2 1/2 years old.   He wanted to learn.   We would take him to chess parties and he wanted to know what we were doing.   First, I taught him the names of the pieces.  This process took a lot of patience and several weeks.  All along, I would spend time teaching him the way the pieces moved.   He could actually play the game by 2 1/2, an age where most children would be inclined to chew the pieces.   I would not introduce the game to a child who had no interest in learning but would suggest playing in front of the child and answering any questions as they arose.   My son is now 30 years old and teaches chess for a living.  He teaches at a grammar school run by a chess master and he has private students.  I did give him lessons with grandmaster Lev Albert when he was a teenager.  Now he wins against me every time.   I knew chess was important to my son when he was such a poor loser!

The moral of this story is that children can learn a complicated game if you have the patience and they have the desire to learn.