YOUR FIRST CHESS TOURNAMENT
During the corona pandemic, many kids have started learning Chess mostly through online mediums. The excitement in learning and playing online had become part of their daily chess routine. Online chess-playing platforms like chess.com, lichess.org have picked up on the number of players who started using those to get playing experience and improve.
Now with the pandemic slowed down to some extent and On The Board (OTB) tournaments have started picking up, many young kids and the parent are confused on how to prepare for such tournaments. With my experience over the last few years in being part of many such tournaments, I have decided to share it for the benefit of my students and also the other kids who want to get into the beautiful world of Chess.
Below are some of the pointers that will help you smoothly participate and take away all the anxieties regarding OTB chess tournaments.
1. Registering for the tournament
Every organizer publishes the brochure 2-3 weeks ahead of the tournament with all the details including time control, the format of the game, age category, entry fees, prize details, etc. All the parents should go through that thoroughly and understand the instructions given in it. Besides the chess brochure, all fide tournaments are published on www.aicf.in and/or www.fide.com
2. Preparing for the tournament
Every format is different and hence the preparation varies slightly between such formats. In addition to regular opening preparation, solving puzzles, walking through GM games, one of the other important aspects is to go through the players’ list and prepare against some of the top-rated players. Each player’s games are accessible online and can be looked into for self-preparation. Your coach can also help you with this. Just before the tournament starts, it’s a good practice to solve 1-move/2-move easy puzzles for warm-up.
3. During the tournament
The beginners especially need to take care of illegal moves, use of chess clock, how to ask for draw, taking help of arbiters, not using both the hands while playing a game, correctly know how to castle and writing the game with correct notations.
Another very important thing is to attend players meeting just before the tournament starts. This is an important meeting where the chief arbiter explains all the rules including walk over time. Also, every player should be aware of the gaming schedule which is also published by every organizer. I personally have seen some players arrive late and get into tension due to time-lapse.
Most of the tournaments publish results on chess-results.com after every round also the pairing of the next round. The parent and the player should keep this handy to avoid overcrowding where the printouts of results are posted.
4. Eating habit
Most neglected aspect among the beginners. The beginners are so involved with the results of the games that they don’t pay attention to eating properly during and in between the games. For the longer duration format, it is advisable to carry a water bottle and energy-giving eatables like chocolate, banana, etc. Also, the young kids in between the games keep running and playing physically exerting games which might drain their energy. It is advisable to take a rest between the rounds, relax and get calm.
5. After the tournament
Do not overhaul the outcome of the tournament whether good or bad. The very important thing once you reach back home is to analyze the games and if possible, do the required annotations. Take the help of your coach to understand the mistakes and improve for your next tournament.