When my brother and I were growing up in the 1960s we used to enjoy watching the tennis at Wimbledon in June, and, excited by this, we’d take our tennis rackets down to the courts at Kneller Gardens and hit a ball around for half an hour. It was fun, but we had no interest Read more

I wonder if you’re familiar with the sociological concept of the Third Place. If you’re not, let me explain. Your first place is your home. Your second place is the place you have an obligation to attend: your place of work or study: school, college or university. Your third place is where you go because Read more

When I’m teaching beginners of secondary school age I’ll plunge straight into endings rather than going through the minichess games which are ideal for younger learners. You could also consider endings as minichess games as they start from positions with only a few pieces on the board. This is the point where we introduce the Read more

The Steps course takes place in tutorial groups and comprises, in part, lots of worksheets. Some children will enjoy this approach, but others will not. You might also think, like we do, that children spend quite enough time in classrooms already, and need more time for play. So I prefer to promote chess using short Read more

It’s always exciting, isn’t it? You buy a new game, eagerly open the box and have a quick look at the rules before starting to play a complete game. You can’t wait to dive in and really don’t want to waste a moment. It’s probably how most children learn chess, and it’s also very much Read more

Let’s start with this, which you’ll find in various places on the internet. Yes, I know there’s been much criticism of Piaget, and quite rightly so as well, but this will serve as a starting point. I would consider learning how the pieces move to be a Concrete Operational activity, suitable for children aged between Read more