Chess: Openings to Tactics for ages 6–14
Many children know how the pieces move but lose games without knowing why. This workshop gives them the ideas that turn moves into plans: how to start a game, the tactics that win material, and the checkmates every player should know cold. Each session mixes teaching with puzzles and games against other children.
A plan for the opening, the eye for forks and pins, and their first games online
How 5 sessions get there
Each session is 60 minutes, live, and builds on the last. Your child is doing something for most of it.
Three opening rules: control the centre, develop pieces, castle early. Learn to stop the four-move checkmate.
Attack two things at once. Spot knight forks, and walk into fewer of them.
Line pieces up against each other. Puzzles from real children's games.
Back-rank mate, the ladder, and king-and-queen against king, practised until automatic.
Games against classmates, then review one game together to find the turning point.
What's in the Tournament Chess Kit
Everything your child needs for the sessions arrives in one box before session 1, and all of it is theirs to keep.
- Roll-up vinyl board with coordinates
- Full-size weighted plastic pieces
- Drawstring carry bag
- 60 tactic puzzle cards
- Score sheet pad
Live with a coach, hands on the kit
Here is session 2. The coach shows one idea, the children try it straight away with the kit, and they hold their work up to the camera for feedback.
What your family needs to know
You'll need
- A laptop or tablet for the online games
- A free online chess account, set up with a parent
Ready if
Your child knows how all six pieces move. If not, an evening with the rule card in the kit is enough.
Where you come in
Play a game with them each week, and let them explain why they made a move.
Reserve a seat
guru.cool will call to confirm a batch time and the fee, and where the kit should go.
About Chess: Openings to Tactics
My child is 6. Is that too young?
Does it lead to tournaments?
Who runs this workshop?
What happens after I reserve a seat?
When does the kit arrive, and can we keep it?
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5 sessions for ages 6 to 14, ending with a plan for the opening, the eye for forks and pins, and their first games online.