Its a four round swiss style tournament, with 10 minutes per person per game. Other than that, is there anything I should expect? I don't know my elo rating but on yahoo Im about a 1200
Posted Apr 18, 2011, 4:38 AM UTC
Do not think you're a failure at chess because you don't play your best at your first tournament.
You will be dealing with the stress and excitement and be meta-thinking about your chess game too much probably. You'll worry about not pressing your clock. You might feel silly because you haven't taken your pen or pencil out of your hand after writing your move down. (Nvm, it's G10, so I guess you wont be recording your moves)
You will be faced with a lot of new impressions that have absolutely nothing to do with your game.
Some people might not be very friendly in conversation in between games. That's because they either look at as a so so serious sporting event, or they have aspergers. Don't let it bother you.
I lost every single game my first tournament and it completely infuriated me. I took a year off chess and came back with a better attitude and knowing what to expect and ended up in first place the next time.
Losing every single game in your first tournament puts you in good company. Hikaru Nakamura lost ever single game in his first tournament as well!
Just have fun, enjoy the experience and try to think about how you can improve your game/psychological outlook the second time around.
Thank you for taking the time to write all of that out. I appreciate it
Don't panic and don't rush the opening too much. Even if they move fast, don't let your opponent force you to their pace.
As much as you can, try to plan ahead on their turn.
Any particularly "weird" (if thats a good term) openings that tend to be played often, in an attempt to get the opponent off guard? I ask so that I can study them a bit before the tourny so I can be more prepared. I generally play as black but dont know if I'll get that luxury throughout the tourny
Two that come to mind:
Ponzioni opening - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOZLHeKWhTQ
Roy Lupez - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wntv7HrF5vQ
You should get to play white and black almost an equal number of times if it is swiss format.
Ok, that is good to know. Thanks
no problem. Also i wouldn't be worried about strange opening variations and as white just have one solid opening. and as black just study the more common openings until your really comfortable with them then branch out.
Booze, bitches and the deep seated scent of fear from the punters.
In 10 minutes...having a gimmicky or uncommon opening helps in blitz. I used to play 1.a3 and 1.b4 in all tournaments as White. Now, I use 1.f4 when I play.
Go with your instincts. Don't spend too much time on one move. In the latter parts of my chess career (I guess it's not technically over, since I'm a life USCF member, but I'm no longer playing in tournaments very much, if at all), I struggled with all time controls, getting into time trouble in tournaments with 2-hour time controls or more because I was so good at second-guessing myself.
If the tournament is coming up soon, I wouldn't recommend trying to learn an uncommon opening just for this, there'll be too much else which is new.
Having an uncommon opening which you know a lot better than your opponent can be very strong for fast time controls in general, though.
Right. Listen to Dan ^^
If you have one in your back pocket, use it. Otherwise, don't bother. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Is 10 minutes really considered blitz though? 10 minutes seems about average for me. If I play with no time limits, Id guess I use around 10-15 minutes for all my moves.. I assumed blitz would be faster than that, like 2 minute games per person or something.
I wouldn't quite call it blitz, personally, but it's definitely a short game. Wikipedia calls 10-60 minutes "Rapid," and that seems fair to me.
On FICS at least, 10 0 counts as blitz. 15 0 is the start of standard.
Watch out for girls who dress attractively to distract their male opponents. I once played against a girl who wasn't wearing a bra under her tee-shirt, and those two extra bishops gave her a clear advantage.
Mate that b*tch. But make sure you...umm...protect your King. Yeah, that's it.
lol