I’m Richard James. I’ve been involved in children’s chess for more than half a century, co-founding Richmond Junior Chess Club (RJCC) with the late Mike Fox in 1975, and running it for 30 years. I’m thrilled to see that, after several decades, chess is again becoming popular in secondary schools. I’ve always considered chess to be a serious game for (mostly) older children and adults which is wasted by being promoted as a fun game for younger children.

It’s time to tell you about the Chess Heroes project.

The Chess Heroes books, developed over many years and based in part on my private database of almost 17,000 games played at RJCC, are designed to take students of any age from learning the basics up to adult club standard and beyond. These are ‘serious’ books, not ‘fun’ books for younger children, and can be read by older learners, teachers or parents. They’re based on my long experience of teaching chess at this level, along with a knowledge of educational theory. Purchases from Amazon will be much appreciated, but they can also be downloaded. Find out more about them here or download them here.

I’m also promoting community-based social chess clubs for young people. These clubs aren’t about using chess to improve children’s academic performance – I’m sceptical about claims that it does. Nor are they about producing champions, prodigies and grandmasters, although I’d be delighted if some of them did go on to excel at chess.

Instead, they’re about using chess to help establish friendships and build communities. I’m much more interested in how much your children get out of chess – and how much they can put back in – than how high their rating is. Find out more about Chess Heroes clubs here.

Visit my blog if you require more background information on the views underpinning the Chess Heroes project.