Checkmate for Children by Kevin Stark is a wonderful resource for chess instructors or parents looking for materials that can guide beginning chess players through learning how to accomplish the most fundamental task in chess: checkmating the enemy king. For many children, this seemingly simple goal can become a major stumbling block; look at any scholastic chess tournament, and you'll see numerous stalemates and missed mate-in-one opportunities that frustrate players and coaches alike.
Checkmate for Children takes a systematic approach to teaching typical checkmate patterns. Part I of the book features checkmating themes that utilize only one type of piece, such as mates that use one or both rooks, or mates using pawns. Other basic topics are also explored, like stalemates and double checks. Several quizzes are included so that the beginner (or a teacher) can make sure they're keeping up with the material. Part II introduces more complex ideas that require two or more pieces of different types, such as rook and bishop or queen and knight. This section also starts to include more multi-move problems (though Part I has the occasional mate-in-two as well).
Finally, in Part III, more advance concepts are explored. The reader is introduced to mates-in-four through a "3-Circle Training" method, which starts with mates-in-two, then simply moves the position back a move (and then two) to show that complex combinations are often made up of more easily digestible parts. Finally, a final quiz is given in Part IV to allow the reader to assess their checkmating prowess.
I teach a few children privately, a couple of which are rather young and almost brand new to chess. I can say they certainly have been getting a lot out of this book, and the systematic approach seems very conducive to making the patterns stick. The first problem or two in each section might take them a minute or two to solve, but by the end, they've started to get the hand of checkmating with each piece. Because most of the problems can be set up quickly, its ideal for a student and teacher working together.
It's hard to point out anything in this book that stands out as particularly noteworthy, but that shouldn't be taken to say that Checkmate for Children isn't an excellent book. It offers one of the best introductions to the art of checkmate for beginning players that I've seen, making it a valuable resource for any teacher looking for something a child can work through to develop better pattern recognition, or just some good problem sets for lessons and 'homework' for beginners. Checkmate for Children is a welcome addition to the library of any chess teacher.
