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Original poster

How many bottles of wine will it take to teach a 4 year old how to play chess?

26 replies

MonstranceClock · 16/07/2019 12:11

I've promised her when she comes home from school that I will teach her to play....

Actually I cant even drink wine because I'm pregnant. I'll have to stress eat crisps.

Anyone taught a small child chess??

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 16/07/2019 12:13

Oh god no but I've wanted to. She is 7 now so I may try.

I was taught without a Queen. I only got the Queen once I could win without it.

SoupDragon · 16/07/2019 12:13

If you make it really really dull and then distract her perhaps only 5 minutes.

Original poster
MonstranceClock · 16/07/2019 12:16

I wonder who will be the first one to flip the board over and cry, Probably me.

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4 year olds Behaviour & development
TheOrville · 16/07/2019 12:33

I wouldn’t be giving the 4 yo wine...it will impair her cognitive ability and the task will only take longer!

Original poster
MonstranceClock · 16/07/2019 12:35

She's going to be annoyingly good at it. I think that's what's pissing me off the most Grin

OP posts:
KurriKurri · 16/07/2019 12:36

If she's keen to learn, she may pick it up very quickly (is she generally into puzzle solving, maths etc ?)
I would think your average 4yr old would struggle with strategy, but she may pick up the moves very quickly - I would hold the wine until a weeks time when she is beating you all ends up at chess and you wish you'd never taught her at all Grin

TheABC · 16/07/2019 12:38

I would try checkers.

BaronessBomburst · 16/07/2019 12:39

To be fair, she might pick it up in 20 minutes and then beat you forever. That's what DS did.
But I can still beat him at Connect 4. Grin

KurriKurri · 16/07/2019 12:39

As an aside - my late DDad was a chess whizz - at five yrs old he was offering his services as a chess oponent round the neighbourhood for a halfpenny a game Grin
He taught us all when we were pretty young - but I don't have the inate ability (or any kind of competitive instinct), so remain a very average player.

Hotterthanahotthing · 16/07/2019 12:40

My dad taught me with the pawns first,then added the king and rooks.We were playing fully by 6.

megletthesecond · 16/07/2019 12:40

All of the wine.

Then she'll thrash you.

Original poster
MonstranceClock · 16/07/2019 12:42

what is checkers?

She is one of those children that is very good at everything she does. She already knows how to set the board, we just haven't gotten around to playing. I will be very proud of her she learns! But I am not that good at chess, so she will start to beat me very quickly.

OP posts:
AuntieStella · 16/07/2019 12:42

One bottle.

Give to neighbours teenager, and have them do it for you

JoJoSM2 · 16/07/2019 12:43

I picked chess up at about 4-5 without anyone teaching me but my family played a lot and I watched them. There are countries with competitions for under 6’s and some of them are really good by that age.

KurriKurri · 16/07/2019 12:44

Another aside - my Dad also taught me Cribbage (Which I am passably good at) - now that is a good game for a child that enjoys quick mental arithmetic - plus it has a groovy board with pegs - always a bonus ! Grin

HeyMicky · 16/07/2019 12:45

DD learned last year at 5. It was fine - the basic rules are very clear and it's good for them to think ahead a bit. Then she lost interest and I've not heard a peep for months 🤷🏼‍♀️

Stuckforthefourthtime · 16/07/2019 12:46

Try doing it together using the ChessKid app. So helpful, and pretty sure I learnt things too (though you might be a lot better at chess than I am). It's a bit complex to leave a 4 year old alone with, but great to share.

Okki · 16/07/2019 13:48

I'm 44 and my 9 yr old DS is teaching me to play Grin. He loves the fact he's better than me. Have fun.

BaronessBomburst · 16/07/2019 13:53

Solitaire chess is great for when you don't have the time want to play against her. It's like solitaire, you have to leave one piece on the board, taking the others off using chess moves. There are about 40 different scenarios, getting progressively harder. DS loves it.

BlueberriesAndCream · 16/07/2019 14:06

Magnus Kingdom of Chess App (by the Dragon Box maths app company) is supposed to be very good for teaching the basics

magnuskingdom.com/

swisscheeseplant · 16/07/2019 14:15

DD picked up the moves at about 5 years of age. She got to the finals of a national chess competition when she was 10 but then lost interest. Children’s competitive chess is full of bat shit scary parents, so I am not sorry that she was not keen enough to keep going. She is still a good social player

formerbabe · 16/07/2019 14:51

You can't. Make it up and she always wins.

LoisLittsLover · 16/07/2019 14:53

I taught dd (4) draughts as an introduction which she picked up in 1 game

Stuckforthefourthtime · 16/07/2019 14:53

Children’s competitive chess is full of bat shit scary parents

I second, third and fourth this. Terrifying crowd.

Original poster
MonstranceClock · 16/07/2019 17:20

She's picked up some rules surprisingly fast! I can't win though because she's hidden her king in her purse.

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