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The Best Tool to Introduce Chess to Kids

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 201 / 211
Date: August 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When it comes to introducing children to the game of chess, this is the best program on the market available to English speaking community. If your child already knows the moves and plays occasionally, this program is Fun, but not as useful.

Combination of Arcade-type games & well designed steps introducing chess work real well with children. I have tried this program with several students and it was great in generating their interest and keeping their attention. Of course, for parents who either have no skills, or time, or both, using this program is a must first step in teaching their kids to play chess.

Graphics are great, games are fun and teaching approach is good.

The program can be improved somewhat:
· Pacman-type game doesn't seem to relate very well to the Rook intro,
· Pinball-type toilet crushing with the ball moving diagonally, is a strange way to introduce the Bishop,
· Emphasizing so much an issue of Opposition, isn't a best for teaching kids about the importance and value of the King,
· Also, there are many conversation, some with humor, but you can't skip them if you wish. Some jokes might be a little offensive.
· Focus on checkmates when introducing pieces as oppose to more common approach - such as visiting squares, attacking and taking pieces.

On the positive side:
· All arcade games are very captivating and will keep your child interested in exploring the game, thus indirectly learning chess,
· Arcade games introducing Queen &, especially, Pawn are very chess related,
· Ability to play a complete games with limited number of pieces is very helpful,
· This is the ONLY tool on the market employing such a unique methodology that will definitely appeal to children.

Bottom line - this is a must buy for families with young kids who DO NOT know the rules. For others, consider this game as well as the latest ChessMaster on the market.

Good luck!
Copyrighted by me

Wonderful!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 59 / 69
Date: July 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My daughter is 8 and I recently bought this for her. She's never played chess before and her attention span can be somewhat limited at times. I played this game for a little while before letting her play (she had chores to finish and so I could see if it was something she'd be able to do). At first I was a little worried, some of the arcade games seemed to me to be too hard and not have enough instructions. At any rate I loaded it up and let her play, and she spent over 6 hours in one weekend totally absorbed and loving every minute of it. Some of the arcade games were too hard so she just skipped those, I don't know if it will have any negative effect on her later game play, but so far so good! Anything that is educational and can keep a child absorbed for so long is well worth the money. I hope she finishes the game so she and I can play chess together!

Excellent game for young players

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 37 / 39
Date: July 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

We have had this game for less than a week, and like a previous review, my 8 year-old daughter absolutely loves it. The school my daughter is attending this fall requires all of the children to play chess for 30 minutes or so prior to instruction. I was a little nervous of how to possibly teach her, since I have only played sparingly throughout my life. I know the basic moves, and not much more. Not ever touching a chess piece before, she learned all of the basics of the game in less than 2 days. She played for several hours at a time, and it was hard to get her off the computer.

I think the key to games success is that it instructs the player on the pieces, moves and object of the game without seeming like it is teaching. There are multiple mini-games within the actual game that slowly build to a point where the player knows all the moves of an actual game of chess. I will have to update my review after I play through the game myself, because on the first game I played with my daughter, she constantly corrected me.

Wonderful teaching tool

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 29
Date: November 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My daughter is 8 and she's wanted to learn to play chess for a while. So, I got out the board and attempted to teach her. But it is just one of those things -- I can play better than I can teach. Needless to say, we didn't get far that way.

Several weeks ago I was looking at something online and noticed a review on another site for this game. I investigated more and couldn't find a single negative review of it on any site. Think how rare that is! So I purchased it for my daughter.

After she installed it, she played it almost non-stop for hours. This went on for a few days. Since I didn't spend a lot of time looking over her shoulder I asked her how she felt about the game. She thinks this game is a winner. The way they break down the game so you become intimate with the characteristics of each piece is wonderful. They also spend time getting a child to be able to understand certain strategies and I think they do it well. Their mini-games are just right, in my opinion.

She's now playing chess against the game and winning some and losing some, depending on the level she plays. But she feels good having learned the game and I think it actually helped her confidence a bit, too. I guess it feels good to be 8 and able to say, "Why yes, I play chess."

Very nice!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 25
Date: July 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My daughter is going to be 5 next month and she loves chess a lot. We started with Chessmaster's training but it frequently required a lot of assistance from us to sit with her as Chessmaster's UI (9000) is buggy in a lot of respects (So adults can figure around some of them but kids may have difficulty). A week or so back, I got this one (when it was released) and since then, my daughter has already done a number of the puzzles in it and really enjoys it. If you want your child to do chess, I would definitely recommend it.

Great Chess Instruction, Clever, Funny and addictive!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: January 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

My 5 year old wanted to learn how to play chess. I taught him, but I knew having reinforcement would help....furthermore, I didn't/don't know ALL there is to know about chess so I really wanted the help. I did a search and ran into this gem of a program...and I couldn't be happier.

With a story line, arcade like games, mazes, mini chess lessons and Chester the rat (who happens to be a chess master and your mentor) it doesn't get any better than this....Yes, there are flaws, but none worth mentioning, because they don't take away from the beauty and value of this program.

My son has already applied much of what he's learned...and he hasn't even finished his "training" with Chester yet! Moreover, the games you play with Chester (in preparation to face the evil king) can be set at vairious levels of difficulty. And that means it's going to take a while to grow out of this program (it'll challenge mom and dad easily!)

Truly a parents dream when it comes to software. I played it first to check it out, and I really didn't have to. This is a purchase you won't regret.

Fun for a 5 year old

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 21
Date: November 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In our homeschool group, this program came highly recommended. It's obvious as to why. My 5 year old son played this game the first week for hours each day. We limit the time spent now, but it's difficult when you know it's educational and so much fun!

It's a blast listening to him recite the rules taught by Chesster. "A Knight on the Rim is Ugly and Dim". "At first, the Rook hangs about. But at the end, he knocks the King out." When the puppy annoys him, he now hollers, "Checkmate!" at her. Absolutely cracks us up.

Now that it's been a few weeks, he's been playing real games against his father - and winning! (Granted, Daddy hasn't played in 20 years or so.)

I did not learn how to play chess until we purchased this game. I'm enjoying it thoroughly as an adult. Naturally, I progressed through the lessons faster, and now love getting in a quick game in the morning before the kids wake up.

Note: There were no problems with installation on a laptop running XP.

AWESOME tool to help teach your child CHESS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: December 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have a five year old and my husband is teaching him how to play chess. We bought this game because he LOVES to play on the computer. This game is AWESOME! He played it for hours straight. It is a really fun way to learn the moves and strategies of the game. My husband even learned a few things he didn't know. I think it is one of those games that is definitely worth the money!

Learn to Play Chess!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: October 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I really like this computer game because it uses parts-to-whole instruction - it introduces each chess piece separately with an interesting strategy game that teaches how it moves.

Kids have to master the strategy games for each piece before they are given a chance to play with a full board.

But more important than MY impressions are those of my kids - 6 and 8, boy and girl, - who just LOVE this game and cheer each other on. I am thrilled to have them captivated by a "thinking" game. They have generalized their interest in chess to a real board too - they do not just play the game on the computer.

Another note - while I personally enjoy the graphics, they are not sophisticated or realistic, but more like illustrations in a children's book.

Definitely worth the money.

Best program to teach kids (or anyone) chess!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 16
Date: June 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Purchased this for an energetic 5-year old known as my son!

To summarize: King White is feeling a little tired and disinterested (a mysterious malaise that can best be described as boredom or maybe even depression - seriously! Maybe something gets lost in translation, as this game is made by Chessbase, a German company, but marketed here by Viva Media. Maybe he is a victim of "ennui?"), so his queen suggests that they go on vacation. They put their son Fritz in charge for the duration of their absence, and as soon as the king and queen are out the door, Fritz is challenged to a chess duel by the nasty looking King Black. PROBLEM: Fritz doesn't know how to play chess!!

Follow Fritz and his cousin Bianca across the kingdom as they play a variety of games in order to learn chess basics. Learn how the pieces move, and learn basic tactics like pins, etc. Piece valuation, how to win, etc. are other topics that are taught.

The cool thing is that my son doesn't realize that he is learning! The games are so fun and arcade-like, that he learns how the pieces move without even knowing it.

Examples of the games:
1. Sumo wrestlers on a circular board to teach about the king and the concept of "opposition."
2. A Pac-man-like game to teach the horizontal and vertical movement of the rook.
3. A Pong-like game of smashing toilets (no joke!) to get across the concept of the bishop's diagonal movement.

After going through all the training sessions, my son was ready to take on King Black. He still gets mostly crushed, but that is because he doesn't spend much time thinking before he makes a move. He has managed wins on the lower setting, but that's because the chess engine plays some of the most horrible moves, like leaving a queen hanging, etc.

Highly recommended for youngsters! My son may leave it alone for 3 or 4 weeks at a time, but he always comes back to play the games and to try his hand vs. King Black. Money well spent to teach kids a wonderful game.

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