Who it is for
New learners who have never played, or who have only pushed pieces around at home.
Approximate level
Absolute beginner · typically ages 5–10 · unrated
Typical stage duration
Typically 8–12 weeks
Recommended learning format
1:1 for very young beginners, small group for ages 8+
Expected learning outcomes
- Set up the board correctly every time and name any square
- Move and capture with every piece confidently
- Recognise check, checkmate and stalemate without prompting
- Use castling, promotion and en passant correctly
- Spot straightforward mate-in-one patterns
Core syllabus
- 1Board setup, files, ranks and coordinates
- 2How each piece moves and captures
- 3Captures and relative piece values
- 4Check, checkmate and stalemate
- 5Special rules: castling, promotion, en passant
- 6Mate-in-one patterns and the back-rank idea
- 7Simple rules of a good opening: develop, castle, don't lose pieces
Practice activities
- Guided mini-games (pawn game, rook endings, piece races)
- Coordinate naming drills
- 10–15 mate-in-one puzzles a week
- One supervised practice game per week
Milestone
Play a full legal game without help and deliver a basic checkmate.
Rating and age ranges are guides only. Final placement always happens through a friendly assessment in the free demo, so your child starts exactly where they are.
Try First Moves with a free demo
Tell us where your child is now. In the demo the coach checks their level in a friendly way and confirms whether this stage is the right starting point.