Beginner chess app recommendations?

[BlueChampagne]

DS1 (6) has become interested in chess. Can anyone recommend an app if he's short of opponents at home?

Marking place.

Not an app, but the CD-ROM series "Fritz and Chesster" is outstanding for beginners. It's been around for a while. I have several copies in a library which I lend out to kids in a chess club.

It is the only resource I know which actually teaches chess to young children who are absolute beginners without the need for much adult assistance. I would say it is suitable from age 4, despite saying 8+. It has an excellent, appealing design as well as being good on the chess side. I have not yet encountered a child who didn't like them. Some kids do find the first one too basic, and a few kids who aren't really ready for chess - like my younger dd who has learning difficulties - don't really grasp the chess ideas very well but still enjoy the games. The children I know are of a wide range of abilities.

Fritz and Chesster 1 has a cartoony storyline with exercises teaching how each piece moves and continuing to some basic concepts. It also covers ALL the rules: there aren't that many rules in chess, but most beginners don't know all of them, or they misunderstand a few. (The trouble is, most people learn to play chess from other people rather than from a proper reference source. This means mistakes proliferate. If I had a penny for every time I've heard "but my dad is really good at chess and he says..."!)

The other two in the Fritz and Chesster series teach more advanced concepts.

You can often buy the first one secondhand for about a tenner. The others are harder to find secondhand and you'll pay around £20 each to buy them new.

However, you were asking for something your son could actually play against. I have to say that the Fritz and Chesster interface for playing games against the computer is not that great.

Here's a good safe kid-friendly website for your son to play against other children: www.chesskid.com/ There aren't many free resources on the site - it's one of those frustrating sites which is constantly offering you things and then telling you that you have to pay a subscription for them - but it's good for playing anyhow.

Thanks, seems like there's an opening in the market here, app designers! I don't play but DH does, so he gets some games, and is going to play a bit at school too. I wonder if this enthusiasm will last!

Just found "Black Eye chess powered by Fritz and Chesster" on App Store; does anyone who knows about chess rate this?

Chessmaster 10 for the PC.

Chess Free app is very good and is highly rated by other users. Plus, it's free! It has different levels and you can use handicaps and it can be played alone or with two players.

I can also highly recommend the Fritz and Chesster CD ROMS.

www.chesskids.org.uk is a free multi-media chess course for kids written by the excellent Richard James and you can play against the computer.

Dinosaur chess

itunes.apple.com/us/app/dinosaur-chess-learn-to.../id405842432?mt...

I looked at this app, then thought I wouldn't intro it to my 4yr old yet. About 6 months later he pestered me to teach him chess so I told him to go through the app and after this I would teach him.

We went through it by himself, but within earshot of me, for 45 minutes then asked me to teach him.

We got out a chessboard he put it the right way around, set up the pieces from memory, told me what all the pieces were called and how many points they were worth and we started playing. He knew en passent and castling, but couldn't remember the seven rules of castling.

He has moved on to a higher level app now, but I still see him playing with this app a year later.

Excellent app for absolute and false beginners kids!

Thanks - will give Chess Free a go