Chess Afternoons with the Grandkids

The grandkids are learning chess, and you would love to keep up. Here is a gentle way in: 100 one-move checkmates, each on one big, clear board per screen, sorted from easy to harder. Solve them on your own, or side by side. Every answer explained on the next page.

Picture it: a tablet propped up between you, one big board on the screen, and two heads leaning in to find the move that ends the game. Your grandchild points at the queen; you spot the rook first. On the next puzzle you take turns. Some afternoons they will show you the answer, and some afternoons you get to quiz them.

Every puzzle is a forced mate in one move, so each one is short and satisfying. Each screen holds one large, clear board, with a one-line hint underneath to point you in the right direction. Tap through to the next screen and the answer is waiting, along with a short, plain explanation of why the move ends the game. No flipping to the back, no hunting for solutions.

The 100 puzzles come from real games and are arranged from easiest to hardest in three stages, Warm-Up, Steady and Challenge, rated 400-749 on the standard online puzzle scale. That is a gentle starting level for anyone who has recently learned how the pieces move. Every puzzle was checked to have exactly one move that forces mate, then confirmed a second time by a chess engine, so you can trust that the answer is the answer.

The puzzles are mixed on purpose: two in a row never use the same kind of piece for the winning move (rooks and queens count as one), so you solve each one by reading the board, not by repeating the last answer.

This fixed-layout edition reads on Kindle, phone and tablet. A tablet gives you the biggest board and is the most comfortable for solving together.

A thoughtful gift for a grandparent who is just starting out in chess, or for one who would like one more thing to share with the grandkids.