Answers.Body: <p>On a screen, the pawns are always moving "up".</p>
  
  <p>You know her better, so you could pick on of the following things as an example, and let her compare them to the pawns on a screen.</p>
  
  <pre><code>airplane.
  balloon.
  elevator.
  escalator.
  helicopter.
  ladder.
  rocket.
  stairs.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Or, if you are religious, well there is that "up" too.</p>
  
  <p>When then playing on a board, she would need to realize that they move away from her.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T20:02:13.017Z
Answers.Text: `On a screen, the pawns are always moving "up".` ... except for the other ones that are moving down, of course.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brondahl
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Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T20:13:19.750Z
Answers.Text: @Brondahl Of course, but you do not have to worry about moving your opponent's pawns, since that is taken care of by the opponent. It really only matters about the ones you are moving, and they always move up no matter your color unless you flip the board for some reason, which a 5-year-old probably doesn't not know how to do anyway.
Answers.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
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Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T20:58:18.690Z
Answers.Text: @PhishMaster The question asks specifically about endgame studies, a situation in which there is no human opponent. I assume it's easy to remember which way pawns are going if you've been moving them all game, but in a fresh position it's harder to tell which way white's pawns are going and which way black's.
Answers.UserDisplayName: amalloy
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T21:06:21.480Z
Answers.Text: @amalloy I would debate that it asks "specifically about endgame studies". It is a very general question, but then says "especially at endgame studies" as an example, but that is a definite difference between what you contend, and what I contend.
Answers.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T21:35:28.053Z
Answers.Text: @PhishMaster Concerning oneself with how one's opponent's material can be moved is the very essence of chess.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Acccumulation
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T21:43:40.383Z
Answers.Text: @Accumulation  I don't get your point. We are talking about a 5-year-old, and as a parent, who remembers what it was like, I offered a practical suggestion for when they ate online. Frankly, why the OP has a child online, or looking at studies, is beyond me.
Answers.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T09:24:57.370Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-03-25T02:06:58.790Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-03-25T02:06:58.790Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
Answers.Body: <p>The best way I believe is to put them in front of the board and explain that <em><strong>pawns are so brave they only move forward and never move back</strong></em>. If they know the other pawns are his/her opponent's they would understand they move towards them as it's their’s opponents forward.</p>
  <p>The trickier part would be to explain how the pawns eat. I may say that they eat looking left with their left arm, and looking right with their right arm, but never with both at the same time (which would be eating in front of them).</p>
  <h1>Prechess</h1>
  <p>I would suggest at an early age to use didactic games like <strong><code>PreChess</code></strong>. Not sure if that term exists in english, but in spanish we have <code>PreAjedrez</code> games.</p>
  <p>You can find nice <code>PreChess</code>games within <a href="http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/</a> , pity the web is only in spanish by now.</p>
  <p>Specifically for practicing pawn moves I would suggest the &quot;<a href="http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/carrera-de-peones/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pawn Race</a>&quot; and &quot;<a href="http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/rescatando-a-blanca-nieves/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rescuing Snow White</a>&quot;.</p>
  <p>The clue with these kind of games is to play with less pieces and fewer rules involved. So the kid can focus on the pieces you want him/her to learn how to move.</p>
  <p><strong>Note</strong>: Just a note about ages. I started playing <code>PreChess</code> games with my son when he was around three years old. He liked very much &quot;searching for the treasure&quot; which was eating pawns with a rook, one by one, trying to eat a pawn in each move. You would create a kind of labyrinth of pawns to eat.</p>
  <p>Let me give some description in english so as you get what the games are about:</p>
  <h2><a href="http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/carrera-de-peones/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pawn race</a></h2>
  <p>The aim of the game is to promote one pawn, which would be take one pawn to row 8 for White and row 1 for Black. Of course this game can end in a draw if nobody promotes a pawn.</p>
  <p>It's a good game to practice moves and captures for pawns, and to explain the promotion of pawns.</p>
  <p>Below you can see the initial set of the game:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xE9eD.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xE9eDm.png" alt="Pawn race" /></a></p>
  <h2><a href="http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/rescatando-a-blanca-nieves/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rescuing Snow White</a></h2>
  <p>The dwarfs (eight white pawns) need to rescue Snow White that was captured by the witches (two bishops and a horse).</p>
  <p>The dwarfs can rescue Snow White if at leat one dwarf gets to the last row and then makes a final move to rescue her (bare in mind that this is not possible in chess. It's a modification to create this PreChess game). Once she is rescued White win the game.</p>
  <p>It the witches capture all the pawns then the dwarfs can't rescue Snow White and Black win the game.</p>
  <p>Below you can see the initial set for the game:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FDc1R.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FDc1Rm.png" alt="Rescuing Snow White" /></a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-25T07:20:16.200Z
Answers.Text: This is a good answer. Such games would be much more appropriate for a 5 year old than, say, making a lichess account.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Lt. Commander. Data
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-26T02:34:39.767Z
Answers.Text: Yes, I did the pawn race with 8 vs 6 for a while until she beats me every time. Can't wait to try the snow white game on her.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jf328
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-26T06:27:11.470Z
Answers.Text: Nice change to create a handicap!
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cedric Zoppolo
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Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-25T05:26:32.040Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-08-26T01:11:40.060Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-08-26T01:11:40.060Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cedric Zoppolo
Answers.Body: <p>This is similar to helping a kid distinguish "left and right".</p>
  
  <p>Kids at that age are visual, so you could use a <strong>black sticker and a white sticker</strong>, placing these on opposing sides and tell her that <strong>white pawns move towards the white sticker and black pawns towards the black sticker</strong>.</p>
  
  <p>You can use stickers with images for fun, for example teddy bears.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T21:40:18.220Z
Answers.Text: Arguably, the directions should be reversed. Putting the stickers next to player whose color they correspond to makes more sense. You can then tell her that pawns attack, so they move towards the opponent (i.e. the other color). It's like how in football, each team is trying to get to their opponent's end zone
Answers.UserDisplayName: Acccumulation
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T21:48:21.710Z
Answers.Text: It is the exactly the same, you can use this explanation too. The stickers and these rules are not meant for the child to learn, it is meant for the parents and educators to continue teaching, either how to write from left to right, why numbers are written and their digits represent from right to left... So that we do not waste our time explaining left or right, in this case what directions the pawns should move. Establishing that, you can teach other rules and not continuously correct the kid. The kid anyway will catch up this rule in 1 year or 2.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jannes Botis
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T17:18:00.133Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-03-23T17:44:50.813Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-03-23T17:44:50.813Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jannes Botis
Answers.Body: <p>I remember seeing in a children's chess book that the pawn is like a peasant armed only with a pitchfork. He marches only forward (one or two at the start, one otherwise). He only attacks to the left or right side. And he never moves backwards.</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The pawn ... historically represents infantry, or more particularly, armed peasants or pikemen.
    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawn_(chess)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Source</a></p>
  </blockquote>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T14:44:00.350Z
Answers.Text: The problem is that on a screen, which was a main part of the question ("online"), pawns don't really appear to move forward.
Answers.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-25T01:52:08.773Z
Answers.Text: Actually the question mentions online and unmarked boards, so an answer that address both parts of the question is more correct.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Mike Jones
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-25T13:45:24.223Z
Answers.Text: @MikeJones, agreed, "online" is mentioned so there are other answers that are more correct. However, the title refers only to the direction.
Answers.UserDisplayName: rajah9
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-25T13:51:21.493Z
Answers.Text: @jf328, how does your daughter do with maps (translating "north" to "up") and calendars (translating "Jan / Feb / Mar" to the "up" and "Thanksgiving" or "Christmas" to the "bottom")? Have you read any Piaget child development models? I'm guessing that by first grade, this mental mapping ("away from me" = "up" on the online board) should resolve itself.
Answers.UserDisplayName: rajah9
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T12:35:10.853Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-03-23T12:55:24.290Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-03-23T12:55:24.290Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: rajah9
Answers.Body: <p>At 5 years old a child's brain is still very immature. The good news is that it is also developing very fast. The easiest and most effective solution is just to wait. Within a year or two the problem will have solved itself as your child's brain develops enough to satisfy your expectations.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-26T02:14:16.823Z
Answers.Text: This doesn't really answer the question. It would be better as a comment.
Answers.UserDisplayName: curiousdannii
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Answers.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T09:14:40.393Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-03-23T09:14:40.393Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Body: <p>My 5-year-old old daughter very often forgets which direction a pawn is moving. This is confusing especially at endgame studies.</p>
  
  <p>I use a marker pen to draw two eyes on the pawns so that her pawns are facing the enemy and their pawns are looking at her. But this is not applicable online and I am fearful of its side effect when she plays with others on an unmarked board later.</p>
  
  <p>Any suggestions?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T14:02:36.910Z
Comments.Text: If you've already introduced the concept of promoting pawns, that might help reinforce that the pawns are trying to get to the back of the board.  This is also easy to remember if the child has already learned Checkers/Draughts, since it has a similar mechanic at the back.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Darrel Hoffman
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T16:22:43.077Z
Comments.Text: By the way, it could be an early sign of dyslexia. My daughter has it, and it is just something to keep in mind as she moves forward.
Comments.UserDisplayName: PhishMaster
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T16:28:38.267Z
Comments.Text: I assume that this is a problem with both colors, so the simple concept of up/away isn't helpful.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Mike Jones
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T18:07:37.047Z
Comments.Text: @PhishMaster "as she moves forward"… I see what you did here
Comments.UserDisplayName: Gras Double
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T03:46:06.277Z
Comments.Text: You could tell her that white pawns move towards 8 and black pawns move towards 1.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lt. Commander. Data
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-03-23T06:40:03.093Z
Comments.Text: This is interesting as most children tend to forget that pieces can move backwards.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Mike Jones
Tags: <learning><children>
Title: Is there a trick to help kids know which direction pawns are going?
ThreadText: # Is there a trick to help kids know which direction pawns are going?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-03-23)
  
  My 5-year-old old daughter very often forgets which direction a pawn is moving. This is confusing especially at endgame studies.
  
  I use a marker pen to draw two eyes on the pawns so that her pawns are facing the enemy and their pawns are looking at her. But this is not applicable online and I am fearful of its side effect when she plays with others on an unmarked board later.
  
  Any suggestions?
  
  **Tags:** learning, children
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: You could tell her that white pawns move towards 8 and black pawns move towards 1.  
  > **username_3**: This is interesting as most children tend to forget that pieces can move backwards.  
  > **username_1**: If you've already introduced the concept of promoting pawns, that might help reinforce that the pawns are trying to get to the back of the board.  This is also easy to remember if the child has already learned Checkers/Draughts, since it has a similar mechanic at the back.  
  > **username_2**: By the way, it could be an early sign of dyslexia. My daughter has it, and it is just something to keep in mind as she moves forward.  
  > **username_3**: I assume that this is a problem with both colors, so the simple concept of up/away isn't helpful.  
  > **username_4**: @username_2 "as she moves forward"… I see what you did here  
  
  ---
  
  ## 5 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_12 on 2020-03-23. Score: 31 | Accepted answer
  
  At 5 years old a child's brain is still very immature. The good news is that it is also developing very fast. The easiest and most effective solution is just to wait. Within a year or two the problem will have solved itself as your child's brain develops enough to satisfy your expectations.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_13**: This doesn't really answer the question. It would be better as a comment.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2020-03-23. Score: 11
  
  On a screen, the pawns are always moving "up".
  You know her better, so you could pick on of the following things as an example, and let her compare them to the pawns on a screen.
  airplane.
  balloon.
  elevator.
  escalator.
  helicopter.
  ladder.
  rocket.
  stairs.
  
  Or, if you are religious, well there is that "up" too.
  When then playing on a board, she would need to realize that they move away from her.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: `On a screen, the pawns are always moving "up".` ... except for the other ones that are moving down, of course.  
  > **username_2**: @username_6 Of course, but you do not have to worry about moving your opponent's pawns, since that is taken care of by the opponent. It really only matters about the ones you are moving, and they always move up no matter your color unless you flip the board for some reason, which a 5-year-old probably doesn't not know how to do anyway.  
  > **username_7**: @username_2 The question asks specifically about endgame studies, a situation in which there is no human opponent. I assume it's easy to remember which way pawns are going if you've been moving them all game, but in a fresh position it's harder to tell which way white's pawns are going and which way black's.  
  > **username_2**: @username_7 I would debate that it asks "specifically about endgame studies". It is a very general question, but then says "especially at endgame studies" as an example, but that is a definite difference between what you contend, and what I contend.  
  > **username_8**: @username_2 Concerning oneself with how one's opponent's material can be moved is the very essence of chess.  
  > **username_2**: @Accumulation  I don't get your point. We are talking about a 5-year-old, and as a parent, who remembers what it was like, I offered a practical suggestion for when they ate online. Frankly, why the OP has a child online, or looking at studies, is beyond me.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2020-03-25. Score: 8
  
  The best way I believe is to put them in front of the board and explain that ***pawns are so brave they only move forward and never move back***. If they know the other pawns are his/her opponent's they would understand they move towards them as it's their’s opponents forward.
  
  The trickier part would be to explain how the pawns eat. I may say that they eat looking left with their left arm, and looking right with their right arm, but never with both at the same time (which would be eating in front of them).
  
  # Prechess
  
  I would suggest at an early age to use didactic games like **`PreChess`**. Not sure if that term exists in english, but in spanish we have `PreAjedrez` games.
  
  You can find nice `PreChess`games within <http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/> , pity the web is only in spanish by now.
  
  Specifically for practicing pawn moves I would suggest the "[Pawn Race](http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/carrera-de-peones/)" and "[Rescuing Snow White](http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/rescatando-a-blanca-nieves/)".
  
  The clue with these kind of games is to play with less pieces and fewer rules involved. So the kid can focus on the pieces you want him/her to learn how to move.
  
  **Note**: Just a note about ages. I started playing `PreChess` games with my son when he was around three years old. He liked very much "searching for the treasure" which was eating pawns with a rook, one by one, trying to eat a pawn in each move. You would create a kind of labyrinth of pawns to eat.
  
  Let me give some description in english so as you get what the games are about:
  
  ## [Pawn race](http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/carrera-de-peones/)
  
  The aim of the game is to promote one pawn, which would be take one pawn to row 8 for White and row 1 for Black. Of course this game can end in a draw if nobody promotes a pawn.
  
  It's a good game to practice moves and captures for pawns, and to explain the promotion of pawns.
  
  Below you can see the initial set of the game:
  
  [![Pawn race](https://i.sstatic.net/xE9eDm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xE9eD.png)
  
  ## [Rescuing Snow White](http://www.ajedrezparalaconvivencia.edu.uy/preajedrez/rescatando-a-blanca-nieves/)
  
  The dwarfs (eight white pawns) need to rescue Snow White that was captured by the witches (two bishops and a horse).
  
  The dwarfs can rescue Snow White if at leat one dwarf gets to the last row and then makes a final move to rescue her (bare in mind that this is not possible in chess. It's a modification to create this PreChess game). Once she is rescued White win the game.
  
  It the witches capture all the pawns then the dwarfs can't rescue Snow White and Black win the game.
  
  Below you can see the initial set for the game:
  
  [![Rescuing Snow White](https://i.sstatic.net/FDc1Rm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/FDc1R.png)
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: This is a good answer. Such games would be much more appropriate for a 5 year old than, say, making a lichess account.  
  > **username_0**: Yes, I did the pawn race with 8 vs 6 for a while until she beats me every time. Can't wait to try the snow white game on her.  
  > **username_9**: Nice change to create a handicap!  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2020-03-23. Score: 7
  
  This is similar to helping a kid distinguish "left and right".
  
  Kids at that age are visual, so you could use a **black sticker and a white sticker**, placing these on opposing sides and tell her that **white pawns move towards the white sticker and black pawns towards the black sticker**.
  
  You can use stickers with images for fun, for example teddy bears.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_8**: Arguably, the directions should be reversed. Putting the stickers next to player whose color they correspond to makes more sense. You can then tell her that pawns attack, so they move towards the opponent (i.e. the other color). It's like how in football, each team is trying to get to their opponent's end zone  
  > **username_10**: It is the exactly the same, you can use this explanation too. The stickers and these rules are not meant for the child to learn, it is meant for the parents and educators to continue teaching, either how to write from left to right, why numbers are written and their digits represent from right to left... So that we do not waste our time explaining left or right, in this case what directions the pawns should move. Establishing that, you can teach other rules and not continuously correct the kid. The kid anyway will catch up this rule in 1 year or 2.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_11 on 2020-03-23. Score: 2
  
  I remember seeing in a children's chess book that the pawn is like a peasant armed only with a pitchfork. He marches only forward (one or two at the start, one otherwise). He only attacks to the left or right side. And he never moves backwards.
  
  > The pawn ... historically represents infantry, or more particularly, armed peasants or pikemen.
  > [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawn_(chess))
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: The problem is that on a screen, which was a main part of the question ("online"), pawns don't really appear to move forward.  
  > **username_3**: Actually the question mentions online and unmarked boards, so an answer that address both parts of the question is more correct.  
  > **username_11**: @MikeJones, agreed, "online" is mentioned so there are other answers that are more correct. However, the title refers only to the direction.  
  > **username_11**: @username_0, how does your daughter do with maps (translating "north" to "up") and calendars (translating "Jan / Feb / Mar" to the "up" and "Thanksgiving" or "Christmas" to the "bottom")? Have you read any Piaget child development models? I'm guessing that by first grade, this mental mapping ("away from me" = "up" on the online board) should resolve itself.  
  
  ---
  
  