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How to Start Up a Casual Chess Club for Kids

Introduce children to the strategy of checkmating an opponent by starting up a casual chess club for kids in your neighborhood. According to the United States Chess Federation, Benjamin Franklin praised the game in his 1750 essay, "The Morals of Chess," and stated it raised a player's intellectual development. Increase the intellectual development of children in your hometown by starting a scholastic chess club, which is geared toward children from kindergarten to the 12th grade.

Things You'll Need

Chess books
Chess sets
Plastic toys or play dough
Poster board or paper
Markers
Tape

Instructions

- 1
  Ask friends, parents and community leaders to volunteer to start up a casual chess club for children. Only basic knowledge of the game is required and you can check out some library books about the game to introduce the game to newcomers.
- 2
  Speak to your local parent teacher organization about your plans to start a casual chess club. Talk about the benefits of the game and how you are willing to organize the club. However, you need help from other parents and teachers.
- 3
  Purchase used chess sets from garage sales and thrift stores. Ask friends, relatives and neighbors if they have any old sets that can be donated. Sets with missing pieces are fine to start with. Plastic toys or play dough can be molded to stand in for those missing pieces.
- 4
  Write up a poster or simple notice announcing your casual scholastic chess club for kids. Give out your telephone number and email address so interested parents and children can contact you. Post them at local libraries, malls and parks. Pass out notices and sign up sheets at local schools.
- 5
  Organize a location for your group to meet, such as a park, community center or room at the library. If you choose an outdoor location, you need more volunteers for the younger children and an alternate space for rainy days.
- 6
  Schedule a time for the club to meet that doesn't conflict with school and other activities. Ask the parents and children who are interested so far which days work best for them. Afternoons after school are usually the best time. Younger children ages five to eight meet for 30 to 45 minutes while teenagers can meet for 90 minutes.
- 7
  Teach a beginning introduction to chess to the children, parents and volunteers. Ask a more experienced player and good teacher to give the class if you cannot explain the game well. Teach younger children about each chess piece and the moves it can make one at a time. Older children can look at books about the game.
- 8
  Initiate games between the children according to age and skill level. Younger children can play games using only pawns and play together in groups. Older children and teenagers can start practicing their strategies.

Chess & Checkers