From a 2D to a 3D Board: Tips before a Chess Tournament (OTB)

Dear friends! Last Friday, I learned about a qualifying tournament to represent my high school, which took place last Monday. My father and I only had the weekend to train together on the transition from online chess to Over The Board(OTB), with all its significant differences.

The first consideration when playing 3D chess is to position the board so that the white squares on the first and last ranks are to the right of both players.
The other maxim is to place the first piece, which must be the queen, on the square of its color. Both tips ensure there are no errors in how we place the pieces.

General considerations we took into account:

Mental and Tempo Changes
No Visual Aids
#Recommendation: No highlighting of legal moves, threats, or automatic notation.

Greater concentration effort
Think about the safety of each move before releasing the piece.
Visual distractions (opponent moves, noises) are real.
#Recommendation: Breathe deeply, look at the entire board, and don't rush.

Changes in Time Management
No automatic clock
#Recommendation: You must manually touch the clock after each move.

Slower when moving
The mental and physical timing when moving pieces is different.
#Recommendation: Don't rush; prioritize precision over speed.

Changes Practical
Moves should be written down by hand.
#Recommendation: Practice basic algebraic notation (e4, Nf3, etc.).

Touching is a move.
If a piece is touched, it must be moved.
#Recommendation: Only touch the piece when you are sure.

View the board in 3D.
Unlike 2D online, the physical board can cause vision errors (especially diagonals).
#Recommendation: Look from above and clearly visualize the squares before moving.

Game protocol:
Initial greeting with a handshake.
Always maintain respect for your opponent and silence during the game.
Final greeting with a handshake.
Once the game is over, you can talk with your opponent about the games or a specific move, etc.
To be continued in the next post
Contributor of this post: @MasterMindV

More: Between Clocks and Pieces: How I prepared to compete in 3D Chess (OTB)
          My Experience of My First Tournament with Real 3D Pieces (OTB)