Getting Beaten By A Kid At Chess

Learning chess as an adult is tough!

Photo by Michal Vrba on Unsplash

If you’re an adult taking on the new hobby of chess, expect to be beaten by kids.

I’m a pretty keen online chess player with over 17,000 games played on chess.com but I have discovered that I still have a lot to learn. When I joined a FIDE-rated chess tournament in my local area, I spotted around 10 adults, including myself, among what appeared to be around 100 kids. Apparently chess tournaments are riddled with 3- to 4-foot geniuses, adorable on the outside and ruthless on the chessboard.

I defeated my first two opponents reasonably well. My first game was against a young Indian girl who appeared stern and was great at intimidating me with one look. I asked if it was also her first time playing in a chess tournament and she nodded no without returning a smile. Chess is a mind game and this girl was messing with my mind.

I played the only opening I semi-know, the London system, and she responded swiftly. She knew what she was doing. Soon after, she pushed a pawn in front of her king, winning one of my pieces but opening up her king. I calculated and re-calculated. I couldn’t help but spell out my entire plan with my eyes and head movements. I could have sworn she was reading my mind. Then, in the words of Levy Rozman AKA Gotham Chess,