Teacher / Parent Answer Key
This separate key keeps answers, solution moves, and explanations completely out of the student-facing printable packet.
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Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: The Board and Setup.
Prompt: Label the files a-h and the ranks 1-8 on a blank board.
Files run left to right as a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h. Ranks run from White's side up the board as 1 through 8.
Prompt: Write the rule that helps you turn the board the right way before you set up the pieces.
The board should be turned so the light square is on the right corner closest to you.
Prompt: Name where the white queen, white king, black queen, and black king start.
White queen: d1. White king: e1. Black queen: d8. Black king: e8.
White to move. Push the e-pawn two squares so it lands on e4.
Solution: e4
The e-pawn starts on e2, so moving it to e4 uses the file letter and rank number exactly.
Black to move. Step the king knight from g8 to f6.
Solution: Nf6
Knights start next to the rooks. Black's king knight begins on g8 and hops to f6.
White to move. Develop the king knight from g1 to f3.
Solution: Nf3
Reading coordinates helps you find both the starting square (g1) and the landing square (f3).
White to move. Slide the bishop from f1 to b5.
Solution: Bb5
Bishops travel on diagonals, so the f1 bishop reaches b5 in one smooth diagonal line.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Rooks, Bishops, and Queens.
Prompt: Write one sentence for how a rook moves and one sentence for how a bishop moves.
A rook slides in straight lines on ranks and files. A bishop slides on diagonals.
Prompt: Why can't a rook on a1 move to a4 when a pawn is still sitting on a2?
Because sliding pieces may not jump over any piece, even their own pieces.
Prompt: Explain why the queen is sometimes called a rook plus a bishop together.
The queen can do both jobs: straight rook moves and diagonal bishop moves.
The pawn on d2 blocks the long diagonal. Slide the bishop the clear way to b2.
Solution: Bb2
The bishop can slide on diagonals, but it cannot pass through the pawn on d2.
The rook cannot jump over the pawn on a2. Move it sideways to d1 instead.
Solution: Rd1
Rooks go straight across ranks and files, but the pawn on a2 blocks any move straight up the a-file.
Move the queen straight up the board to d7.
Solution: Qd7+
Queens move like rooks and bishops, so a straight file move from d1 to d7 is legal.
Now use the queen like a bishop and slide it diagonally to h5.
Solution: Qh5+
The queen's diagonal move from d1 to h5 also gives check because it points at the king on e8.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Kings, Knights, and Pawns.
Prompt: Draw a knight's L-shape and write two squares it could jump to from b1.
From b1, a knight could jump to a3, c3, or d2 if those squares are legal in the position.
Prompt: What is the biggest safety rule for kings?
A king moves only one square and may never move into check.
Prompt: Write the special pawn rules: first move, captures, and promotion.
A pawn moves forward, can move two squares only on its first move, captures diagonally, and promotes when it reaches the last rank.
Knights can jump. Hop the knight from b1 to c3 over the pawn wall.
Solution: Nc3
A knight does not need a clear path. It jumps straight to its L-shaped landing square.
Kings move one square at a time. Step the king from e1 to e2.
Solution: Ke2
Kings may move one square in any direction, but never two squares in one move.
Push the white pawn two squares from e2 to e4.
Solution: e4
A pawn may move two squares only on its very first move.
The pawn cannot capture straight ahead on e5, but it can capture diagonally forward. Take the black knight on d5.
Solution: exd5
Pawns move forward, but captures are different: a pawn takes one square diagonally forward onto an enemy piece.
Push the pawn to the last rank and promote it to a queen.
Solution: d8=Q+
When a pawn reaches the farthest rank, it promotes. Most of the time, a new queen is the best choice.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Capturing and Check.
Prompt: Write a short definition of a capture.
A capture is when you move onto a square occupied by an enemy piece and remove it from the board.
Prompt: Write a short definition of check.
Check means the king is being attacked right now and must be dealt with immediately.
Prompt: For each practice position, say whether the winning move was mainly a capture, a check, or both.
Practice 1 is both a capture and a check. Practice 2 is a capture. Practice 3 is a check.
Capture the knight on e5 with your queen. The capture also gives check.
Solution: Qxe5+
The queen lands on the enemy piece's square, removes it, and attacks the king down the e-file.
Move onto the enemy knight's square and capture it safely.
Solution: Qxa5
Capturing means taking the enemy piece off the board by moving onto its square.
Find the rook move that checks the black king.
Solution: Re4+
A king is in check when an enemy piece attacks its square. The rook on e4 attacks e8 in a straight line.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Getting Out of Check and Checkmate.
Prompt: List the three main ways to get out of check.
You can move the king, capture the checking piece, or block the line when the attacker is a rook, bishop, or queen.
Prompt: How is check different from checkmate?
Check means the king is attacked but has a legal rescue. Checkmate means the king is attacked and there is no legal rescue at all.
Prompt: Look at the practice positions and name which rescue idea was used in each one.
Practice 1 uses a king move. Practice 2 captures the checking piece. Practice 3 blocks the line. The shared mate-in-one puzzle shows the checkmate idea.
White to move. Find checkmate in one.
Solution: Qa8#
The white king on g6 already covers g7 and h7, so those squares are off-limits for Black's king. Qa8 checks along the 8th rank, and with g7/h7 covered and g8 controlled by the queen's rank, the king is trapped.
Only one rescue works here. Move the king so the check disappears.
Solution: Kd1
Moving the king is one way out of check. Here, every other reply still leaves the king under attack.
Capture the checking rook with your bishop.
Solution: Bxe2
If you can safely take the checking piece, the check is gone right away.
The rook's line can be blocked. Slide your bishop in the way.
Solution: Be2
Against a rook, bishop, or queen line, sometimes you can place a piece between the king and the attacker.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Castling, Stalemate, and Draw Basics.
Prompt: Write the four castling safety checks you should ask before you castle.
Check that the king and rook have not moved, the squares between them are empty, the king is not in check now, and the king does not pass through or land on an attacked square.
Prompt: Explain the difference between stalemate and checkmate.
Checkmate means the king is in check and cannot escape. Stalemate means the king is not in check, but the side to move has no legal move.
Prompt: What do these draw words mean in kid-friendly language: stalemate, insufficient material, threefold repetition, and 50-move rule?
Stalemate: nobody can move. Insufficient material: there is not enough force left to mate. Threefold repetition: the same position happens three times. 50-move rule: fifty moves pass for each side without any pawn move or capture.
White to move. Castle kingside.
Solution: O-O
The path is clear, the pieces still have castling rights, and the king is not castling through danger.
Black to move. Castle queenside.
Solution: O-O-O
Queenside castling is legal here because the rook and king have not moved and the c8-d8 path is clear and safe.
Find the move that stalemates Black right away.
Solution: Qd6
After Qd6, Black is not in check — but Black has no legal move. That is stalemate, so the game is a draw.
From the same setup, find the move that is checkmate instead of stalemate.
Solution: Qd8#
Qd8 gives check and leaves Black with no legal escape, so this one is checkmate.