A chess lesson should leave you able to do something

Retrospective edition for 11 September 2026, published 11 October 2026.

The announcement

On 9 September, FIDE announced its Every Lesson Counts education summit for 24 September in Samarkand, alongside the Chess Olympiad and Congress. The programme was intended to bring together educators, researchers and policymakers to discuss chess in education. This retrospective uses the FIDE announcement; it reports the announced plan, not the summit’s later results.

Choose one observable skill

Our suggestion for a first lesson is modest: by the end, the learner should be able to show how a rook moves and explain when its path is blocked. That gives both people a clear task to practise and a straightforward way to check it.

Use a physical board for this movement drill. Start with a single rook on an otherwise empty board. Ask the learner to trace the directions it can travel, then choose a destination and demonstrate the route. Let them handle the piece while explaining their decision.

Next, add a friendly pawn somewhere along one of those routes. Ask which squares remain reachable in that direction and why the rook must stop before the pawn. Move the pawn to a different square and try again. Keep the task focused on movement; this is a drill, not a complete legal game position.

Finally, ask the learner to arrange a blocked path for you. Let them explain your choices and correct a deliberately mistaken destination. Give them time to reason through it before supplying an answer.

Check the lesson, then take a next step

Finish with three fresh arrangements. If the learner can show the rook’s route and spot the blocker without a prompt, the lesson has met its stated goal. If one arrangement causes difficulty, revisit that example together. There is no need to introduce every piece in the same session.

For a family game or a local club table, pair a newcomer with someone willing to ask short questions and wait for the answer. Agree on the skill first, and let the learner describe what now feels clearer. A useful closing note is the task they can complete independently and the next question they want to explore.

Keep the measure close to the board: can the learner explain the route and spot the blocker independently?

Play a game when you are ready, keeping one simple aim: notice the route before moving the rook.