Looking for Advice for OTB Chess

Hello, I'm a 2200-2300, depending on how my Chess is faring, on Chess.com, and I'm now preparing to play OTB for the first time! Any advice from advanced players on how to prepare for tournaments, from attire to opening prep to rules on how to conduct oneself OTB. It's a USCF tournament, in case that information changes anything. I'm looking to become an NM with enough hard work and Chess games so I would appreciate any advice OTB experienced players would have. Thanks!

I don't have any advice to give you, even though I'm also an OTB player. Good luck with your OTB tournament. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

Appreciate the kind words

If you are looking for NM, choosing the USCF is correct, in any other regions or countries, the requirements for NM is much more higher. For improvement always annotate your own games after and learn to write down the moves in tournaments, this will be needed as mandatory in more serious ones. FIDE ratings is often 100 points lower than your chess.com, just beware of that. For training, do 30 min games to train your focus for classical or use the lichess classical time control, I wish you the best

#3. You're welcome. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Will do, I will probably play unrated 30 min games and annotate my games as I play to get into the habit. Thanks for the advice

Play long time controls like the other guy said, and just take your time calculating. I once got second in a tournament several years ago, and honestly just keep your mindset and just imagine it’s any other game. Also, win.

Oh thanks I didn't think that winning games would get me to becoming an NM🥴

In the USCF tournaments that I've gone to, there has been no need for formal attire. OTB chess is generally quite a lot longer than chess.com, so after your 2nd or 3rd game prepare to feel completely exhausted. As for opening prep, you don't need it to be too different from your online opening prep, just maybe don't do unsound openings as your opponents will have a lot of time to figure out how to handle the unsound openings. In almost all tournaments, you HAVE to notate until either you or your opponent get below 5 minutes, then you BOTH can stop notating. I think that this is only true in tournaments with less than 30 sec delay or increment. Just remember touch-move, take your time, and probably start playing longer time controls on chess.com or lichess to prepare. Don't be annoyed if your first rating is really low, my first rating was about 490 and now I'm 1699 (still not great, but I plan to go to more tournaments to get it higher). Oh yeah, also PLEASE remember to search up USCF rules because I'm almost certain I didn't list all of them.

Good luck!

Thank for the helpful advice! I will remember to notate, formal attire is not needing, though probably something that is not distracting to other players, and to not be deterred by a low OTB rating. Any suggestions on how to deal with exhaustion, however? Is something such as eating a banana or having coffee better to deal with that?

I said a lot more than that but yeah

Yes, utilizing the clock given to you is very nice advice, and stay calm as well.

NMs a good goal, don't expect it straight away though lol

I'm playing in one on April 4th-5th.

I have won a lot of tournaments. It isn't something I'd like to do now at 74. Can be quite exhausting if you play a lot of them. Occasionally you're bound to have a bad one. But if this is the first time you've played chess otb, you might find it very difficult. A few people take to it naturally. Basically, you prepare as you go. There has to be a working scheme regarding which openings you are going to work on and prioritis and the scheme has to be a good one. I always seemed to have a magic touch. For instance I'd never faced the Blumenfeld Gambit. I opened a book at random and it was a sideline of the Blumenfeld. I spotted an interesting variation by black that was very dangerous ... my first game the next day he went exactly down that line and I knew how to beat it ... I wouldn't have found those moves otb. I learned a LOT of book and always went for positionally sound stuff which was a minor sideline and contained traps. I had a virtually perfect memory and only needed to read a line once or twice. I imagine books in the 80s were far better than they are now. If you learn from a video, chances are your opponent will have too. You have to be willing to work hard and find out how to put pressure on your opponents. There are many ways of subtly putting pressure on them. Even things like well-times draw offers can win games.

Regarding how you behave, always be perfctly polite and considerate towards your opponents. Learn the rules and stick to them and be prepared to enforce them if necessary. Don't give anything away by your body language or expression. It's like poker. Don't do childish things like stopping the clock if your opponent leaves the playing area.

Nver drink coffee three hours before you play.

Thank you for your advice!May I ask why drinking coffee is bad before a tournament?