This thread has been helpful to me. DD really enjoyed chess, until she didn't. I think her first tournament was too competitive for her. There is a chess club at her new school which sounds appropriate, but she hasn't tried it. Since I don't really play chess, I'm of no help for her. Are there online games she could play? What would you suggest to help a child get more confident?
Windows Vista (and Windows 7?) comes with a program Chess Titans that plays on levels from 1 to 10. Even a novice should be able to win against level 1 sometimes. ChessMaster software also has many playing levels.
A chess player needs to master certain skills, such as being able to mate with king and rook vs. king. She should solve lots of checkmates and other puzzles, from a book such as "Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games" by Laszlo Polgar and Bruce Pandolfini.
