What To Expect From Your First Tournament

Dear readers, welcome back. In this article, I will take you through the journey of my first over-the-board tournament, to give you information on what you might be able to expect from your first tourney! I hope to paint a vivid picture of my experience, and in the future, I hope to bring you along to my chess adventures through streaming.

I feel exhilarated, excited, and pumped with adrenaline. 

Wait, I forgot, I’m also exhausted.

Today, I participated in my first over-the-board tournament. The format was rapid (10+5), 9 rounds, and it was a Swiss pairing system.

I applied for this tournament because it was my ticket to a FIDE ID which I couldn’t acquire otherwise. (My home country, Montenegro, works in mysterious ways.)

I went into this not expecting much and being fairly scared of embarrassing myself by blundering a queen, a mate, making illegal moves, etc. I wanted to prove to myself I have a solid chess foundation.

Here’s how it went - and hopefully, this will help you prepare for your first tournament, if you’re a beginner, or perhaps remind you how it felt to be in the playing hall for the first time.

I arrived early, all by myself, registered, and waited as over 120 players slowly arrived. I did not know a single one of them, but I didn’t feel out of place. Most of the players were men, but to my surprise, almost 10% were women! It's nice to see people of all different backgrounds and ages come together for a shared hobby - or for some, profession.

Although I’d been warned there’s no food or drinks at tournaments, this one was very well provided for in true Montenegrin fashion. 

Funnily enough, I never got to the food, because by the time I felt hungry, it was all gone. Not surprised!

However, I’m sure this gesture is the exception to the rule - so make sure you have a drink and a snack if you’re going to play chess for an extended period.

The tournament was set to start at 10h and, again, in the spirit of Montenegro, it was 30 minutes late. It felt like waiting at the doctor’s - anticipatory - all I kept thinking was that I just wanted to play some chess.

Finally, the pairings got posted on a bulletin board and I made my way to the list. 

My first opponent was a WFM. As soon as I sat down I felt as though she was using intimidation tactics against me - she barely said hello and proceeded to look ANYWHERE but me. 

This was my inner monologue: I am, after all, a filthy unrated player. No chess professional wants anything to do with someone they can't gain rating points from. They have everything to lose, and nothing to gain. 

Well… I was expecting to get obliterated! However, I held up my own very well for the most part. 

After a solid opening, I struggled to start an attack in the middle game and instead blundered a tactic. After she was sure she was winning, I could see her shoulders become less tense and her demeanor changed. 

After the game, the intimidating persona was gone and she gave me a big smile and said - ''You played well!''. I ran to the bathroom and hid in a stall to jump in excitement as I had just played my first ever “real”, rated OTB game. You've never before seen anyone happier to lose a game of chess.

My second opponent was an 1800 player and I managed to capture his queen in the Fried Liver opening, but even that wasn't enough to beat him. I ended up losing in the endgame after a tactic he found. I was red in the face and felt defeated after the game, realizing how arrogant I had gotten after capturing his queen.

Lesson learned: until you win, don't act like you won.

My third game was the most special of the day - my first OTB victory, and against a solid 1699 as well! I had imagined I would be able to beat a strong 1500, at best, so this gave me a confidence boost and I wasn't so scared of embarrassing myself with 0/9 points anymore. I got a single point now; my day has been made. I won by getting him into a rook endgame. I ended up promoting to a queen, and he was fairly annoyed with me. 

Now, the fourth game was the most embarrassing one. I hadn't noticed my queen was on the e-file and king was on the d-file - they were in the wrong squares so my opponent fixed them for me. This wasn’t humiliating enough for me, so I ended up also walking my king into a square where it would be in check (making an illegal move) and then knocking his king over while trying to fix my mistake. 

After I'd resigned, as the game was dead lost, I started putting white pieces on my side of the board… I played as black.

Lesson learned: you will make mistakes and you will live. It’s fine.

I went on to lose 3 more and win 2 more games. Here’s a short recap:

Game 5: An underrated 1671 Caro Kann 19 y.o. boy - I castled queen-side and he slowly stripped my castle down until my king was naked and afraid, running for his life. I resigned.

Game 6: A 1561 rated teenage girl. I had traded queens with her, taking away her castling right, and had an advantage in the middle game.

However, even though in this moment her king was not very safe in the middle of the board, she managed to trade pieces with me into the endgame, and we all know - in the endgame, a king in the center is a huge advantage. We got into a knight vs. bishop endgame, she picked up my pawns one by one. I resigned.

Game 7: My opponent was a young boy and even more of a beginner than myself. He was also unrated, but checking his performance rating now, I can see he performed at a level of 636. I trapped his knight in the opening and used this advantage to eventually force a checkmate. I was happy to win, but this one didn’t feel so good - there was not a shred of arrogance in my opponent, he was just trying his best. I respect him.

Game 8: Another young boy, rated 1413, who played fast, fiddled around on his chair, and offered me a draw about 10 moves into the game. Unfortunately, his lack of patience cost him. I had pushed a pawn all the way to the second rank, trying to promote it to a queen, supported by a rook and queen. He was defending with his rook and queen and walked his king over to add another attacker.

Unfortunately, his king wasn’t safe in the position and I ended up delivering another checkmate. I was happy, at this moment, I had racked up 3 points, which was more than I hoped for from the tournament.

My final, 9th opponent was a middle-aged lady who obliterated me. She had previously beaten two 1900’s, which doesn’t surprise me to learn! I didn’t give up without a fight, but at some point, I was the dead horse, and boy, was she beating me. I resigned.

In the end, I got a performance rating of 1510, and a final score of 3/9, which I’m very happy with, especially considering it’s my first time playing OTB. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I got 0 points so my expectations were low and I smashed them!

Conclusion

Online chess doesn’t compare to the thrill of playing a person. There is something magical about trying to outsmart the person sitting opposite you, not knowing anything about them but their rating.

The blank slate of the game before the first move is made, constantly reevaluating the position, calculating and analyzing, the rush of knowing you have an advantage, the defeated feeling as your opponent slowly chokes your pieces like a boa constrictor… it’s truly a sport, and one I feel like I’ve only truly begun my journey with, despite playing online for over a year and a half.

I encourage you to try OTB if you haven’t, and if you have - I’m coming for you😈