You may have already met them.

At your local chess club or in chess tournaments.

Children (or even young teenagers) who have started playing chess early and have developed remarkable chess strength for their age.

They may be so short that you have to be careful not to accidentally knock them down by accident when walking down a playing hall.

When they make a move, some of them have to stretch their little bodies across the chessboard in order to reach the pieces.

They’re so adorable!

And yet, they can be lethal…

…to your self-esteem.

Imagine losing to a 9-year old whose legs can’t even reach the floor when seated.

How would that make you feel?

(I just remembered a funny story of a chess player who played against Magnus Carlsen when he was 7. After he was crushed, he heard the little boy ask his mother: ‘Mommy, can we buy an ice-cream now?’ :-))

In any case, you don’t need to go through any of that.

Because, unless you’re playing against the future World Champion, there are some tricks you can use to turn things in your favor:

1. Children have usually short attention span. This means they are unlikely to think for long periods of time and they are prone to mistakes. Pay attention and punish them for playing quickly
2. Be extra vigilant for tactical tricks. Children are notoriously good in tactics. They can create tactical complications out of nothing. If tactics, is not your strong point, avoid sharp positions.
3. Take advantage of the natural selfishness of children. Most of them only think about their own plans during the game. The can even calculate long variations in their head, but they often neglect to take into account their opponent’s plans. Use this!
4. Try to attack whenever you have the chance. Children often hate to defend and they neither have the patience nor the resilience to play inferior positions for long (provided they don’t turn the tables around with a nasty tactical shot, of course!)

Don’t get me wrong.

I love children and I’m really sorry to see them cry after they lose a game.

But why do they have to beat ME to feel good about themselves?

They can lose to me, beat someone else and we’ll all be happy! 🙂