Pawns move that way, rooks move this way, bishops move sideways, queens move every which way
Giving a 1st Chess Lesson - What do I do?!
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May 1, 2011
0
#3
Get one of those shot glass chess sets. By the time you get to how the rook captures, the lesson should be going swimmingly!
ivandh wrote:
Pawns move that way, rooks move this way, bishops move sideways, queens move every which way
I agree with this. Help her to memorize the way the pieces move. Then introduce the objective which is checkmate of the king. After that show her some simple opening ideas which should probably include Scholar's Mate.
1st, show her how to place the board. 2nd, call it a day. If you insist on going a little farther, by the time you explain everything about the pawns, she'll be more than ready to call it all off.
Good luck! (You'll let us know how it turns out, right?) 
Susan Polgar's instructional DVD.
May 1, 2011
0
#6
NickYoung5 wrote:
Get one of those shot glass chess sets. By the time you get to how the rook captures, the lesson should be going swimmingly!
God, I love English sensibilities!
May 1, 2011
0
#7
One peice at a time, starting with pawns. Explain where they start, how they move, how they capture, and that every pawn is a potential Queen. Cover en passant, explain how this was introduced in the 15C, to speed the start of the game, in a way that did not violate principles of the game. Point out that pawns can never move backwards, a unique feature.
The practice exchanges, till she is confident with pawns.
Then, to give her an insight into what chess is really about, present the following problem and ask her to solve it> White to move and win. Be patient and let her discover the solution through trial and error, giving her hints as needed. Ie: don't just show her the answer. That way, and once she has solved it herself, she will start to 'geddit'.
Next lunch hour, the Rooks.
May 1, 2011
0
#8
mrsuitcase wrote:
NickYoung5 wrote:
Get one of those shot glass chess sets. By the time you get to how the rook captures, the lesson should be going swimmingly!
God, I love English sensibilities!
Happy to oblige 
And lunchtime drinking is one of the few things on which the English can still speak with some authority
Sounds like she's interested in you and is just using the Chess as a front. And judging by the exclamation points, and more specifically, the "?!" in your title, I think you're interested as well. I recommend copious amounts of alcohol, and for the first lesson:
The art of back rank mates with your white bishop.
Make sure you stand behind and hover over her back, and move her hand with the piece in it as you show her how the pieces move and speak in a French accent. Watch the Simpsons episode from Season 1 where Marge learns to bowl. And use mouthwash.
fyy0r wrote:
And judging by the exclamation points, and more specifically, the "?!" in your title, I think you're interested as well.
Doesn't '?!' mean "dubious" ? 
So watching you play chess turned into a lunch date?
Are you sure she's not mostly interested in your bishop?
May 1, 2011
0
#14
selfmate wrote:
So watching you play chess turned into a lunch date?
Are you sure she's not mostly interested in your bishop?
I was actually thinking the same thing, i dont think this has that much to do with chess
May 2, 2011
0
#15
To those who were interested:
It went fine. Showed her the basic moves of all the pieces - even played a quick, open, chaotic game (pointing out captures in 1). Thanks for the advise!
As for the other possibilities mentioned, I'm overweight, married, and +10 years, so I doubt it.
davidmelbourne wrote:
One peice at a time, starting with pawns. Explain where they start, how they move, how they capture, and that every pawn is a potential Queen. Cover en passant, explain how this was introduced in the 15C, to speed the start of the game, in a way that did not violate principles of the game. Point out that pawns can never move backwards, a unique feature.
The practice exchanges, till she is confident with pawns.
Then, to give her an insight into what chess is really about, present the following problem and ask her to solve it> White to move and win. Be patient and let her discover the solution through trial and error, giving her hints as needed. Ie: don't just show her the answer. That way, and once she has solved it herself, she will start to 'geddit'.
Next lunch hour, the Rook
This position is a draw. Are you sure you posted it correctly?
A woman from work saw me playing at chess.com on the lunchroom PC's. She asked me about it, and I foolishly offered to show her how to play sometime - well, "sometime" is tomorrow at lunch!
What should I go through first? I've got an hour!
Thanks in advance for the advise!