WHEN AUGGIE LEARNED TO PLAY CHESS: You Can, Too!

 The holiday gift-giving season is well upon us! My book-of-choice today is one that makes a delightful gift across many ages (read the author note in back). Beyond that, though, the story it reveals suggests a gift of even greater value: spending time and learning with someone you love. Especially someone young.

Ann Schwartz Books, 2025

WHEN AUGGIE LEARNED TO PLAY CHESS is written by Meredith Rusu and illustrated by Stephen Costanza. This story offers many openings for kids to connect... 

1. Moving...

...Far away (from beachside to a neighborhood with cows and strong smells!)...

Navigating change...

Feeling alone...    in a crowded new school...

Rejection... it's hard enough to say hello to strangers, but then to be ignored? Yikes!

Big feelings... while parents are busy. EncouragIng, but busy.

Auggie notices something on a shelf in his new home-- a lovely checkered board and a pouch filled with intriguing carved characters. When Auggie's Tatâ (Daddy) notices and begins sharing both stories and skills, the gift of time and teaching allows Auggie to turn his mind away from distress and explore challenges and curiosity. The process offers connection for Tatâ and Auggie and a place of respite from change, anchoring them to a family heritage and to each other. 

Mid-story unfolds with some basic labeling and roles of the chess pieces, never slowing the pace but serving well in repeated readings for anyone trying to learn without a skilled Tatâ at their side. Auggie's growing knowledge leads to better days in his classroom, too, and the conclusion offers a suggestion of a satisfying beginning.The author's note and shares a personal story involving family chess heritage, assuring readers that anyone can learn chess, even the very young.

And even the very OLD! I learned chess as a kid, but never worked at developing competitive skill or learning gambits. MANY years later when my school was organizing "clubs" for kids at recess or activity times, mine was the only hand that went up when someone asked, "Who knows how to play chess?" That small act led me to host the "chess room" one day each week, wrangling 7-9 year olds and a few dozen game sets for both novices and talented players. I never claimed to have any knowledge beyond the basics, but over time those stronger players (and valued volunteer parent coaches) allowed me to learn more. After many years this surprising gift was presented to me> > > >

That's been several decades ago, and yet I can still get newcomers launched, settle confusions or disputes, and spot a mis-staged board from across a classroom. My point is, learning to play chess is a lifetime gift that can reach others at any level. There is no better time than the holidays, when family and friends gather, to have a chess board on hand. Someone in those spaces would raise a hand to admit knowing how to play, and someone else will be eager to figure out those curious characters that travel around the board following detailed rules. (Do me a favor. Avoid digital play, at least at first. Use an actual board and figures if at all possible. Learning to set up the positions, including stories about their relative power and playability, is a significant experience in itself.)

Auggie's story is one of family strength and connection, but it also celebrates the ways in which playing chess opens his mind to potential relationships and actions among strangers and friends. It reinforced his sense of agency, even when he felt himself to "only" be a pawn. The complexity of Auggie's journey will entertain and satisfy readers, but my guess is that the closing of the cover will be followed by "I want to play chess!" Consider a gift pack of a chess set with a copy of this book!

THE QUEEN OF CHESS, and the POWER of Passion

 For many years in my teaching career, I was my school's designated CHESS QUEEN. Not because of any skill or aptitude. I know enough about chess to know how truly unskilled I am. But I also knew enough about chess to introduce new-to-chess eight- and nine-year-olds to the basics during their weekly "activity choice" gatherings after lunch. My qualifications include that I was the only volunteer for this topic. Thus, I was CHESS QUEEN in a very small kingdom. For eight Fridays in a row, my classroom became a hive of players ranging from those who knew more than I did about the fine points of chess to those who thought chess was checkers with fancy pieces. It was exciting to see how those who knew nothing gained ground week by week, and those who knew a great deal still grew- sometimes to find that they had mis-learned some elements of the game. All exited that quarter loving chess and finding interested partners. Each subsequent quarter a new group arrived, so that by the end of the year, every child had learned the basics of chess.

little bee books, 2023

THE QUEEN OF CHESS: How Judit Pogår Changed the Game is an artful and inspiring account of the woman who deserves that title on the world stage. The art by Stevie Lewis gives Judit the royal treatment from her earliest ages through each stage of life and on every page of competition or daily life. The illustrator captures the intensity and masterful mind behind this queen, one whose power of anaylsis, study, memory, psychology, and courage match the undeniable strength of the queen-piece on a chess board. Lewis also uses scene and image details to inform and explore the era of the late 2000's, as well as life in a seemingly typical Budapest apartment with a loving family. 

Author Laurie Wallmark has gained well-deserved acclaim for her thorough research and recounting of many noted women in math and science, some well-know and some lesser-known, including  SOPHIE KOWALEVSKI, THE QUEEN OF MATHEMATICS (reviewed here), CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER, (reviewed here), and GRACE HOPPER, QUEEN OF COMPUTER CODES (here) among other wonderful picture books, with more to come.

Wallmark's efficient and informative text captures the clarity of focus and high expectations Judit felt, powered by her own curiosity and competitive nature but also revealing the warmth of her chess-mastering siblings and parents. Just when I was wondering if perhaps her singular concentration on chess success might have been isolating, Wallmark and Lewis reveal her wide-ranging interests and playful approaches to the game she loved and mastered.

It is no spoiler to note that Judit achieved her goals, becoming national champion, and also the youngest chess grandmaster at that time, defeating long-reigning Bobby Fischer. Wallmark's back matter is a worthy read, providing a dated timeline/lifeline for Judit (still alive) and also a simple introduction to the basics of a chess board and how it relates to mathematical thinking. She makes the case in very few words that chess players and mathematicians share many thinking attributes and analytical skills, not to mention high level and social/emotional skills. 

As a chess queen of the lowliest sort, I add my praise to THE CHESS QUEEN and urge you to read it.  I strongly recommend that every child be offered a chance to learn chess. Some may find the magical fascination with it that marked Judit's life and success, but most will find it fun and satisfying to have unlock the secrets behind those squares and fancy characters. Once learned, the game and the thinking practices stay with you through life.

The queen has spoken!