she's very limited in how far ahead she can project, but I think she could handle somthing like this. I'm focusing on teaching her how each piece should be used, and the goals for the opening, things like that. For instance, I tell her that each piece is like a different child--they have different skills and interests, and all have to do different things to be happy--and as the team captain, it is her responsibility to make sure that all her players participate and cooperate with each other. To pull off the thematic attacks in the KGA, it forces you to focus on getting your pieces to cooperate with each other. If you understand intuitively where each piece should go on the board, and how to make each piece most effective, then it isn't as important to analyze different variations over the board; often the right move will just scream out to you. Another example: I call open files "roads," and tell her that when a road opens up, it's her responsibility to put a rook there, because then that rook will be really happy. I also tell her that there is only one thing better than a rook on an open road: two rooks on a road (because they can cooperate with each other). Advance support points for knights I refer to as "houses." I haven't really focused on how to use knights with her yet (such as how to identify a house), but she knows that they don't belong on the edges.
Dumpy, for your second girl (or even your first), I would recommend Lego Chess. It has a great tutorial, and a fun story mode. When you're not around, she can even play against the computer, with varying levels of difficulty. And it's legos! Who doesn't love legos? If you can't find it, I'm sure I'll be able to hook you up
Yeah Dumpy, I have LEGO Chess at home from when I was younger, it is a great game for teaching younger people how to play chess, cause they make it more entertaining. See if you can find it.
hm, it looks cool. The six-year old in fact has been asking for a computer chess game that was more fun. I wonder if it works with vista?
Teaching Kings Gambit to any beginner, let alone someone so young, is not a good idea. 1) If you don't make the proper responses, you have destoyed your position. 2) Chess isn't about gimicky openings, it's the wrong lesson for a young person to learn. 3) Teach her Ruy Lopez and repeat over and again the phase.... Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning Winning by Pinning I know you probably didn't want the premise to your question questioned, but this is what I really think. Gambitnut, what are your thoughts on this?
The King's Gambit was the first opening I learned as well. I think it is a fun opening to play. If you don't play the opening correctly and your opponent does, you're going to have problems no matter what the opening is. If I have a choice between an opening that "opening theory" says is easily winning for my side, but I don't understand how to do it and the winning method isn't in the style that comes naturally to me or an opening that "opening theory" says is losing for my side but I know it very well and the winning plan fits my style, give me the latter. Games at that level will probably be decided by mistakes after the opening anyway, so I think it is especially important for her to play an opening she enjoys and can easily understand what she is trying to do in the opening and beyond. The King's Gambit has been around for many, many years, and is still popular with some of the best players in the world, I wouldn't call it gimicky like some of the other gambits I play. The Ruy Lopez is a very good opening as well, but I suspect that some of the concepts are a bit advanced for most six year olds and they don't have the patience for the positional style either.
I've played plenty of novice players who move P-kB4 in the opening and I basically obliterate them with Q-R5+. Sure, King's Gambit is good if you pay attention to the threat Q threat. If the 7 year old is ready to pay that type of attention, great. If not, opening moves that do 2 or 3 things at once (such as in the Ruy Lopez) are probably better.
I'm not sure I see the logic of saying if a six or seven year old can't pay attention to one big threat, they'll have better luck playing an opening where they have to pay attention to several things at the same time. The threat of Qh4 is pretty straightforward, and so are white's ideas in the King's Gambit, attack, attack, attack. I'm guessing that you beat the novices who play the King's Gambit against you mostly by knowing how to take advantage of Qh4, not just Qh4 itself, I'm not sure that more six or seven year olds will be able to do that even if she forgets about that threat.
These are all good points. I think it is important for kids to learn that there are a whole host of very different openings that one can play, even if he or she never learns to play all of them. Just the idea that there are many ways to begin, instead of just going down the Spanish/Italian/four knights tree, can be instructive. My impression of the King's gambit is that it is fairly thematic, so there is less need to memorize a whole host of variations, which kids that age can't do, anyway. I personally play d4 as white. As black, I answer e4 with usually the pirc/modern, although I started focusing on the Sicilian (mostly the dragon, since it is relatively similar to the KID/Pirc themes) right before I stopped playing regularly. There's no way I would touch that with a six-year-old. How do you explain the idea of "hypermodern?" I've laid the foundation, by hammering home that you want to control the center of the board in the opening, but fianchettoing the bishop may be too advanced for her. I refuse to answer e4 with e5. Kids that age will very rarely play anything other than e4, unless it is something completely unsound, like setting up an entire wall of pawns on the 4th rank.
True enough. I suppose that there are advantages to forcing your opponent into an opening which is what King's Gambit does and the Ruy Lopez does not. What are the "several things at one time" that you need to know to play the Ruy Lopez? The threat is clear, try to win the pawn. btw, I would definitely stay away from teaching a 7 year old the Sicilian!
