The Step-by-step method has been developed by Rob Brunia and Cor van Wijgerden to teach children how to play chess. It has been successfully adopted by many chess clubs and schools in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Slowly but steadily the method is gaining popularity throughout the world.
The whole course consists of six manuals, specifically for chess teachers or trainers (the first steps are also suitable for parents), and 20 workbooks (3/4 for each step) which can be used by the students themselves.
Here are the summaries of all steps.
Step 1: rules of chess, how pieces move, introduce attack and defend, check, checkmate
Step 1 plus: advanced attack and defend, board vision, exchange, mate patterns, draw, passed pawn
Goal of Step 1 and plus: play a game from the beginning to the end confidently without any illegal move
Step 2: opening principles, basic tactics including: double attack, pin, eliminate defense, discovery attack, mate in two, and defend against mate
Step 2 plus: simple pawn endings, mating net, how to defend, stale mate, route planner
Goal of Step 2 and plus: know most basic tactics, start playing in chess tournaments
Step 3: deep diving on the tactics learned in step 2, defend against double attack, attack pinned piece, X-ray, mini plan, introduce positional thinking
Step 3 plus: key squares, pawn endings, opening revisit, development and tempo, intermediate move
Goal of Step 3 and plus: skillfully utilize the tactics to win games, become intermediate players (above 800, may reach 1200 or higher)
Step 4: opening advantage, interfering, luring, blocking, think ahead, weak pawns, attack the king
Step 4 plus: seventh rank, end game strategies, trapping
Goal of Step 4 and plus: be able to analyze a position, plan for attack or defense, become advanced players (above 1500)
Step 5 and plus: advanced topics
Step 6: self study material, for expert players only.
Princeton Chess Academy is using Steps Method as our core curriculum. We are teaching Steps classes in classroom, online live class, and online course.