I just gave a chess class to 12 Cub Scouts, 3 leaders, and parents. Only a few had ever played, and after handing out material and some instructional material, I set up 10 boards, and while the rubber mats with the moves and the Let’s Play Chess handout from the U.S.C.F., were great, the bit hit was the three split up sets of Chess Teacher pieces I put on each Board.
I found them again at Toys R US for $ 9.99, this time by Pavilian Chess, in Tin Boxes. I think that this would be a great starter set for 1st and 2nd graders, and maybe a natural partnership with Toys R US.
Maybe Jerry Nash could work on some sort of partnership, or cross marketing.
Have you ever seen “No Stress Chess”? It’s also a teaching set, except that the pieces look normal. The board is two sided, so one side is normal and the other is marked up to show where the pieces start.
Other than that, the game comes with a set of cards that show how the pieces move. On each turn, each player picks a card and has to move the piece on that card. It’s a great way for beginners to learn. Eventually, you work up to having a “hand” of 3 cards to choose from on each move, then 5, and eventually, they’re playing real chess.
It’s how my nephews learned how to play at 5 and 6 years old, despite my being thousands of miles away and unable to really teach them in person.
At Kid Chess in Atlanta, we always used at least 2 “Silly Sets”. These could be anything: Pirates of the Carribean, Shrek, Superheroes. All of these kinds of sets are on sale at toy stores.
The biggest hit with the kids was bringing a laptop and firing up “Majestic Chess”.