Learn to play chess and then play a few games with him. Watch some YouTube chess videos, get this book (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1901983056/), learn an opening and then give it your best shot. He’ll probably beat you easily, but he’ll enjoy playing with his kid. As a father I’d want this more than any board, clock, or book.
Haven't read it myself but a lot of new players (regardless of age) rave about "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess" (link below.) Might be a cool Christmas present for your kiddo (and yourself) if your both enjoy the game.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056
Yeah, the problem with books is that he quickly gets bored. Even if I read to him. Same problem with videos from Grand Masters like Judit Polgar. He is a kid so he has a relatively short attention span. I tried a few books and they are still sitting on the shelf unread. He learns really quickly though, if you keep the explanation short.
Did you read the power chess book? Did it help you to think 1.5 moves ahead?
My son likes this book, How to Beat your Dad at Chess. There are tons of kid friendly books. He likes taking his book with him to Chess Club.
Hello! If you want to get better, than follow these steps!
Have fun and like it a lot! Try to figure out why you like chess and try to remind yourself that it is only a game, and that you are doing it for fun. If you want to get better at chess just to be good, then you're probably not going to have a lot of fun when you lose, and if you only enjoy winning, then playing is going to become stressful and studying is going to become hard. So 1st rule to getting better is to have fun! If you feel yourself getting frustrated or angry or sad, remember "Have fun!" And if you're not having fun "STOP!"
Play more games! Get an account on lichess.org or chess.com and play more games. More games you play, the more you will learn over time. When you are starting off, be sure to play longer games, so that you have more time to think. Thinking more will help you get better faster. Play with your mom or dad! Play with your other friends! Play with your grandpa and grandma. Get a really cheap and small chessboard and keep it in your backpack. Any time you are anywhere with somebody you like ask them to play you. Teach them how to play and play all the time. And when you don't have anybody to play with, play with yourself. Seriously, it is a great way to get better too.
Watch more games! Make other people play and watch them play, but don't say anything. Watch and imagine what you would do in their situations. After you are done playing online, look over your own games and go over the game step by step. Look at what you might have done differently. And when you get too tired to look at your own games watch chess on youtube: Look up John Bartholomew, ChessNetwork, ChessBrahs, Jan Gustofson, GingerGM and watch their games.
Do chess puzzles. Don't know what chess puzzles are? Google "Mate in 1 puzzles" and start doing chess puzzles. If you can start solving Mate in 1 puzzles really fast, then move up to Mate in 2 puzzles, then mate in 3, and then regular puzzles. And when you do chess puzzles remember to go slow! Think more!
Read chess books and talk about chess. Try to google up things about chess and look for chess books that look interesting to you. Anytime you play a game, after the game, ask your opponent if they want to talk about the game. Anytime your friend beats you, ask him questions about how he beat you or why he did what he did. A fun book that you might like is called "How to Beat your Dad at Chess" https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056
If you do these 5 things everyday any time you are bored and have free time, you will get better.
But please try to remember this: "Getting better" is a journey not a place.
And remember to have fun!
You might like this : How to beat your dad at chess!
"How to Beat Your Dad at Chess" I saw this recommended by a YouTuber and he said it was great for adults too (ignoring the title and illustrations). Focuses on seeing mating combinations. You must understand the objective before figuring out how to get there. https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056
Don't worry, I have just the book for you!
So far I have:
- How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Chess for Schools) by Murray Chandler https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1901983056/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1
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- Logical Chess Move by Move Irving Chernev https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Logical-Chess-by-Irving-Chernev-John-Nunn/9780713484649
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- Learn Chess the Right Way by Susan Polgar https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Learn-Chess-the-Right-Way-by-Susan-Polgar-author/9781941270219
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- Soviet primer by Ilya Maizelis
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- Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan
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- Simple Chess by Michael Stean
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- The Game of Chess by Siegbert Tarrasch
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- Chess the Easy Way by Reuben Fine
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- A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario
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- Chess Fundamentals by José Raúl Capablanca
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- Learn Chess by GM John Nunn
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(Some taken from: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/wiki/books and rest reccomendations elsewhere and own searching)
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The ones without links are sources I have not found a seller for yet in UK.
>https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056
Yea I hope it turns as dark as it was before I cut it, one of the darkest purpleheart pieces I've seen.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056/ref=nodl_
All about checkmating in the middlegame.
This book comes to mind, How to Beat Your Dad at Chess