What kids will learn

Week 1

01

The Board, Pieces, and How They Move

Lesson

Board setup, piece movement, piece values, basic rules.

Puzzle / activity

Piece-movement puzzles and guided setup.

Supervised play

Mini-games using only pawns and one piece type.

Weekly takeaway

Comfortable setting up the board and moving each piece correctly.

Week 2

02

Check, Checkmate, and King Safety

Lesson

Legal moves, check, checkmate, stalemate, protecting the king.

Puzzle / activity

Spot-the-check and one-move checkmate puzzles.

Supervised play

Short games focused on keeping the king safe.

Weekly takeaway

Recognizes check vs. checkmate and starts protecting the king.

Week 3

03

Opening Principles

Lesson

Control the centre, develop pieces, castle, avoid common traps.

Puzzle / activity

Good move / bad move opening puzzles.

Supervised play

Short games practicing the first 6–8 moves.

Weekly takeaway

Plays a sensible opening without giving away pieces.

Week 4

04

Tactics and Pattern Recognition

Lesson

Forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, hanging pieces.

Puzzle / activity

Tactical puzzle ladder by difficulty.

Supervised play

Games where each child looks for one tactic per move.

Weekly takeaway

Begins to see simple tactics before moving.

Week 5

05

Endgames and Promotion

Lesson

Pawn promotion, basic checkmates, king activity, winning plans.

Puzzle / activity

King + pawn vs. king and basic checkmate drills.

Supervised play

Endgame-only games starting from set positions.

Weekly takeaway

Can convert a winning endgame into a checkmate.

Week 6

06

Mini Tournament and Parent Showcase

Lesson

Tournament etiquette, sportsmanship, how to learn from a loss.

Puzzle / activity

Puzzle challenge and review of the term's best moves.

Supervised play

Friendly mini tournament with everyone playing.

Weekly takeaway

Certificates, parent showcase, and a clear sense of progress.