No Checkmate, Montessori Chess Lessons for Age 3-90+
This book is not just about chess. It helps adults understand how to share their lives and loves with children in a way previously thought not possible. It breaks down the process into small bits, appropriate to a child’s age, interests, and stage of development. It also explains Montessori philosophy and practice at the most fundamental and practical way.
Surprisingly we have heard that many adults, who thought they would never be able to learn this game, have begun to play chess with friends after following the clear steps presented here.
Two amazon.com reviews for No Checkmate:
Chess without a headache! Susan covers every detail of making this game meaningful and fun for even the very young.
— Rita Zener, AMI Montessori teacher trainer, Washington DC
If you are looking for a book that will help you to introduce the game of chess to your child in a non-competitive, gradual, and fun way – you have found it!
Deep respect and understanding of human development in its formative stages is a common denominator of all Ms. Stephenson’s books. In NO CHECKMATE you will find a conceptual framework of developmental characteristics along with a practical guidance in form of preliminary games and activities, gradual introduction to the key rules of the game, and more… This book opened a new field of exploration and joy for me and my two daughters!
— Dmitry Ostrovsky, Moravian Montessori teacher and dad, working in Moscow
PICTURES – the color pictures you see here are black and white in the book.
(From page 21)
Graceful movement and balance of the whole body
At around 1.5 years of age a child, so glad to be in an upright position with hands free, wants to put forth as much effort as possible and delights in carrying heavy things. This practice solidifies the balance of walking, carrying something, and watching where one is going. One of the first things you might offer a child in the learning of chess might be the opportunity to carry the chess set to the table, placing it quietly on the table, and putting it away when the game, between two other people, is finished.
(From page 23-24)
The courtesy of shaking hands
When a child enters a Montessori class, at least in Western Cultures, the first thing he usually does is shake hands with the teacher who is sitting on a chair just inside the classroom so her face is at the child’s level. This marks the beginning of the child’s day at school; it sets the energy of mutual respect and focus on being in the moment. Similarly you can teach this in chess. Either person can offer to shake hands at the beginning of a game or lesson.
But the main reason for this is because the manners of chess require that at the end of a game the two people shake hands and say something along the lines of, “Thank you for playing chess with me,” or, “I enjoyed playing chess with you.” This may not seem like a very important step in the beginning of learning to play chess, but it is extremely helpful when, at the 3rd level of chess, both people are trying to win, and someone loses. Knowing that one is going to end the game in such a polite manner can prevent the frustration, anger, and ill manners that are sometimes displayed when a person (even adults) lose a game.
(From page 41-42)
Dusting or polishing chess pieces
This brings up a point that is sometimes misunderstood in a Montessori class. When a child asks if he can work with materials that he is not prepared for, for example wanting to get his hands on the beautiful glass beads that teach squaring and cubing before he has begun the basic math work the reply should never be, “No, you are not ready for that.” The child doesn’t understand that in time he will have the skills to work with more advanced materials, that someday he will be ready. He only hears the word, “NO!” Instead the teacher says, “Yes, you will be able to work with those materials, as soon as you can do this, and this, and this” perhaps pointing to the beginning shelves of math materials. “This one comes first. Would you like a lesson on that now?”
Sometimes, if a child is not even ready to begin the first math lesson and still wants to “work with” the beautiful bead materials, the teacher can say, “Yes, do you see that these beads and the shelves are really dusty? Would you like a lesson on dusting them?” Sometimes children have been able to practice their skill of wood polishing on materials in the Montessori classroom that they will not be using in the prescribed way until much later. This is all satisfying, important, real work.
(From page 94-95)
Mongolia
In 2015, I was in Mongolia to give the first AMI Montessori public lectures and to consult with two schools. I was staying with a family who had a 5-year-old boy whose grandfather had taught him the chess moves. One evening that the boy and his father were playing chess in the living room, Ermuun suddenly exploded into anger, stomping and yelling and his father looked toward me with a puzzled look on his face. I asked what happened and the father said, rather sadly, “He doesn’t like to lose.” My reply was that winning and losing was not appropriate at this age, but the emphasis is better placed on spending fun time with one’s father, and learning more and more about chess. And, with his interest aroused I went on to explain the “Three Levels of Chess” that our family has developed over the years. Later I received news from Mongolia that the boy enjoys chess now much more than before.
(From page 115-117)
Creativity – Oden’s game
Chess has changed many times since its birth in India and it is still changing. The rules have changed and why cannot children continue to change them? Recently I was playing chess with my sister’s grandchildren. One the youngsters, already identified as a unique and creative thinker, decided to make up his own game. I had given them a combination chess and checkers set and he wanted to created a way to use all of the pieces of both sets in one game.
I explained that all games were the result of agreement between people about how the game is played. An example is the rules of Scrabble in our family. Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board which is divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words which, in crossword fashion, flow left to right in rows or downwards in columns. The words must be defined in a standard dictionary . The game is played without access to a dictionary unless a word is being challenged.
But a year ago I suggested that this way of playing limits the players to words they already know, so our family began to play with the dictionary as our constant companion, accessible at any time. This was a cooperative way of playing, and it was so exciting for all of us to learn so many new words in one game that winning became secondary. It was still fun to find words that could score a lot of points and have a high score at the end of the game, but there was much more learning and enjoyment of Scrabble from then on.
So why not a game with chess pieces and checkers together? All I remember, as I heard him explain his new game to his brother and cousin, was “And the Queen has more power when she is standing on a checker!”
(From the back cover)
Benefits of chess
I once came across a list of 10 ways learning chess can benefit the brain. Here is the list:
– It increases creativity
– It improves memory
– It increases problem-solving skills
– It can raise an IQ
– It grows dendrites
– It can help prevent Alzheimer’s
– It exercises both sides of the brain
– It improves reading skills
– It improves concentration
– It teaches planning and foresight
These are all important results of learning chess. But in learning chess the Montessori way we can add to this list:
– It helps one learn patience
– It teaches body awareness and grace
– It teaches good manners
– It teaches cooperative problem solving
– It teaches how to help another
– It teaches one how to treat another person the way one would like to be treated
And maybe you can think of even more.
CLICK: NO CHECKMATE
NO CHECKMATE, Montessori Chess Lessons for Age 3 to 90+
ISBN 1-879264-18-8
123 pages, black and white illustrations
Copyright © 2016 Susan Mayclin Stephenson
$14.95
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from the publisher CLICK HERE: Michael Olaf Montessori Books
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