I joined my girlfriend to a chess tournament of the local club once. Old vs. young. They were an adult short, and I know the rules, so I volunteered to play - otherwise there would be a kid without an opponent every round (my plan had been to write some code in a corner, but entertaining the kids, why not right?).

I lost every game. The kids were something like 10 years old. Admittedly, I know little more than the rules, but I expected to at least give one or two of them trouble by playing logical. Not so...

They had the best time, seeing in how many moves they could beat me. In my last game I tried an unusual (okay, stupid) opening hoping to at least break any pattern they have, but that just made me lose even faster. Be weary of 12-year-olds if they're playing in a chess club!