KidsChess

Eli's school is undergoing some renovations and additions this year, so the amount of cool, after school clubs they host is limited right now. Since Brainy Builders (aka legos) wasn't offered this year, I gave Eli the choice (if he wanted) of participating in Art, Spanish or KidsChess. He opted for Chess, but by the time he chose it over the summer, the spots for fall were already full. Luckily I was able to get him in for the spring, and he started last week.

While I had briefed him on the game before, and reviewed some of the pieces with him before his first day, Eli had never played the game before. His best friend, Drew, was also signed up for the same time slot, so even the word 'excitement' does not do it justice. Eli came home from that first day bubbling about rooks and pawns and 'bush-ups' (bishops). All he wanted to do was play, and while we had ordered a practice chess set, it hadn't arrived yet. Luckily, the next day we found it had been delivered to our doorstep.

Over the weekend I think Eli and I played 37 times. He also taught Maddux pawn chess; it held her attention quite well Saturday morning. I vowed to not 'let' Eli beat me, but I did try to extend the game a bit to let him learn more and enjoy it. By the end of the weekend it took a lot less effort on my part to draw out the game because Eli was already starting to see moves before they happened. So cool.