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Piece scales — Sums and equations

Ages 7 to 12 · about 6 minutes · 8by8verse Chess Lab

What it teaches

Addition, comparing totals, and solving for one unknown using a balance.

The story to tell first

Chess teachers give each piece a number so that players can compare trades: a pawn is 1, a knight 3, a bishop 3, a rook 5, a queen 9. Put those numbers on a balance and a chess question turns into an equation.

Three questions to ask

• If both sides balance and you remove a pawn from each, do they still balance? Why?
• Two stars and a pawn weigh 13. What did you do first — and why that step?
• Is a rook always stronger than a knight and a pawn? What does the number leave out?

Without a screen

Give each pair of pupils a set of pieces. One builds a side; the other must match its total with different pieces.