Chess

 

A first foray into father-daughter chess starts out slowly. N has been wanting to introduce our 4-year-old to the game for a little while now, and a night when L gets to stay up late on account of a midday nap provides the perfect opportunity.

N first introduces L to the cast of characters and they work out little tricks for remembering their names.

N holds up the little castle piece first.

"What does this look like?"

L: "Um, like a water fountain."

"OK. It's called a rook."

"Oh, like a brook!"

"Let's just call it a castle. Now, this one is called a bishop."

"That sounds like French for 'ship.'"

N tries something a little more intuitive -- the monarchs.

"Here's one with a crown on top of her head. What do you think she is called?"

L gasps: "A princess!"

"Well, it's actually the queen. And who is this other big guy with the crown?"

"The princess?"

"No. He's the king."

They review the names. L gets them down. They're ready to start in with the rules, but L has one last question.

"Is there a princess?"

"No. There's no princess."

For the next hour or so N patiently talks through the rules of the game in terms L can understand. To my astonishment L's getting it little by little. She's understanding. Not only that, but it looks like she likes it.

When it's time to put the pieces away, N asks: "Is this fun?"

"Yes," she replies.

"You think it's fun?" N is a little surprised.

"Yeah, I think it's fun."

N is elated. Father and daughter end the lesson with a big hug and then move on to some cartoon computer games. Chess is a game best learned in little, digestible bits.