Five years old is usually the minimum age to start learning chess. From my experience, students will learn more quickly depending on their age! A 10-year-old will learn and retain more quickly than a five-year-old. Practice Piece Movement

A beginner is someone who is still learning how all the pieces move. They are still learning about checkmate and how to capture pieces without losing their own! Most importantly, a beginner needs to understand which squares are safe to move to. Practice the Best Captures

After learning the basics, your child will be introduced to common chess “tactics” such as “Forks” and “Pins”. These patterns help win points in chess games, which makes it easier to checkmate the opponent. Checkmate patterns such as the Queen and Rook mate, will also be introduced. Practice Checkmating

Students can compete in a chess tournament as long as they know how all the pieces move and they can complete a checkmate in a game. In most tournaments, students will pair up against other students who have a similar age or skill as them. In many tournaments, students are paired up based on “Chess Rating” and age. Upcoming Chess Tournaments

A Chess Rating is a number ranging from around 100-2000 that determines a chess player’s tournament skill. This number will fluctuate depending on how a student does in a tournament. More Rating Info. Oftentimes, tournaments have different groups or “sections” based on students’ ratings. Example: K-3 U900 would be a section for any students that are in grades K, 1, 2, or 3. And all students would need to be either unrated or have a rating under 900. First-time tournament players would be considered “unrated” with a rating of 100. Another Example: 4-6 Open would mean that any student in grades 4, 5, or 6 could be in this section regardless of their chess rating. You can look up your child’s rating here.

Private lessons are a great resource for students of all ages and levels. Most of the time private lessons are goal-oriented and one-on-one instruction can help students reach their goals in chess. Whether the goal is learning how all the pieces move or improving skill in tournament play. Maybe the goal is focused on excelling at chess openings or reaching a certain chess rating. Overall, each private lesson is tailored based on each individual student’s desire and goal. Private Lesson rates are different for each coach and are generally between $60-$100 per one hour lesson. Contact a Professional Chess Coach for more information.