Chess is a great game that more people should get into. A lot of us love how intellectually stimulating it is, and honestly, that feels amazing!
If your kid is trying to learn more about it, hoping to become the next best chess player, that’s great.
Or if they’re trying to just learn about the game, hoping to venture into it that’s wonderful too. But to do any of this, your little one needs to read as many books on the topic as possible.
Best Books To Help Tech Your Kids Chess
After a lot of research, here is a list with top rated chess books for kids:
Thankfully for us, we have everything at our fingertips today. You can readily look through the internet for good chess books your kid could be reading. You can even prepare your children to play in tournaments. And, you also have access to the best possible reviews of these reads, allowing you to know if they will be useful for your child or not. Luckily, this article will help you out as we’ll be discussing all of these details, including how to find the best chess books available along with their reviews.Let’s get started.
1. Chess for Kids: How to Play and Win (By Richard James)
You know you’re in good hands as the author of the book is an expert in the field, and has been teaching the game since the 1970s! He happens to run his own website that teaches kids how to play chess.
This book is one of the greatest available if you’re new to the game. Firstly, it doesn’t just focus on the tactics of chess, but is in the form of a story, so it promises to keep your kid entertained. This makes a great Christmas present for a little one as it is educational and entertaining. You could just buy it for them for the story, and hopefully they will fall in love with the game after reading it.
So, what does it offer? There are 30 lessons in the story, allowing the reader to learn strategy and how to play the game presented in fun, thrilling descriptions. This book truly covers everything, this is not an understatement. Some of what it covers is the thinking skills that you would need to play chess, strategy on how to win the game, how to place and move your pieces as well as the concepts of checkmate and stalemate. The best thing is that this is all taught through the story of the two protagonists, Sam and Alice, as they find their way through an exciting Alien Invasion.
The book says it’s only for eight-year-olds. However, many adults say that it’s so good that they use it to teach themselves, even catching their more grown up kids skimming through it.
Now that we have that covered, let’s move onto the next book.
2. Chess For Kids (By Micheal Basman)
The author of the book is renowned in the field so you know his content is amazing. Micheal Basman has been playing chess since he was 10 years and hasplayed for numerous Olympiads, even winning the British Chess Championship in 1973. He is currently teaching kids chess in his home.
Unlike the above book, this one is more strategic and formal. It is focused more on the educational side of chess. This book is suitable for any child that happens to be very keen on learning as much about the game as possible. It is completely factual and detailed, almost an encyclopedia on the game. That’s why it’s aimed at older kids, such as those between the ages of eight and twelve.
So, what exactly is in the book? A detailed visual guide that illustrates the moves of different chess pieces, how to play the game, as well as techniques on how to win. As it is all visually displayed, it is very easy to catch on and understand the concepts that are provided.
3. The Batsford Book Of Chess For Children (By Sabrina Chevannes)
The author of the book is renowned in the British Chess field, having coached many former champions. She currently runs the Chevannes Chess Academy in London, acting as the managing director.
Similarly to Chess For Kids: How To Play And Win By the author Richard James, Chevannes’ book is similar as it does not rely on merely providing information as most educational books tend to do. Rather, it has two characters who teach the audience everything they would need to know about the game. The characters are known as Jess and Jamie and are described as ‘two chess obsessed kids’. This is the premise of the book, as it teaches you everything they know about the game (which include standard instructions like what the pieces are and how they work, how to develop logical skills, how the game works and winning chess strategy for the kids).
The book is written for an audience of seven years and above. However, many readers who are older can still enjoy it as it is still quite educational and entertaining for them.
4. CHESS: The Ultimate Chess Tactics and Strategies! (By Aleksandr Smirnov )
Unlike the other books on this list, this one is unique as it focuses almost exclusively on the different tactics you could employ to win a game of chess. This is evident as one of the book’s slogans are ‘There are more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe. Discover how to rule the universe of chess’. And this you will do.
It takes you through several strategy guides as well as tips and tricks. As you can imagine, this is not suited for kids who happen to be beginners at chess, but rather those who are more intermediate and advanced. You can read this if you want to excel at the game.
Unfortunately, the author of the book is quite elusive. Not much is known about him except that his book is genius! It’s safe to say that he must be a grandmaster in chess as his book has left many readers satisfied
Well, there you have it. You now have your list of some of the best chess books available!