Learning to Play Chess

I've wanted to learn to play chess for years (so I could teach O how to play), and I finally learned WITH O!  We had a great time learning and playing together!




O's grandparents gave her this Once A Pawn A Time book and chess set for Christmas, and it's a great way to learn to play the game.  O and I went through book 1 in a couple of hours (after we finished I read the back of the box which said that the book is not meant to be finished in one sitting...oops!), and then played our first game.  O was totally focused on this activity the entire time, so I'm glad that I didn't know that the recommendation was to only work on it for 20 minutes at a time. 




After completing the first book, we know the basics of playing chess, and we've played several games.  We are going to play with our basic knowledge for a while before reading the 2nd book and learning the more complicated rules of the game.
Elliott was amazed when he watched us play and listened to O explain the game to him.  I highly recommend this game and books set to anyone who wants to learn to play chess!

The recommended age range for this set is 7 to 15 years, but it worked well for O at 4 and a half years old.  I didn't make any adaptions to the instructions, and she understood perfectly.  It's also great for grown-ups who've always been confused by the seemingly complicated rules (after reading this book, it seems so simple) of chess!