My Experience of My First Tournament with Real 3D Pieces (OTB)
Dear friends, I had high expectations, as I was going to play my first tournament on a physical board and, equally important, it would also be my first event in my country. I had never competed against Uruguayans; I always played online with my chess.com friends from around the world.
Before the event
With four hours to go until the event, the ideal is to combine calm, focus, and light activation.
I kept my mind active without exhausting the specific concentration for chess. Doing two or three easy/medium puzzles: to activate my mind without exhausting it.
In the morning, I carried out a stable routine and avoided screens: it's better not to overload my vision or mind, which gives mental security.
Pack my backpack: pencil/pen, water, something light to eat (bar, fruit), and I wore all my winter clothes because it was a terrible stormy day with an orange alert. Even my father said that someone would surely miss the event due to the weather, and that this was also an advantage; I had to go because there would be fewer players at the event.
An hour beforehand: I walked a bit and stretched getting my circulation going without wasting energy.
The event
When I arrived at the high school, I headed to the library where the chess event was taking place. The truth is, I didn't know who was going to attend; I had no information about my opponents except that they were the morning versus afternoon students. I was surprised to find that I knew three of the 19 students who showed up. We greeted each other, and I also met the organizers, one of whom is a 21-time national champion, an international master, and former president of FIDE-Uruguay. There were two tournaments remaining: one for 15 boys and the other for 4 girls, both Swiss.
During the tournament, I calmly considered the moves. I took slow breaths to avoid getting nervous, mentally repeating phrases like "calm down, think before you move." I didn't obsess over the clock; I only did it occasionally. Between games: rest, breathe, and don't overthink (it was already in the past).
I drank water and didn't eat anything during the event.
I felt excited and focused. I didn't get nervous and just kept going each round. I won four out of five games. The game that I lost was against a player with an ELO of approximately 2000. Unfortunately, cell phone use wasn't allowed, and I couldn't take photos of the scores; I only managed to take the following images.
A round-by-round review with games, emotions, and anecdotes from the event.
The first round seemed simple, and I quickly got into the swing of things. I lost in the second round. I played very well in the opening, although I got lost in the middlegame, even though it was a close game. In the third, I played quite well. Then, in the fourth, the game wasn't as decided, although I tried to make progress in the middlegame. Now I was in the fifth and final round, which I won; it was the one with the most viewers.
In short:
I won 4 out of 5 games, finish 2nd and qualified representing my high school on chess for "Juegos Deportivos Nacionales" (2025), I was very proud of my result and that I'd dominated most of the games. I really enjoyed playing on the physical board, and it will be an unforgettable experience.
Thank you, friends, for supporting me with these three articles about my experience.
I remind you that tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, we have the 5th Edition "Chess and Friends Month" Special of the"Passport 241 Series" Number (27) Don't miss it at 241!
Contributor of this post: @MasterMindV
More: From a 2D to a 3D Board: Tips before a Chess Tournament (OTB)
Between Clocks and Pieces: How I prepared to compete in 3D Chess (OTB)
