Hi Chess Coaches!
In addition to answering questions from parents or teachers, I also like to show some lessons that chess coaches or teachers can use to teach chess. You can use these whether you are a classroom teacher or an official chess teacher.
The first one will deal with a basic combination. A "combination" is an action in chess which is not easy to define. Basically it is a series of several moves leading to a goal. The first move (or moves) of the combination do not make sense until you see the end. So, for example, a move where you capture a queen for free makes sense by itself, and might not be part of a combination. A move where you give up a bishop, on the other hand, for nothing immediately does not make sense by itself, but several moves later you might be able to say "aha!"...
Here is an example of a very basic combination which you can teach to kids who have only just progressed beyond learning what are forks, skewers, and pins:
The first move, Bd7+, does not make any sense by itself. After all, White just loses a bishop for nothing! But once you see the next move, Ne5+, you realize that the purpose of making Black take the bishop was to get the queen in position for a fork. Now how can you show this to kids?
Here you can start at the end and work backward to the beginning.
Kids who have learned what a fork is will be able to find the move Ne5+, which wins Black's queen. After they have solved this one, you can go to the beginning of the combination:
Now, having seen the fork Ne5+, many kids will be able to deduce the correct move here, Bd7+. Some may need some prompting, such as "does this position remind you of the one we just saw?" or "How could you make the queen go to d7?" Whether they need help or not, they will be able to see the progression of a simple thought in chess - a basic combination.