re: Books about the history and beauty of Chess

For those who want to introduce kids to chess, I very highly recommend getting your hands on an old copy of Chess Master 9000. Later Editions butchered the tutorial.

If you have an old laptop with XP on it, that would be ideal. Unless it has Windows 98... which, sadly, would also work

Starting at absolute novice level, the tutorials present new information/concepts quickly, but in small increments, with lots of quizzes that reinforce the principles.

My four kids all greatly enjoyed the program at an early age. It definitely helped make chess become a part of their lives

it teaches a great deal about patience in problem solving too. Early on, they are quick to get frustrated when they get stumped by a quiz problem, and they want help.

I'd make them walk through the problem and their assumptions for me out loud, and they almost always end up blushing as they recognize their error for themselves. They quickly learn how to systematically work through the problems on their own.

I think that might be the closest I ever came to being Ward Cleaver

Here is one on eBay for sale

LINK