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.

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