This semester-long course introduces children to the rules, movement, and foundational tactics of chess through a structured, age-friendly approach. Each class blends guided puzzle-solving with hands-on mini-games that steadily build toward confident, full-board gameplay. Lessons are enriched with engaging stories and visuals from the history of chess, helping students appreciate the global journey of the game and the artistry behind its pieces. Alongside chess fundamentals, the course strengthens key STEAM skills such as logic, pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, and systematic problem solving, forming a natural foundation for future coding and AI learning built around the logic of chess. By the end of the course, students develop both practical playing ability and a deeper appreciation of chess as a cultural, historical, and intellectual pursuit. The course was designed in collaboration with www.deepseachess.com and www.chesscoding.ai , led by FIDE Master, FIDE Trainer, and FIDE School Instructor Tamer Karatekin.
Early Childhood Chess Foundations (for Coding & AI)
Tue, Wed, 3:45-4:30 PM
(modifications/accommodations offered by instructor)
Course Focus: Full Semester
Learning Objectives
Week 1
Board & Pieces Fundamentals
- Chessboard layout, square names, geometry.
- Know all chess pieces, their symbols, and starting setup.
Week 2
Rook & Bishop Basics
- Rook movement; controlling open files and ranks.
- Bishop (fil) movement, diagonal control, strengths/weaknesses.
Week 3
Queen & Knight Introduction
- Queen (vizier) movement; dominance of files and diagonals.
- Knight (horse) L-movement, jumping, and fork tactics.
Week 4
Pawn & King Fundamentals
- Pawn movement, captures, center control.
- King (shah) movement and importance of king safety.
Week 1
Coordination & Basic Tactics
- Recognize common squares for piece coordination.
- Basic defending of pieces and launching simple attacks.
Week 2
Checks & Escapes I
- Giving check safely without losing material.
- Three basic escape methods: taking, blocking, moving the king.
Week 3
Checks & Escapes II
- Applying mixed techniques to escape more complex checks.
- Understanding checkmate; basic mate patterns by name.
Week 4
Queen Mate Techniques
- Executing aided queen mate with correct technique.
- Using pieces to control enemy king escape squares.
Week 1
Castling & Piece Protection
- Castling rules, when and why to castle.
- Protecting pieces effectively.
Week 2
Exchanges & Draws
- Good and bad exchanges; when to trade pieces.
- Recognizing drawing situations: stalemate, insufficient material, threefold repetition.
Week 3
Coordinated Attacks & Notation
- Combining two pieces for coordinated attacks.
- Reading and writing simple chess notation.
Week 4
Pawn Special Moves & Shepherd’s Mate
- En passant and promotion.
- Understanding Shepherd’s Mate.
Week 1
Defensive & Capture Techniques
- Using escape techniques to save pieces or avoid traps.
- Capture techniques to solve tactical problems and gain material.
Week 2
Interposing & Pin Tactics
- Blocking/interposing to neutralize threats.
- Identifying and using pins defensively and offensively.
Week 3
Limiting Opponent Activity
- Restricting opponent’s piece activity through positioning.
- Planning and executing double attacks with the queen (vizier) using square+movement.
Week 4
Advanced Double Attacks I
- Double attacks using queen: movement+movement patterns.
Week 1
Advanced Double Attacks II
- Mixed-pattern double attacks using the queen to win material.
Week 2
Review & Integration I
- Revisit piece movement, check/escape patterns, basic mates.
- Focus on integrating defensive and offensive tactics.
Week 3
Review & Integration II
- Revisit advanced tactics: double attacks, pins, blocking, and coordination.
- Practice combining multiple tactics in puzzles and mini-games.
Week 4
Mastery & Application
- Capstone exercises using all skills learned: checkmates, coordination, double attacks, escapes, and pawn strategies.
- Mini tournament or challenge games to consolidate learning.
Materials
Study sheets will be distributed every lesson. Study sheet chess puzzle content will be digitally available through www.deepseachess.com Each student will have an online account to track their statistics.
www.deepseachess.com/shahi international chess sets will be used for instruction and playing during the classroom. Students are encouraged to purchase this multilingual set for homeplay.
lichess.org will be used for online play.
