Chess has been challenging kids and adults all over the world for several centuries. Despite the
game's image as a pastime for "brains," it is easy to learn. Most six- and seven-year-olds kids can
pick up the basic rules quickly, and a few children learn to play as young as four.
Families get turned on to chess almost by accident in some instances. Mike Miller of Norfolk,
Virginia, says his two boys picked up the game by reading the back of a cereal box'. "They didn't
quite have all the moves straight," he recalls, "so I helped them. I had played a little in high
school, and when the boys started playing a lot, I got interested again. Shortly after that, my wife,
Sue, got involved. We all play 'now."