First Chess Tournament Advice

Hello, chess.com!

I joined this website to improve my chess skills. I hope I'll be able to do so!

I'd like to ask for some advice from people here - as I have seen that there are intelligent people here. I am planning to play my first tournament this coming summer (probably in May or June).

Like many people, I have limited resources: time and money. I am a college student, and could thus only afford a few hours per week on chess (no more than 7 or 8) and am basically broke at this point (and won't spend a penny if I don't absolutely have to). In addition, my playing strength has been estimated at around 1700.

Based on these conditions, does anybody have suggestions for me:

1) How should I improve my game for the tournament?

2) What should I do to optimize my performance on tournament day?

Thanks a lot, chess.com community!

The Stairway

Nobody has any advice for my first tournament?

It appears that there are over 20 views for this thread - and yet no replies.

Nobody has any advice for a tournament?

I'm very serious about preparing - and I'm sure there are other players here who would find this page as a helpful resource. Please contribute! Thanks!

hi,

well the good news is this- the fastest way to get tournament ready would

a)not take too much time

b)wont cost any money.

and that would be- going tactic crazy. just try to cram as much tactical problems as you can in, and try to blast the patterns into your brain. the less time you need to calculate the better of youll be with the tourney's timelimit.chesstempo is a good place to get problems

also play corr. games here, and then ask better players to analyze. try to get openings that lead to positions you like to play in and play those lines in your corr. games

1. Play online games, when possible, using the same time controls you will have in the tournament.

2.  Spend some time on the tactics trainer whenever possible (I agree with the above post)

3.  Study over some games of master players, if time permits.

4.  Go in with your mind made up that you want to do your best, but are really doing it for the fun and to learn.

Eat heavily, at the board if you can. Bring a six pack of beer to each game and drink liberally and noisily. Control your belches for when your opponent is looking at you. Try to start the first round after being awake at least 24 hours and don't sleep until the tournament is over.

I think that covers it.

Do that and you'll be my hero.

As a Tournament player, albeit under-1500, here's my two cents.

1) Brush up on your tactics, such as forks, pins, mate in 1's through 3's, things such as this. Perhaps you could look over a few basic opening positions, just so you know what you want to go for during the tournament.

2) This is an easy one! Have a decent breakfast, making sure you get some sugar to start the brain working. Eat lightly throughout the day, and I would suggest drinking water, tea, lemonade, fruit juices, and coffee... maybe. Sleep a little extra the night before, making sure you get plenty of rest. Play a game or two before the tournament, to warm yourself up and knock the nights rust off.

I hope you find this helpful!

I generally do a lot of tactics puzzles in the days leading up to it, and then on the night before/day of the tournament I mostly analyze my opening repertoire for holes because it's low brain power and I feel more confident going in if I feel like I'm unlikely to step out of book first.

Also, if this is your very first tournament and you believe you are 1700ish, you could easily walk out of there with some $$

Good luck and best wishes (assuming I'm not playing you )

Thanks for these pieces of advice, everybody! :)

I like goldendog's suggestions, for sure! ;)

In any case, I know some of my weakpoints and will work on them.

Any other suggestions are completely welcome! :)

Well, here's what I wish someone had told me before my first OTB tourney:

1. Bring a pencil. It was a rapid tourney, so I knew I wouldn't have to take notation. The only problem was... I was still expected to fill out registration and stuff. You'll feel better if you don't have to beg for a pen.

2. Punch the clock. I had never played with a clock until my first tourney. I would always ask my opponent to set the (analog) clock, and though they looked at me awkwardly, it wasn't a problem. Hitting the clock when I finished my move was.

3. Tourney halls have unpredictable temperatures. Early spring outside? Oh well, let's heat the tourney hall to 30 C. Dress in layers.

4. How I wish I had known chess etiquette. Shake hands before a game. Don't resign by tipping your king, just say it. Smile and thank for the game afterwards, regardless of the outcome. Both players set up the pieces after the game, and the winner goes to report the result or write it on the wall chart (at least that's the way over here).

5. Bring some snacks (fruit, drinks, chocolate), but don't eat too much.

Just take it easy. Don't worry, it's your first tourney. I scored 3 points out of 9 in my first one, and was thanful for them. Enjoy your games and relax.

Also, is there an OTB club you could visit? It might be good to try playing games with tournament rules-clocks, touchmove, etc. You'll be a lot less nervous at the tourney if you try OTB play beforehand.

i know that u might have already had the turnament but use the knights and force pins then open up the rook game

A helpful article I wrote:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/771849/getting_started_the_new_chess_tournament.html?cat=19

If you have not played with one before, the clock takes getting used to.   Relax -- have fun.

To add to the above, some practical in-game advice for players just starting out=>

You'll evidently be dealing with your nerves and time pressure throughout the tournament so try to be the guy who doesn't force things to happen when things aren't clear to you. (forcing unnecessary trades, making a break move with a pawn, simplifying the board like a shop-vac out of countrol, attacking when there are no weaknesses or checking for the sake of checking!)  UNLESS there's a tactical/attrition-based reason to justify that. 

You'd be surprised how many lower-rated players (including myself) rely on this defective thought process when things aren't going according to the plans they set.  9 times out of 10,  forcing something to happen in an ill-conceived manner backfires and stronger players will eat your lunch.

If you're tempted to do any of the above, step away from your board, walk around and get back to the board with fresh eyes and chances are, you'll start to see something more sensible to play.

I've only recently started to "stop trying to force things" and it has helped my chess play in general, especially at tournaments.

In my experience, the things that help me performance-wise on tournament day are:

1) The night before the tournament: Don't study chess the night before. Hard to do, but don't do it. Go to bed earlier than you usually would.

2) The morning on the day of the tournament: Eat a good breakfast, taking it easy on the caffeine and sugar (Hopefully you have time to eat your last main meal 3 hours before the tournament.) Drink plenty of water at breakfast. You *need* to stay hydrated all day for optimum brain function. Give yourself extra time to arrive ahead of schedule, so you're calm and not rushing/panicky. Try to take a 20-minute walk. Just 20 minutes of walking stimulates the part of the brain that is critical in chess! It also calms you down. Kasparov would be active before a tournament and in between games.

3) Before leaving for the tournament: Remember to bring a pencil/pen, your chess set and clock,  a chess tactics book, light snacks that are easily digestible, and water or unsweetended juice/tea to sip, and a squeezable stressball of some sort (Chess is stressful, you *need* an outlet at the board. Squeeze the heck out of that thing!)

4) After you've registered for the tournament: Do a few tactics from your tactics book, while waiting for the tournament to start, to get your brain going.

5) At the table, before the game starts: Try not to look at the opponent's rating. If it's higher than yours, you might think you've already lost. If it's lower than yours, you might think you've already won and not play your best. If you see it, forget it. Play your best no matter what. Try to relax and be concerned about each game as you're playing it--not thinking about the next round or how your rating is being effected. Many players say their rating went up when they stopped caring about it. Over time your rating will level out anyway.

6) During the game: Stick to what you usually play, don't be afraid to get up and walk around to get your blood flowing, go to the bathroom, and *take some deep breaths*. Deep breathing will calm you and give your body and brain some much-needed oxygen. Don't forget to squeeze that stressball. Also, getting up and walking around will help you bring "fresh eyes" to your game. Watch the board, not the clock! Most masters I know would rather run the clock out, or down to 1 minute, rather than go into speed chess mode. If you need to eat during the game, eat something whole like fruit, raisins, almonds, cereal bars, low fat yogurt, a few pieces of dark chocolate. Eat only small bites sparingly. Keep sipping water or sugarless juice or tea. Bobby Fischer sipped apple juice the whole time at tournaments.

7) After you've decided to make your move: Do two things. First, Do a final whole-board scan to make sure you're seeing *all* the pieces and what they control/attack. Last, write your move down *before* you make it on the board. If you're still confident about your move, then make it--and press the clock.

8) After a game: Go outside, talk with someone, do anything to get your mind off your loss/win you just had. Try to be active (Remember how Kasparov would stay active in between games.)

9) At lunch: Don't eat a big lunch! All of your blood will go to your stomach for digestion instead of your brain. It's best to snack on easily digestible foods the whole time you're there. See the above list. Greasy food is not your friend, and by all means, stay away from the *junk* that is in the vending machines.

10) Always: Remember to keep your ego out of it, and not to take this so seriously. Don't judge yourself by how you do at the table. Losing to a kid or someone lower-rated will teach you something invaluable. *Strive to have and make the experience fun.*

Some good avice here, I've gone against a lot of it already and wih I would stick to it!  Getting enough sleep, getting a good breakfast, playing the same opening you've been practicing, all good stuff.  I usually don't have a problem overdoing it for lunch because the stress keeps me from eating too much

Im preparing for my first tournament as well. I think a good first step is decide what opening you would want to make against various common openings

Helped me alot

I really liked it thanks 😊for the great advice ,it will help me a lot , my first tournament is starting from 2 October .