Meet each piece, try it yourself, then play a pawn battle and a real game against a friendly computer.
The board
For grown-ups
The board
Ask:
Helping a 4-year-old play on his own
Keep sessions short, 5 to 10 minutes, and stop while it's still fun.
Do one piece a day at first. Say the moves out loud together: "rook goes straight, bishop goes diagonal."
Play lots of pawn battles before full games. They teach taking turns, capturing and thinking ahead with only one kind of piece.
Leave Helper dots on at first so he doesn't have to remember every move. Turn them off once he can say where a piece goes.
Before each move, ask "Is anything in danger?" The red danger rings show which of his pieces can be captured.
Use Help me when he's stuck, and Take back for mistakes. At this age, learning matters more than winning.
The real game follows full rules, including castling and en passant, but you don't need to teach those yet. A pawn that reaches the far side becomes a queen automatically.
What pieces are worth (a common way to count, useful later):