Learning chess is something I never took the time to do as a kid, so it came as a great shock to me when my children were eager to learn to play. Besides a few tutorials online, I wasn’t really sure how to go about teaching them. I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review the Starter Chess Learning Kit from Chess House. The moment we received it in the mail, my kids wanted to play!
Starter Chess Learning Kit
The Starter Chess Learning Kit includes a large phone playing board, large plastic pieces, Elliott’s Chess School Pawn Level (Level 1) Instructional DVD, and is housed in a carrying case. It is great for all ages, but I would recommend a minimum age of about 4 to begin. In our family, adults had just as much fun playing with this as the kids, so I wouldn’t say anyone is too old to enjoy the set!
The Starter Chess Learning Kit retails for $49.95 and is currently $10 off, with no coupon needed. It would make a fabulous Christmas or birthday gift for a lucky kid or family.
The Chess Set and Chess Bag
This has got to be the most kid-friendly chess set I’ve ever seen. All of the materials are highly durable and will last for years! The foam mat is 20″ x 20″ and rolls up to fit into the bag. This feature is important to me because there’s no bulky board to lug around or cardboard for my younger kids to destroy. The foam mat is easy for kids to manage and take care of. It’s also easy to wipe off if someone drops their sippy cup on there. Trust me, I know first hand.
The pieces are the perfect size for little hands. They are large and will not break. My youngest son broke my husband’s chess set by clanging several pieces together and chipping it. The Chess House set was used by all 4 of my children, and there wasn’t a single casualty among the bunch! They are made of solid plastic with a 3 3/4″ regulation size king. They even sell inexpensive replacement pieces on Chesshouse.com, which is important to note for me!
Elliott’s Chess School #1 PAWN Level (on DVD)
My children particularly enjoyed watching the instructional DVD. Elliott Neff, a national champion trainer, introduces viewers to chess, including rules of play and the most important basic strategies. This DVD will help teach a solid foundation with strategies to help you win and to feel confident in game play.
There are 10 topics total, and each one is short enough to keep their attention, but long enough to thoroughly explain each one in a basic, but thorough manner. As soon as one section of the DVD was over, one of my older kids wanted to go practice by playing on the board, while the other of my older kids wanted to just keep watching for more and more tips!
There are 10 topics on the Pawn Level DVD that we received with the Starter Chess Learning Kit. These topics include:
- Intro to Chess
- Pawns
- Rooks
- Bishops
- Queen
- King
- Knights
- Castling
- Pawn Shields
- Development
With each topic, Elliott teaches the ins and outs of each particular topic in a very kid-friendly way that is empowering to the viewer. My kids liked that they got to see him teach by showing them on a real chess board, but also on a graphic representation with a drawn grid.
One of my kids learns best using the grid with the letters and numbers and the other prefers just seeing the real chess board, so both being shown was perfect for us.
I have actually learned a lot about playing chess just from the videos and listening to my kids repeat what they have seen. The DVD also comes with an activity book that helps them to practice what they have learned.
My kids enjoyed looking through the book and doing several of the activities. It helped them to critically think about many game scenarios and to practice the new skills they had learned. We also used this activity guide to review past strategies days and weeks after learning them.
Two Thumbs Up!
I highly recommend the Stater Chess Learning Kit. The combination of both the DVD and the kid-friendly chess set, packaged in the nice and neat chess bag is outstanding. It’s easy enough for kids to use on their own, and the DVD is straight-forward enough that both children and adults can learn and immediately practice new chess moves and skills.
I adore the chess set itself, because it’s going to last a really long time. The chess bag makes it portable and perfect for taking along to play any time we’re away from home and have some down time. Everything has its own place in the bag, so clean up is a breeze. It’s a great value.
How did you learn to play chess?
I wish that I had learned with this set when I was a kid. That’s alright – it’s never too late to learn something new!