Chess House Starter Chess Learning Kit (Review)

My kids love to play chess. In fact, they love it so much, they wanted me to start a chess club for the local homeschoolers. The only problem? I had no idea how to play. I found the idea of playing a chess game intimidating, so I never tried. All the pieces with specific moves and purposes. Mind boggling.

So when Chess House offered it’s Starter Chess Learning Kit for review, I jumped at the chance. After all, this kit is for ages 4+, so I figured I had a shot at understanding it.

The Starter Chess Learning Kit is perfect for beginners. First, the game board is a durable, roll-up chess board with the files and ranks marked by letters and numbers along the edges which is great for learning placement. The playing pieces are solid plastic, and come with an extra queen per color making it easier to crown a pawn as queen.

What really makes this wonderful is the DVD and booklet Pawn Level (level 1). National Chess Master Elliot Neff teaches this DVD course in a fun and easy to learn, conversation style method. All of this chess awesomeness is wrapped up in a nice chess bag with both handles and a strap for easy portability. Our bag came in green camo which we all loved.

How We Use It

First of all, we, meaning me, totally did NOT notice the booklet until after we’d watched the entire DVD. While we watched each segment, mama took notes. I also paused here and there to ask my kids if they knew this or that. They actually learned quite a few new things even though they’ve been playing for a while. For example, we all know the correct orientation of the chess board thanks to Elliot.

Some of the things we learned were the point value for each piece, how each piece moves about the board, how best to use each piece in a strategic way, how to castle, and how to use pawn shields.

Now that we know about the booklet, we are going back through the DVD and at the end of each segment, we are stopping to do the activities in the booklet to reinforce what’s been learned. Mostly because it’s fun.

What We Think

Elliot is engaging, and keeps your attention throughout the DVD. We watched it almost straight through in one sitting. The kids all enjoyed it, and mama absolutely loved it. I finally understand chess, and actually won my first game using a lot of what I’ve learned. I still need more practice, but the kids are patient with me. Plus, I keep my notes nearby in case I need to refer to them.

And we’ve set up the chess club. Our first meeting is soon, and all of us are looking forward to it. I also feel better able to lead now that I understand how to play. You can believe I’ll continue practicing right up until then.

My youngest is still learning, too, but along with the DVD, I’m able to help teach her. I think she’ll be ready for the chess club, too. Bottom line: if you find chess intimidating, get this set. Seriously, Elliot makes it simple to learn and understand, and the overall kit is nice. We’re hoping to get the rest of Elliot’s DVD school to further our chess knowledge.

Pricing

Starter Chess Learning Kit is available for $39.95 which I think is a great price for everything you get.

*Pricing and information is accurate to the best of my knowledge at time of posting.