Naming the Board
Players learn the coordinate names of the squares and the letter symbols for the pieces. This is the vocabulary of chess notation, taught one day before notation itself.
Chess boards have a built-in map. Once players can name any square, recording a game becomes easy. Today is pure vocabulary, no notation yet.
- The columns (up and down) are called files and are labeled with letters a through h, left to right from White's side.
- The rows (side to side) are called ranks and are numbered 1 through 8, starting from White's side.
- Every square gets a name from its letter and number, like e4 or c6. Letter first, then number.
- Most boards print these letters and numbers along the edges. Point them out.
Square-naming game
Call out a square ("Find e4!") and have every player put a finger on it. Then flip it: point to a square and have them name it. Play a few rounds. Make it quick and playful. This is the single best preparation for notation, and kids enjoy the speed of it.
Now the piece symbols. In chess notation, each piece is written with a capital letter.
- K = King
- Q = Queen
- R = Rook
- B = Bishop
- N = Knight (N, not K, because K is already the king)
- The pawn has no letter. When a pawn moves, you just write the square it goes to.
The knight being "N" trips up everyone at first. Make a little joke of it: "The king already took K, so the knight had to settle for N." Students remember the story.
Have students practice by naming where their pieces sit at the start ("My king is on e1, my knight is on b1"). Then play, and as they go, occasionally ask "what square did that pawn land on?" to keep the coordinate names warm.
Tomorrow it all comes together into real notation. If students are shaky on square names, it is completely fine to spend the first part of next session replaying today's naming game. Do not move to notation until the map is solid.