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baronderkilt 13-Apr-12, 16:05 |
 OTB Tournament Play: Advice, Tips, or SECRETS ~! At first I was thinking it would not be possible to ask everyone to contribute here, since not everyone has played in a tournament. But on further thought, this is what I came up with: _______________________________________________________________________ Are you a tournament player now, or in the past? If YES: Then please add a bit of knowledge or advice you feel could be helpful to the new, or seasoned tournament player. Whether it is Secret or not, or is Advice, or just a useful Standard Procedure; there will be someone it will be useful to, I am sure. Also, you might even want to contribute a story from some tournament, that gives players a feel for it & what it is like. * If NO: Then please contribute a QUESTION about tournaments or play in them instead, if you do not have advice. Anything you would like to to know about, whether factual, or opinion, or even the experiences of others during tournament play. It's wide open. __________________________________________________________ Thank you very much to all who do contribute knowlege or questions. Best Regards, Craig A.C. * As a for instance, my story of my first International Tournament, in London where I was blacking-out with jet-lag, at the board during last round, and my wonderful opponent who would cough or thump the clock button louder than customary, in order to "wake me up" after his moves ~! Now that is Sportsmanship ~! And the story demonstrates what good sports some players are. Naturally, it need not show show how GOOD they can be ... lol. Sometimes the Negative can be very amusing, if not Disturbing. lol. AGAIN, THX ALL. |
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baronderkilt 13-Apr-12, 16:36 |
I'll start off ... The Tournament Director is your best friend, or should be. You should remember to ASK him Any Questions you have about the event, or your game, or Rules, or Claims like Draws & Flag forfeits, or Equipment, or where to get a good lunch~! He can help anyone, especially new players, tremendously, IF You ASK. Do not be afraid to ask. Because many times he can help with any situation, but usually cannot intervene or volunteer info without being Asked. Certain things he might be able to witness and act upon without a player asking. But usually not. So make use of Him/Her as a tremedous source of information and help. ______________________________________________________________ #2 Most Important Thing, IMO. ............... "PUNCH YOUR CLOCK~!!" The number one danger to the new tournament player ... forgetting to punch the clock after each move. So don't blame your opponent if he is sitting there, head in hands, stooped over the board in a posture of infinate concentration while deciding if he should for instance retake the Queen you just traded, or perhaps just give it to you free. While he is really just making his grocery list in his head, while waiting to see if you ever hit your clock or not. BUT, if you have this trouble, there is an easy remedy. Simply take the pencil or pen you are using to keep your scoresheet with, and place it BEHIND THE CLOCK, in such position that you must physically reach over the clock to get your pencil to write down the move you just made. This assures that you will SEE THE CLOCK and be reminded to punch it. Return pencil to behind clock each move. _________________________________________________________________ #3 A tip for even the seasoned player: It can be helpful at times to get up, stretch your legs and take a look at your board from the opponents side. The suspected benefit can be two-fold: First, that you may see new ideas or dangers while looking from the other side of the board, and also helps you to consider what you would be doing if you had his pieces. (This is especially good for ME, because I have tendency to see all outgoing attacking moves, but not always see Incoming threats. Thus is helps me in particular to take a look at what -I- would be trying to Do To Me, if I had his position.) I have heard it claimed that human beings actually Think Faster while Standing than Sitting. The claim says up to 15% faster standing. Perhaps something to do with the Fight or Flight instincts, or maybe since the heartbeat and metabolism runs a bit faster with that bit of extra exertion to be standing?! I don't know, and welcome the answer to it, if anyone Does know. BUT I do BELIEVE the claim. It has shown me some pretty good moves. And might explain why the Kibitzers always seem to see EVERYTHING !! lol. I dunno ... |
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bhidragon 15-Apr-12, 06:30 |
Play at Your Speed Remember ... it's much better to spend time figuring out how not to get INTO trouble than in getting OUT of trouble. |
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thereaper1 15-Apr-12, 22:04 |
I find see the sights if its out of town. And also relish the chance to play play higher rated opponents. Not to mention keep thinking about how great it will be when you win all or most of your games, start thinking about how your going to spend your winnings from the rating prize or main prize, it doesn't matter if you are miles below others. That just makes it more fun when the underdog squashes the competition. |
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baronderkilt 15-Apr-12, 23:14 |
Here's one for adding to the fun ... If you get chosen to receive a full point bye in the tournament, since there is an odd number and someone must sit ... the following idea can be helpful especially if you need more games to get a rating or go past provisional. But anyone could do it ... You might ask the Director if you can play an extra game then, with someone outside the tournament, to be rated in that game. He will probably know of another qualifying player there. (eg is a member of USCF or the host federation. It might even be him.) He might ask you to play a bit faster than the tournaments time control, in an extra game, to assure it does not delay the event, since you are sure to be paired next round, being able to have only one bye in the event. But as a former director, I was happy to rate an extra game as long as it did not interfere with tournament progress. |
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baronderkilt 15-Apr-12, 23:21 |
btw ... |
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perdurabo 17-Apr-12, 04:01 |
Find your board before the start of the round. Double check that your mobile phone is switched off. Or better yet, don't bring it to the tournament hall in the first place. If it makes as much as a beep it could cost you the game. There is hardly a tournament where I don't hear at least one mobile phone ring during a round. More often then not the opponent and arbiter will show mercy on first time offenders, but don't count on that. Bring a spare pen or two, in case yours decides to die on you during the game or one of your teammates/friends forgot to bring one for himself. Don't place your water/tea/coffee too close to the clock or somewhere else were you are in danger of knocking it over when you reach for the clock or chess pieces. If it is your first tournament and you don't have much experience with otb chess make sure you know the most important rules before you sit down to play (how to offer draw, how to claim draw, quick play finish,...). If you know in advance that you will not be able to participate in one of the rounds, tell the tournament director before he makes the pairings for the next round. It is frustrating to sit there and wait for an opponent who doesn't come to play that round. Better to avoid this by not being paired. Before your game starts, check if the board and pieces have been set up correctly. It is not that uncommen for the king/queen to be in the wrong place and knights/bishops have a history of switching places too. If you're a man and have to play against a beautiful woman don't let that distract you too much. Seriously! There are some extremely beautiful female players out there who know exactly what effect they can have on their male opponents and how to use it to their advantage. Not that I'm complaining. Just don't let it distract you if they start to stretch or lean over the board in certain ways or begin to remove some items of clothing during the game (usually when the position gets complicated) or stand up and rub their bellies (no I did not make that up; seen it happen). If you have the impression that a female player is doing this against you and you have got a sense of humour you might want to start copying their poses, just for the fun of it and psychological effect; but if you do, dont't be too obvious. Be subtle. And don't let that distract you from the game either. When a tournament hall is uncomfortably small it can happen that boards are placed very close to each other and there is not a lot of space. In that case it is almost guaranteed that some players will accidentely punch the wrong clock (the one belonging to the next board). Be extra careful not be the one to make that embarrassing mistake and also have an eye on the guy sitting next to you, so that he doesn't punch your clock by accident (also remember to check this has not happened while you were away from the board to get a drink or on the toilet or out for a smoke or whatever). |
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baronderkilt 17-Apr-12, 04:41 |
OPENING CHOICES ... *** If you just played your #1 choice vs an e4 game and got beaten, you don't want the next opponent to be able to copy that game against you. And so would play your #2 defense, until having time to figure out how to ressurrect your #1 Defense. Or players may prepare one solid opening to use for most games, but have a sharper opening in reserve, to use in any "must win" situation. If possible for you, have it decided before the game even starts as to what opening you will use, and what variation(s) so you don't need much time on your first 10 moves. Rather know where you intend to go with it before starting. I agree totally with bhidragon tho, about playing at your_own_pace~! It helps you to "get your head into the game" by using a steady, thoughtful pace, even tho you know where you want it to go during the first 10 moves. Quite often the opponent will slow down as well if you do. |
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