Must I sit to play in ...

USCF OTB tournaments? When I sit, even for just a few minutes, my sciatic nerve says hello in the most unpleasant way...ouch!

I watched the world championship games between Anand and Gelfand, noticing that those guys often got out of their seats during the 2 hours per side/40 move, games.

Would my opponent find it irritating if I never sat while playing a 60 0 game?

There is a chess club in town where I could play real USCF OTB rated games at 60 0. I know that I could ask the tournament director in town, but it also would be nice to get some feedback here, since the really big tournaments are in Las Vegas, which may be possible in the future if my wife drives and we turn the trip into a vacation.

dchurchill wrote:

I haven't played in any tournaments, but I figure they'd be accomodating to medical conditions.

I hope so. Would you find it distracting if your opponent did not sit down to play?

In a typical tournament, players sit, stand, walk around, observe other games, etc.  I once played a tournament game where my opponent stood for the entire game.

Try planking

Wow! Did the man have a medical problem, or was this just his style of play?

It sounds like something my elementary students would do, even though it is against school rules to sit that way.

Thank you. I do planks and a few other core exercises. The idea is that the stronger one's core muscles are, the better the spine is supported. I continue to exercise, just no luck yet. I just came back from swimming laps. I always feel better after swimming, but I still can't sit, and I am typing this post while standing. I really would like to sit one day. You have no idea what it is like to not be able to sit, until it happens.

I wouldn't care if they stood... as long as it's not distracting in some way... and if you're just standing there I can't see it ever bothering me.

I thought you were suppose to be sitting when making the move then you can stand and do whatever ?

I ALWAYS get up. It's really hard to just sit and think, but with enough concentration I can.

I usually leave when I blunder,or I want somethign outside, I felt like walking around, watching board 1.In one tournament I even went outside the building! Just to get some fresh air instead of stuffy people air. Sometimes I get up to look at the game from my opponents perspective, to get a better angle. 

For example, just like I do, if you play in one of those Vegas tournaments, you probably want some coffee to avoid falling asleep,as the games can go as late as 2 a.m. sometimes. Or you can just wash your face and walk around to stay awake..just don't doze off on the board. 

I'm around 1950,aiming for 2000 USCF OTB,so this is my method.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter.  I've played a few moves while standing before, no one seemed to care.  As long as you aren't dramatic or moving a lot or otherwise unnecessarily distracting it's legal.

That boarders on too much for me, I might complain to the TD to make him behave a bit more like an adult...

One of the oddities I came across was an opponent who set up a little viking doll , looking at the board before the game.  He did this every game.  He wasn't a kid, he was more like 65 years old :p  I didn't mind, I thought it was kinda funny.

lol that the moves were in reverse (made him take back a bad move) :)

That actually makes sense with your original thing... the break in concentration trumps the board... yeah the guy was distracting, but not as starting an argument might have been.