Hi. What books or chess sets do you think work best teaching a (recently turned) 6 year old chess? Or maybe computer DVD?
I learned with the Chessmaster 2100. There are newer versions out there though I’m not sure some of them can be recommend due to hard core copy protection. I’d have to say to stay away from any version put out by Ubisoft, judging by the reviews by Amazon. Honestly, I don’t think it’s worth going past the 2100 version.
Get as plain and ordinary a Staunton pattern set as you can. It’s the type most widely used and rightly so - it’s really easy to tell the pieces apart, which matters when you’re trying to take in the whole board.
I haven’t seen it myself, but Fritz and Chesster has very good reviews (there’s a sequel as well). I think for a younger kid it would be better than Chessmaster.
Also I second the suggestion to get a standard Staunton set.
My mother played with my son at that age. That’s the best way for a little tyke to learn. Through a patient older person.
I learned around that age, maybe a year later, and it was simply that I was curious about the game and dad sat me down with a set. He pulled out the Encyclopedia we had and let me read it (I was precocious) as he taught me how ever piece moved. By the time I was 9 or 10, he wouldn’t play me anymore because he hated losing 
I’ve since taught lots of friends, nieces, nephews, cousins etc and the fact of the matter is that they have to want to learn. The older they are, the more intimidated they are by the game, so I think it’s easier to teach the younger kids (so long as they pay attention at least).
Agreed. While I can’t comment on any of the methods mentioned above, I taught my 5 year old just by sitting down and playing with her, talking about strategies and the benefits and pitfalls of some of the moves she’d started. Not only did we not run the risk of her finding it unapproachable or boring, she’s recently been teaching her mother to play.
Maybe the others are good but this did work very well for us. Plus, bonding time!
You can get a remedial chess set that has the directions which way the peices go right on the pieces. I have this set. and this book .
There is also a cd-rom game by Scholastic ( probably out of print now.) but it was excellent. Levels 1-10. I could barely manage level two I’m a tard. I have the disc floating around the house somewhere, I hope. It was always a good brain exercise.
I do have Chessmaster 10th Edition but have yet to install it as I don’t have enough memory on any of my computers (3) to make it run. 
:smack: .
The most important thing is taking the time and having lots of patience.
I got this for my kids after some kind Doper recommended. Great, silly, fun software, and it actually teaches chess. The best was a few months ago, and the kids saw a chess board at their grandparents’ and thought it would be fun to try a game on a real board. I discovered this when I went in the back room because it had become quiet, too quiet. My son (eight) had most of my daughter’s (ten) pieces. He’s more aggressive, and I thought “poor girl”. I checked again a few minutes later just in time to see her put him in checkmate. He’d only lost three pieces. I was so proud.
Another vote for Fritz and Chesster, along with an age-appropriate “beginner’s guide to chess” from your local bookstore.
My six year old son has really enjoyed the Lego Chess CD-ROM. We got it about six months ago and it has turned into an obsession for him.
As a grownup the software has a few too many bells and whistles for my taste (you can play games with normal pieces, or with pieces that look like pirates or cowboys and indians - Lego pirates, cowboys and indians) but my son just eats it up.
He has also gotten quite good at the game and can beat me if I don’t pay attention, and I am playing at the highest level of my life right now.
I was coming into this thread to suggest Lego chess. My son started playing chess at 3½, we got him Lego chess that next Christmas. He’s 7½ now and still loves it.
A chess book I once read recommended introducing the different men one at a time and playing games like queen vs eight pawns (pawns win if one reaches the eighth rank, or they take the Queen; queen wins by taking all the pawns), two rooks versus eight pawns (put the Rooks’ pawns on the third rank at setup), etc. The pawns move first. King and eight pawns versus king and eight pawns would be a good training exercise too.
Also check out No Stress Chess and Quick Chess.