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Chess

Scouts BSA · Merit Badge · Hobbies

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Chess is a game of planning, patience, and creative thinking that people have enjoyed for centuries. This badge helps you sharpen your game, learn from famous players, and share chess with others. Whether you're new or experienced, you'll get better with every game.

Why it's worth it

Chess is a game where a 12-year-old can beat an adult, because what counts is how carefully you think, not how big or fast you are. This badge sharpens the way you plan ahead, spot traps, and stay calm after a mistake. You'll learn openings and checkmate patterns, teach a beginner, and play in or run a real tournament. Chess is something you can play at camp, at school, with a grandparent, or with someone across the world, for the rest of your life.

Start this week

  1. Set up a board tonight and play a game with anyone at home. If no one plays, set it up and teach them how the knight moves.
  2. Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Chess counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
  3. Do three checkmate-in-one puzzles from a library book or a puzzle site a parent has approved.
  4. Find out whether your school, library, or community center has a chess club, and when it meets.

Stay safe

  • If you play online, use a site your parent approves, keep chat turned off, and never share personal information with opponents.

Requirements · 7

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).

  1. Requirement 1

    Chess history and famous players

    Tips for this section: Pick a famous player whose story interests you and learn how they became great.

    Example for this section: Research a famous player like Bobby Fischer, Judit Polgár, or Magnus Carlsen. Share how they learned the game, one famous game or moment, and what made their style different, like Polgár beating a former world champion in a match as a teenager.

    1. Requirement 1a

      Discuss the history of chess with your counselor

    2. Requirement 1b

      Research a famous chess player and what they achieved, and discuss it with your counselor

  2. Requirement 2

    Why chess matters

    Tips for this section: Think about how chess helps you focus and plan ahead. Practice good etiquette like shaking hands before and after games.

    1. Requirement 2a

      Discuss with your counselor why chess is called a game of planning and strategy

    2. Requirement 2b

      Discuss with your counselor how chess builds critical thinking, concentration, and decision-making, and how those skills help in other parts of life

    3. Requirement 2c

      Discuss sportsmanship and chess etiquette with your counselor

  3. Requirement 3

    Show your counselor you know each item below, then use Scouting EDGE to teach someone who doesn't know how to play chess

    Tip: Teach a younger sibling or friend one piece at a time. Play a practice game with them once they know the moves.

    For example: Teach a younger sibling or Scout one piece at a time, starting with pawns-only games where the goal is to get a pawn to the other side. Add a new piece each game, then play a full game with them and let them ask "is this legal?" as much as they want.

    1. Requirement 3a

      The name of every chess piece

    2. Requirement 3b

      How to set up the board

    3. Requirement 3c

      How every piece moves and captures, including the 4 castling rules, en passant, pawn promotion, check, ways out of check, and checkmate

    4. Requirement 3d

      The 5 ways a chess game can end as a draw

  4. Requirement 4

    Notation, game phases, and openings

    Tips for this section: Write down the moves of a game you play using chess notation. Replay it later to see what you could improve.

    Example for this section: Record a game you play in algebraic notation, like 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6. Then mark where the opening ended and the middlegame began, and point out where you followed or broke opening principles like controlling the center and castling early.

    1. Requirement 4a

      Show how to keep score with algebraic chess notation

    2. Requirement 4b

      Discuss how the opening, middlegame, and endgame differ

    3. Requirement 4c

      Explain 4 opening principles, and show your counselor the first 5 moves of the Ruy Lopez, French Defense, Queen's Gambit Declined, and Sicilian Defense

    4. Requirement 4d

      Show on a board the Fool's Mate, Scholar's Mate, Légal Mate, Noah's Ark Trap, and Fried Liver Attack

  5. Requirement 5

    Strategy, tactics, and endgames

    Tips for this section: Solve a few checkmate puzzles each day. Books and free puzzle websites make this fun.

    Example for this section: Explain the difference with an example: strategy is your long-term plan, like putting a rook on an open file; a tactic is a short combination, like a knight fork that attacks the king and queen at once. Then solve checkmate positions with your counselor.

    1. Requirement 5a

      Explain 4 of these strategy elements: king safety, pawn structure, space, tempo, force, exploiting weaknesses, and clock management

    2. Requirement 5b

      Explain any 5 of these tactics: fork, pin, skewer, decoy, double attack, double check, discovered attack, clearance sacrifice, interposing, overloading, overprotecting, remove the defender, zugzwang, zwischenzug

    3. Requirement 5c

      Force checkmate (White to move)

      1. Requirement 5c1

        Force checkmate with White king e1 and rooks a1 and h1 against Black king e5

      2. Requirement 5c2

        Force checkmate with White king e1 and queen d1 against Black king e5

      3. Requirement 5c3

        Force checkmate with White king e1 and rook a1 against Black king e5

    4. Requirement 5d

      King and pawn endgame (White Kd4, pawn e3; Black Ke6)

      1. Requirement 5d1

        With White to move, show how White forces Black to let the pawn reach the last rank and promote to a queen

      2. Requirement 5d2

        With Black to move, show how Black forces a draw

    5. Requirement 5e

      Set up and solve 5 direct-mate problems your counselor gives you

  6. Requirement 6

    Explain to your counselor how chess tournaments work: Swiss system and round robin formats, how each round is paired, time controls, the touch-move rule, scoring, and ratings

    Tip: Watch or play in a tournament and notice how pairings, clocks, and scoring work.

  7. Requirement 7

    Play and compete. Choose 1 of 3

    Tips for this section: Join a school chess club, play friends, or help run a small tournament for your troop.

    Example for this section: To organize a troop tournament: pick a format like a four-round Swiss, gather boards and timers, make a pairing chart, explain the rules and touch-move at the start, and post results after each round.

    1. Requirement 7a

      Play at least 3 games against other Scouts and/or your counselor, then go back through each game using your score sheets and talk with your counselor about what you could have done differently

    2. Requirement 7b

      Play in a scholastic (youth) tournament, replay your games from the score sheets with your counselor, and discuss what you could have done differently

    3. Requirement 7c

      Organize and run a tournament with at least 4 players besides you, where each player plays at least 2 games

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

  • A scholastic chess tournament

    You'll see pairings, clocks, scorekeeping, and the tournament director at work, which helps with requirement 6.

    How: Have a parent check your state chess association or school district for scholastic events. Go together to watch or to play.

  • A library or community chess club

    Players of all ages meet to play casual games, and many clubs welcome beginners and offer coaching.

    How: An adult checks the library or club schedule and goes with you to the first meeting.

Where it can lead

  • Chess coachTeaches players in schools, clubs, and private lessons.
  • Tournament directorRuns chess events and enforces the rules; certification is available through the national federation.
  • Software engineerSome write chess engines and game programs; the planning skills from chess help in any coding job.
  • Math or logic teacherMany teachers use chess to build problem-solving skills in their students.

Ask yourself

  • What do you enjoy most about chess right now: the puzzles, the competition, or the people?
  • Think of a game you lost. What was the moment it turned, and what would you do differently?
  • How do you handle it when you make a big mistake in the middle of a game?
  • What did teaching chess to someone else teach you about the game?
  • How could the way you think in chess help you with schoolwork or hard decisions?

Good questions to ask a chess coach or club organizer

  • What's the best way for a player at my level to improve?
  • How do you study a game after you lose it?
  • Which opening would you recommend for a beginner, and why?
  • How do you stay focused during a long tournament game?
  • What does a tournament director do behind the scenes?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Organize a troop chess tournament so scouts can compete and practice running an event.
  • Keep a few chess sets on hand for downtime at meetings and campouts.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.