Free printable
Piece name flashcards
Free printable chess piece flashcards for kids: one piece per card with its name, what it looks like, and where it lives on the board.
Rook
A castle tower with a flat crown of blocks.
Lives: The four corners of the board.
Knight
A horse's head and neck.
Lives: Right next to each rook.
Bishop
A tall piece with a pointy hat and a small slit.
Lives: Next to each knight, beside the royals.
Queen
A crown with many points.
Lives: The middle, on the square matching her colour.
King
A crown with a cross on top.
Lives: The middle, on the remaining square.
Pawn
Eight small pieces with round heads.
Lives: All across the second row.
How to use the cards
- Name it. Show one card, say the name, and ask your child to repeat it. Two cards a day is plenty.
- Match it. Lay the cards out and hand your child the real pieces from a set. Ask them to put each piece on its card.
- Reverse it. Hold up a piece and ask what it's called. This is the skill that transfers to a real board.
Say the line on each card out loud — "the knight is a horse, what sound does a horse make?" gets a response from almost every three-year-old.
Once naming is solid, move to the board setup chart. For the full sequence, read how to teach a 3-year-old chess.