Category: Chess

Childhood is a very interesting and trying time. And as a parent, you have to take all the major decisions on your kids’ behalf that will shape the future that they will grow to have. The skills to master, the hobbies to take up, the sport to play, everything has to be chosen carefully.

At an early age, a kid has a better learning curve, which is a huge advantage. Children pick up complex patterns and skills better at a young age. That is why it is easy to learn new things like languages at a young age than at an older age. Chess is no different. For kids, recognizing patterns, movements, and lines is easy to memorize than at an older age.

It doesn’t stop at that. Chess brings in a lot of other advantages for a child growing up. Here are a few reasons why your child should play chess at a young age.

Here Are The 9 Reasons Why Your Child Should Play Chess At A Young Age

1. The More You Play, The Better You Are

This is a common philosophy in everything. The more you do a certain thing, the better you get at it. It is no different in chess. Beginning at an early age gives you the much-required head start to be ahead at a competitive level. Most Grandmasters these days get their title at the age of 14-15. This would only be possible by starting at a very early age.

The main keyword to focus here is experience. If you start early, you already have a decade’s worth of experience by the time you are 15. Chess is a game that you learn only through playing and experiencing. The more games you play, the better you get at recognizing patterns and other aspects of it.

2. Helps Improve Concentration

Kids are known to be easily distracted. Be it studies or any other activity. This sometimes causes long term problems when they’re not managed properly. The best way to go about is by introducing them to a tool that will require them to concentrate while ensuring they have fun. Chess is the best way to keep them engaged and improve their concentration at the same time.

The same can be said for adults, but for kids, imbibing the power of concentration early on in life makes a huge difference growing up. They are more focused and aim well when it comes to their studies and schooling.

3. Better Memory

Chess is known to improve a child’s memory as it involves memorizing moves that are a little easier to memorize than compared to what a child memorizes in school. So, this quick grasping ability improves their performance in studies. So, beginning at a young age, a child can leverage this training of sharp memory in many aspects of their lives.

4. Better Time Management

Time management is a major life skill, that if acquired and mastered at a young age, can be very beneficial in every stage of life. Chess is played in many time frames. The rapid chess (11 mins +), blitz chess (3-10 mins), & bullet chess (under 3 mins).

A player has to think of the right moves, calculate the lines, play the game, and go for the victory, all in a few minutes of timeframe. The constant playing of time-limited games teaches players to manage their time better. Even while training, players have to manage time to train for chess and do their other studies. With a lot of time management involved at a young age, kids grow into the skill effectively.

5. Better Organization And Planning Skills

Parents spend a lot of their time teaching their kids planning and organization. Be it their room, timetables, schoolbags, or even their life; organization comes in handy everywhere. Chess makes kids organize and plan each and every move in order for them to survive and have a fighting chance at a win.

Having to experience this growing up imbibes valuable organization and planning skills in children.

6. Gives You A Chance To Go For Titles

Professional Chess is all about titles. Every player works hard to go for the big title, Grandmaster. Most Grandmaster these days reach their titles at a very young age. This is possible if you start at an early age and are consistently training towards the big goal.

At a young age, it is comparatively easier to learn all the tactics and intricacies of the game, which is considered a big push towards the big title. And that is why it is always advisable to start early.

7. Mental Development

There have been a few studies in the past to prove that chess helps in improving the IQ of the player. It trains the brain harder and makes the logical and strategic part of it stronger and sharper. You can see kids playing chess do well in academics and show strong skills in various aspects at school.

Chess is also said to help in the development of dendrites in our bodies. Dendrites are a part of the nervous system of our body. They are a projection of neurons that is responsible for receiving signals from other neurons and other brain cells.

8. A Great Distraction From Other Things

Every parent is worried as to what their child would take up in their free time. And more often than not, they go for mobile games, TVs, and other distractions that are addictive in a harmful way. Chess is a really fun hobby to take up and is the perfect distraction you can ask for. It is fun, useful, and comes with a whole set of skills that can be nurtured in childhood for a better future.

9. Builds Self-Confidence

Chess is a game of skill, and there is no space for luck. In every game, the player is all by himself. If they win, they take 100% credit, and if they lose, they are the only ones to blame. This grounds the players and makes them self-confident to deal with anything in life.

A child faces a lot of challenges while growing up, and self-confidence is a skill to master to overcome anything!

Conclusion

These are just some of the many reasons why chess should be started for kids at a young age. Choose the right mentor or training platform and begin early. One of the biggest and the best chess coaching platforms in India is Kaabil Kids.

They train kids to be a better chess player and be mentally healthy. Their curriculum is prepared by Grandmaster Tejas Bakre, and the training is undertaken by a group of trainers with a FIDE rating. Check out their presence, and introduce your kid to the world of chess today!!

Who doesn’t like being the best at whatever they do? And with Chess, the stakes are just higher. It is a war fought between the 64 squares on the board and a battle of minds. In a game that proves who is the smarter player of the two, one always wants to come out as a winner. So, let’s ask the big question, how to become an expert in Chess?

Just like many other games and sports, Chess requires constant training and studying. Starting at an early age does help a lot in every sport, but in Chess, it’s an even bigger key! A child’s brain is equipped to take in things faster and master complex concepts like languages, patterns, etc. And so, children learn Chess skills faster than adults.

There are a lot of things that factor in when you are on your journey to becoming an expert at the game. Here are some of them:

Here Are The 8 Tips To Get Better At Chess

Advance Online Chess Coaching

1.Train Regularly

This one is a bit more straightforward. Everyday training is required not just to be an expert in the game but also just to stay in touch with the various openings, tactics, traps and lines of the game. Grandmasters and even emerging players train for up to 9-12 hours a day.

For effective training, you can either enrol yourself or your kids in any of the institutes that ensure regular training with a proper curriculum and experienced trainers, or you can find yourself a coach or a mentor to help you reach the next level.

Kaabil Kid’s is one of the best choices to go for if you are planning to enrol your kid in a Chess training institute. They are India’s top live Chess training platform as they focus on quality Chess development and the child’s psychological growth. The curriculum is prepared by the International Grandmaster Tejas Bakre, and the trainers are FIDE rated.

Training regularly keeps your brain sharp, and the more you learn, the more you find it easy to memorize various openings and strategies. So train regularly and progress!

2.Study And Learn Famous Games

This is a practice that is a great training process for both beginners and Grandmasters. There are thousands and millions of quality Chess games that have been played. But a few stand out to be classics, and they teach a lot in terms of tactics, strategies, and planning. Be it Kasparov, Anand, Fischer, or any other legend, a few of their games are worth studying.

These games teach you the kind of openings to choose from, the kind of lines to prepare, and what to expect when you play a certain move. This small practice is a big difference between a novice and an expert.

At Kaabil Kids, students get regular sessions and interactions with some of the best Grandmasters and International Masters who will take them through some famous games and teach them valuable lessons through them.

3.Play Every Day

Not just Chess, consistency is the key in every part of life. But in Chess, the significance is just a little higher. We already spoke about training every day, but implementing the things you have learned in a competitive match is also equally important.

This keeps your competitive nature intact and gives you a taste of what to expect in a professional match and tournament. Studying games and training through videos, books, and engines is one thing, but playing with another player, who is just as strong as you, is totally different.

The human mind is way more advanced than any machine, so you never know what new move you may encounter from your opponent, giving you a chance to prepare for everything that may come your way.

Especially for students, playing regularly can bridge a huge gap between becoming an expert and just playing Chess for fun. Kaabil Kids gives children 24/7 access to a platform where they can play against other players or against bots anytime, anywhere!

This ensures they are never out of touch and are always ready to implement what they learn.

4. Get Your Game Reviewed And Analyzed

Just played a game? Did you win? Did you lose? Don’t stop there! No matter what the outcome is, get your game analyzed. You can analyze it yourself through Chess engines, or you can send the game to an expert and get their views on it.

If you have won the game, then you may be able to find better moves that you could’ve played for a smoother game. And if you lost the game, then the analysis will help you understand where you went wrong and what you could’ve done differently to avoid the perils. Analysis helps a player prepare and be immune to the same attacks in future, making the player more ready and an expert!

Kaabil Kids also believes in learning from mistakes, and after every tournament or major game, the trainers sit with the kids to analyze their games and guide them the right way with necessary feedback.

5.Get Competitive And Go For Tournaments

Friendly games and training will help you a lot in your Chess journey. But the win and lose factor won’t matter or bother you much, as the stakes are not higher. A professional tournament, on the other hand, fuels up the inner urge to win, and makes you train harder, play harder and learn harder. This is where a player shapes himself and knows where he stands compared to the other Chess players.

Being competitive is a necessity in Chess, and this helps the player make the leap from a beginner to an expert. At Kaabil Kids, we have varying levels kids can opt for, based on their Chess expertise.

There are weekly practice matches and tournaments where students can implement what they have learned and hone their skills. And in Level 2-4 (Intermediate to Expert), we focus on preparing students for international tournaments where they can compete on a higher level and aim for an official ELO rating.

6.Follow Professional Games Carefully

There is a lot of Chess around you if you look for it. And Chess was one of those very rare things that grew positively in the lockdown. Offline tournaments can be viewed through various channels, there are online tournaments with nail-biting commentary, and there are super Grandmasters streaming Chess on various platforms!

This has made Chess accessible in the easiest way ever. You can easily interact with some of the biggest Grandmasters, learn from the professional games that are being played and closely follow the commentary where experts discuss various lines the players are playing on the board.

7.Solve Puzzles Every Day

Chess puzzles are a form of art in themselves. They push you to think a lot and come up with the absolute best move in the position. Solving puzzles every day is the best drill a chess player can go for as they are fun, exciting, and give you the thrill of an intense Chess match!

And what better place to look for puzzles than Kaabil Kids’ platform, where there are numerous puzzles of varying difficulties to test the calculating abilities of the kids.

8.Have Number Goal And Aim For The Best

Chess is all about numbers, and a player’s Chess ability can directly be tracked by their ELO rating. It is a rating system that determines the expertise of the player. The higher the ELO rating, the better the player is. So have a set goal in mind and go for it!

With Kaabil Kids, we train students to aim for a FIDE rating in our Platinum Package. Here we prepare them for official FIDE tournaments, teach strategies and tactics on a higher level, and ensure they are ready to compete on a higher level.

To summarize, becoming a Chess expert takes years of intense training and dedication. So just stick to your routine, be consistent, and don’t give up. And one day, who knows, there may be a Grandmaster in you!

Were you ever asked to take up Chess as a kid? Do you still continue it? If yes, you must already know the various ways Chess might’ve helped you in developing various life skills.

Chess for kids is a part of their growing up. If you ask anyone if they play Chess, their common answer will be, ‘I used to play in my childhood, but slowly lost touch’. In many schools, Chess is a part of the extra-curricular skills for students, and parents insist their kids take the sport up.

But why the preferential treatment for Chess in kids? Because more than anyone, kids have a lot to gain and imbibe by regularly playing and training for Chess. Here are a few benefits of the game that stand out.

Benefits Of Playing Chess For Kids

Best Online Chess Coaching for Kids

1.Improves Memory And Concentration Power

Chess for kids is a game that requires the player to memorize and learn moves. Constant training and memorizing the moves helps kids concentrate better. Their memory power improves, and they are able to learn things quicker and more efficiently.

It is also known to help against Alzheimer’s and Dementia as your brain is constantly being challenged and trained when you are learning and playing Chess. With time, kids get better at recognizing patterns and improving their spatial memory as well.

And when kids learn Chess while at school, there is a clear impact on their studies as their improved memory and concentration come to play while studying their other subjects.

2.Better Planning and Organization Skills: (Foresight)

In order to win at Chess, you always have to think one step ahead of your opponent. This involves thinking and planning on what your opponent’s move might be and planning your moves accordingly.

The process helps kids understand the importance of planning and organizing their moves and pieces in the most efficient way possible. The better you plan your pieces, the better coordinated they are, the better you are on the board.

Kids with this skill are good at planning their study cycle, their day and organizing every aspect of their life a little better. They balance their play-study cycle well and ensure their all-round development.

3.Increased Self-Confidence

Chess is a solo game, where the players are all by themselves. They have to take all the right decisions by themselves, and they are solely responsible for the outcome. They lose, their fault. They win, their amazing play.

This gives the kids a sense of responsibility for the outcome of the game, making them self-confident at an early stage. At a young age, they realize how one wrong move can mess the chances that they created by playing 100 right moves. It makes them cautious and ensures they take calculative steps at every stage of their life.

4.Mental and Psychological Improvement

A study has proven that while playing Chess for kids, both the sides of the brain were equally active and working at the same time. It is a great exercise for both the right and the left hemispheres of the brain.

The brain works better, and it helps battle anxiety in kids. It also helps boost a lot of other brain functions that are very useful in day-to-day life. It teaches them patience; it teaches them to battle stress when you lose something; it teaches them to mentally prepare themselves before a crucial event, and so much more!

5.Improves Problem Solving Skills

Be it math, or puzzles or any other strategy games, Chess helps improve problem-solving skills that come in handy in many ways and at many places. When it comes down to it, Chess is a puzzle that needs to be solved in order to win a position. And thinking of the right combination of moves requires a lot of practice and calculating all the possibilities.

These sharpen your brain to solve any other problem that comes its way and help you improve the brain to work faster and sharper.

6.Increases IQ Level

Chess is a great combination of everything that improves your IQ. Logical reasoning, puzzle-solving abilities, calculations, memorizing, and many other things. And it is proven time and again that Chess players have a high IQ level compared to others.

A Venezuelan study tested and concluded that kids who played Chess as a part of their test ended up having higher IQs than kids who did not play Chess. One of the main reasoning they gave was that both Chess and IQ testing are similar, decoding patterns, cognitive and logical thinking and analyzing situations present to them.

7.Sportsmanship

Chess players have to play a lot of games in order to get better at the sport. And they will have to lose hundreds of games to be able to win thousands. Constantly losing game after game and realizing the importance of one wrong move shapes them into better sportsmen. They can handle losses and deal with them in a better way.

One other thing every Chess player does after a game, irrespective of its outcome, is the analyzing part of it. They analyze the game, their moves, their opponent’s moves and see the mistakes they have made for them to improve in the future. This imbibes a great sportsman quality of looking back and learning from the mistakes and not to avoid the same in the future.

8.Helps In Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is a major aspect of Chess for kids. A player must go out of the box to surprise his opponents and win games. Tactics, strategies, and move combinations are all part of creative thinking on the board. This helps kids in thinking different.

While playing on the board, players constantly think, ‘What will happen if I do this. This is originality at its finest as Chess is a game with billions of possibilities, and every game is unique in itself. And to create a unique and winning position, players have to bring their creative best on the board.

9.Getting Them Away From Phones

One of the major worries of parents is that their kids are consuming random content on the Internet, which is causing a major distraction and decreasing their concentration. Chess for kids helps them get away from the screen and shift their focus to something that is both fun and beneficial.

They interact with parents and friends more and are able to prioritize better.

So all in all, Chess is packed with a lot of goodies and playing Chess for kids is one of the best things they can indulge in at their age. So get them going at an early age and enrol them in quality training that improves Chess for kids and makes them ready for the real world.

So How Do You Encourage Your Child To Play Chess?

At Kaabil Kids, the trainers do not just focus on quality Chess coaching for the kids but also work on their holistic development to improve their other life skills. Kaabil Kids has the best of both the worlds:

1. Chess module designed by Grandmaster Tejas Bakre, who is also the chief mentor of Kaabil Kids, and training led by some of the most experienced and highly skilled Chess masters.
2. In-house child-psychologist to help them developmentally.

Take a sneak-peak into our learning approach with a free webinar, and enrol your child in India’s best Live Chess training platform!