Day 1
Piece safety
Play a short game and name every piece that is attacked before making your move.
Extra challenge: After the game, find one move that accidentally left a piece undefended.
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Seven days of better chess decisions.
A simple 10–15 minute daily practice routine for children and parents. No email gate, no account and no payment required.
Parent-friendly practice
Your seven-day checklist
Tick off each day on paper or use this as a reference during your child's practice.
Day 2
The fork
Practise forks in the puzzle room. Say aloud which two pieces you threaten.
Extra challenge: Invent a position in which a knight attacks a king and a rook.
Day 3
The pin
Look for pieces that cannot safely move because a more valuable piece is behind them.
Extra challenge: Explain why a pinned piece may still be able to capture or block, depending on the position.
Day 4
Checkmate patterns
Review a basic king-and-queen checkmate against a lone king with an adult or coach.
Extra challenge: Explain the difference between checkmate and stalemate in your own words.
Day 5
Checks, captures, threats
Before every move of a slow game, consider your checks, captures and threats and those of your opponent.
Extra challenge: Find one decision where this check changed your first idea.
Day 6
A slow game
Play one complete game with time to think, even if no chess clock is available.
Extra challenge: Pick a move to analyse: what were the three best-looking options?
Day 7
Review and celebrate
Replay one recent game and identify a good decision plus one idea to practise next week.
Extra challenge: Tell a parent one concept you could now teach a beginner.
Small steps work best
This plan is a flexible practice guide, not a test or promise of rating improvement. If your child is new to chess, spend longer on Days 1 and 4. Celebrate clear thinking, not just wins.
© Knightly Chess Academy · Free to print and share with attribution for non-commercial family or classroom use.
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