While we’ve been recovering and self isolating due to Covid, we’ve been playing board games. The older kids can all play chess but somehow we’ve never got around to teaching Isabelle. Thankfully, we were sent “Chess Teacher” a game designed to help children learn to play chess by Wicked Uncle, so we could start the home chess lessons.
Read on to discover our thoughts on “Chess Teacher” and to find out you can win a “Chess Teacher” game for yourself:
“Chess Teacher” Game
A beginner’s set to aid learning the great game of chess, played all over the world.
“This clever set from Cardinal removes the major problem of learning chess, how the different pieces move. Each piece is marked with its name and arrows showing the directions in which it can legally move and how many spaces. The large (2-inch), hollow pieces are lightweight with extra-wide bases, giving them stability and comes with a folding board. A great help when being taught this great game – soon to be mastered!”
Our Thoughts on “Chess Teacher” Game
This Chess Teacher game is packaged well in a strong box, so it can still be kept tidy after opening. It contains a folding chess board, a set of white chess pieces, a set of black chess pieces and instructions. The chess pieces come in a plastic bag. After use, we swapped these bags for resealable plastic bags to keep our pieces safe and tidy in the box. Alternatively, you could pop an elastic band onto the bag supplied or tape up after use each time.
As the aim of this game is to teach the player how to play chess, I personally feel like it would be more useful if the game contained larger and more detailed simple chess instructions. Like many games, the print on the instructions was very small and in different languages. Thankfully, we already have an old “Chess for Children” book, which was passed onto Danny from Great Granny and Grampy many years ago. This supplemented the “Chess Teacher” game well. If you don’t have a book or good knowledge of playing chess there are lots of sites you can use online alongside using this learning chess set.
Marked Chess Pieces
The instructions contain a diagram which shows how to set the chess board up. The best part about the “Chess Teacher” game are the chess pieces are clearly labelled with their name and have arrows showing the directions in which they can legally move and how many spaces. This is so handy to remind your child as they play the game. I remember when I first learnt how to play chess this was initially the hardest part. By having the “moves” marked on the pieces, it enables your child to be able to play the game.
“Chess Teacher” is Suitable from Age 6
“Chess Teacher” is suitable for children ages 6 and older. The lightweight pieces are chunky making them easy for younger children to handle. They have extra wide bases for stability. Once your child has mastered the game and knows all the pieces off by heart, I would put this game away for or pass on to a younger child and move your confident chess player onto a beautiful chess set with crafted, heavy pieces. For me, that’s part of the beauty of playing this much loved game. However, this learning set is also useful for adults who haven’t played in a while and need reminding of the moves (ahem, I blame covid brain fog) or people with memory problems who need occasional reminding of the moves.
Izzy is very much a beginner at chess and thanks to our book and the labelled chess pieces, she was able to play and enjoy the game.
She still has a lot to learn, of course. In chess, it’s important to remember that every move is a learning opportunity. When you first begin to play, you may not win, but each time your opponent takes one of your pieces, you are learning a move or game that may help you to win next time or in the future.
Basic Rules of Chess
The aim of chess is to checkmate the opponent’s king. This happens when the king is put into check and cannot get out of check. Each of the 6 different kinds of pieces moves differently. Pieces cannot move through other pieces (though the knight can jump over other pieces), and can never move onto a square with one of their own pieces. However, they can be moved to take the place of an opponent’s piece which is then captured. Pieces are generally moved into positions where they can capture other pieces (by landing on their square and then replacing them), defend their own pieces in case of capture, or control important squares in the game.
Progressing in Chess
This “Chess Teacher” Game gives your child the chance to learn how to set up the chess board and all about the different chess pieces and how they move. Your child could write their own “Chess Book” with diagrams as they learn more about the game. Teach them opening moves, how to attack and defend, simple games and special moves, such as castling, promoting a pawn, and capturing en passant. As they progress they will begin to think ahead and spot “dangerous” patterns etc. The more they play, the more chess etiquette they will learn along the way too.
Join a Chess Club
If they enjoy playing chess, they may wish to join (or start) a chess club at school. Danny used to go to chess competitions with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts when he was younger. There are many benefits to playing chess, including improving memory, deepening focus and developing perspective. It also promotes good sportsmanship and most importantly is fun!
Overall Thoughts on “Chess Teacher” Game
Overall, we feel the “Chess Teacher” game is a useful tool to help children learn how to play chess. It’s great for them to have the chess piece moves in front of them while they are learning. However, this needs to be used alongside a “teacher” (in our case an older sibling), or book or website to really get to learn the game properly. It’s a great chunky and durable first chess set for younger children.
Win “Chess Teacher” Game from Wicked Uncle
For a chance to win “Chess Teacher” Game from Wicked Uncle (worth £15.95), please enter the giveaway below. Remember to read the terms and conditions. Good luck!
“Chess Teacher” game is available to buy at Wicked Uncle.
a Rafflecopter giveawayPin this post for later:
Many thanks to the following Competition Promoters:
Diary of the Evans-Crittens: Feeling Lucky? Blog Giveaway Linky
I’d love to be able to teach my nephew to play Chess!
It would teach my children and I how to enjoy the game of chess!
I can’t think of a better way for the children to learn to think while having fun.
I’d love to win because my son keeps asking me to teach him how to play chess and I have no idea how 😂 so we could both learn with this!
always wanted to learn chess
I would love this for my great grandson, he is probably a bit young for it at the moment, he is 5 but I am sure by next year he would enjoy it
I’d love to win for my son, he really enjoys chess but struggles to remember all the moves so this would be really helpful
Perfect to teach my nephews ! I learnt as a child and still play
I think my granddaughter would love this
I’d love to eventually play chess with my daughter – this sounds like an easy way to learn for both of us! ♥
I would like to win this for my Godson, so he can learn Chess properly.
My son loves the idea of playing but gets very confused trying to remember all the rules!
Have fond memories of my Uncle teaching me chess – would love for my Grandson x
My nephew would love it!
This would help me teach my nephew! My grandad loved to play and taught me!
Learning chess is so good for kids problem solving skills. Would love my kids to learn
My son would love to learn to play chess with his dad.
I don’t know how to play, so I can learn with the kids.
I would love to win for my son!
My friend’s daughter is the right age for this and would love to learn a new game!
For my nephew. He’s asked for a set for his birthday, even though he doesn’t know how to play the game. The only trouble is no one else in the family knows how to play either, so this would be great for all of us to use.
I would like to win because at 45 I still can’t play so I can learn with the kids
Because I have never been good at chess yet my kids have always wanted to learn how to play.
It looks fun
Be great intro to chess for my 2 boys
I would love this as my nieces are just starting to learn chess and this would make things easier for them!
my son would love it
My son recently asked me how to play chess and I’ve been looking for a set for him. I didn’t know this existed! It would be perfect for him.
My son loves games and he would love to learn to play chess
As I know my boys would have so much fun playing with this game
My eldest took a great interest last summer and I never followed it up this would be ideal to get her started again and enjoy a game for life
I would love to learn to play chess with my grandchildren!
I’d love to win because Daisy is trying to learn chess but I don’t know the moves well enough to teach her. We could play together with this without having to keep stopping to check which way each piece can move
id love this for my nephew
id like to play this with my grandson
I would love to win this so that my son and I can learn to play chess
my kids would love this
I would like to win this to play this with my son I think he would love this.
ive wanted to teach the kids to play chess for a while. This would make it much easier
id like this for my niece and nephew
My son and daughter are interested in playing chess, but to be honest, I’ve never played, so this would be very helpful.
my son has said he wants this
my daughter would love this
It’s a shame that children don’t play chess these days like we used to, I remember learning how to play at school. I’d love to teach my children what a great game chess is!
I would love to win this for my daughter, as she is fascinated when she watches her dad play chess with her older siblings and this would be the perfect introduction for her, as it can be an extremely complicated game to learn.
I’d like to win so I could play chess with my nephews
id like this for my nieces and nephews
I’d love to play this with my daughter
I’d like to win for my nephew as it’s a great way for him to learn chess.
My son would like to learn chess, so this would be great to win for him.
This would be nice to win for my grandson who I’m sure would like to learn chess.
I would love to enjoy this fantastic prize with my children
My grand daughter would love this