All you need to know about OTB chess!

Introduction-

I am an extremely experienced Classical OTB Chess player with has a FIDE Rating of 1693. I have played countless events all over India. This blog focuses on the following topics- What to and not to do before a chess tournament, how to handle pressure/stress during or before a chess match, how to deal with bad results and so on. You may be a person who enjoys random blogs and are here for pure enjoyment/pleasure or for actually preparing for OTB tournaments. This blog also mostly focuses on Classical chess with time controls like 90+30 and 60+30.

What To Do Before a Chess Tournament

Pick up a chess board and arrange the pieces correctly. Now start a game on chess.com with a time control of 30 minutes. Play the moves, that your opponent plays on the chessboard, and vice-versa. This will help a lot as going to an OTB tournament without having any OTB Practice is like playing in FIFA without a ball. You must analyze the game after playing it and believe it or not, it is one of the most efficient ways to improve. You must also keep doing Tactical puzzles to keep yourself as sharp as the nip of a fully sharpened pencil. You must do the above things until the last 3 days before the tournament. Now, you must have good sleep, be in good physical shape, eat healthy foods and practice a lot.

What Not to do before a tournament.

You must not eat junk foods like burgers and pizzas three days before a tournament. It makes your brain very annoyed and stuff. You must also not sleep for more/less than 6-8 hours. It will make you feel sleepy before the match. You must have a good mood and limit distractions. You must not play fast games like Bullet/hyperbullet/Blitz (3+0/3+2).

How to be less sleepy during a classical match

Most, or should I say, all OTB players have experienced this. Classical is a boring format, and we may feel sleepy during the match. Now, how to handle this? My suggestion- Bring any eatable that gives you instant energy. For those who don’t know, eatables are allowed in the playing hall as long as you don’t disturb the players. You can bring things like chocolates or coffee to get instant energy during a match.

How to handle pressure during a chess game

You will feel pressured and stressful during a chess tournament. Most people ask me on how to handle them. Well, this blog answers this frequently asked question. You must not be scared of losing. Every top player, even Magnus Carlsen, have lost countless games throughout their career. If you are feeling tensed during a game, you must drink water and calm down your nerves. This is an important part of learning chess. Every player has experienced this and you shall not be ashamed to confess.

How to handle bad results in tournaments

You must not be sad to have bad results. It happens to everyone, including me. I once lost 100 in a tournament. You could have had bad results because you were underprepared or the tournament was actually hard. The first thing you must do after reaching home is to analyze all the games and learn from your mistakes. This is a very efficient way of gaining elo. 

Hope you learned a lot from this blog! Hope you play well in your tournament! This was my second ever blog, so please tell me where and how to improve in the comments! Comment on this blog if you liked it!

I am the owner of a 200+ member club, so it would be a pleasure if you join my club- https://www.chess.com/club/the-great-knights 

Thank you for reading!