First Tournament
Sort:
Hey everyone, thanks for reading this post. So I will admit I'm a relatively newbie at chess but just really like playing the game learning the lines, strategy and game theory. I've played in live poker tournaments before with somewhat success but I've never played in a chess tournament before I would love to hear some advice regarding the whole thing, what do I bring, dress code and any other tips would be great. I don't know anyone personally that will be there but I want to try it out and jump in feet first even though I'm probably going to get spanked.
Which tournament are you thinking about? link?
You can bring your chess set and clock (just in case you get to use your own equipment); you should also bring a bottle of water. Most require keeping score so a pencil too. Dress casual.
Good luck.
http://chess.ca/tournaments any of these but I'm thinking the Branford May Standard but preferably one in Ontario or Quebec as I don't mind the travel and will treat it like a vacation. Thanks mgx9600 I appreciate the advice.
That's a pretty wide variety of tournaments, so I can't give you any specifics.. just some general ideas.
Pick a non-money prize (or at least the economy version) since it is cheaper and you are still getting your feet wet. If your rating is low, find a tournament with reserve sections so that you can better match with others of your rating. If you are unrated, read the fine print, many tournaments won't give the top prizes to unrated players in reserve sections (so you may not be getting your full money's worth). Also, most tournaments requires membership in some type of chess organization (to classify you by rating if there are sections for example), so you must figure in that cost. It isn't a good idea to "vacation" to a chess tournament; you'll likely spend both Sat and Sun inside a room playing chess and not get to sight see (i.e. wasting expensive vacation time). Be sure to read the tournament info, it should outline the costs and formats (also any equipment you should bring), many larger tournaments also have side events that includes interactions with various GMs that you can sign up.
Oh, BTW, you will not get "spanked". You'll do fine and walk away with a great experience and good memories.