Making Chess tournaments more social.

I'm a Chess organizer and tournament director who came to Chess fairly late in life, a few years ago at age 45.  I had played Chess a little bit as a youth, but never in organized competition.  In high school, college, and my pre-middle aged adult years (i.e. 25-45) I participated in a lot of competitions.  They were in things like martial arts, luge, brewing, Magic: The Gathering, game conventions, and occasional others.

When I got into Chess, I expected things to be quite similar, but there was one huge difference that jumped right out at me.

Chess players don't talk.  They might occasionally talk a little bit, but not a lot.  Even then, it's mostly because they have nothing to do after their game is finished in a round.  I went to a couple of tournaments and when the games were done, almost everyone vanished in an instant.  That seemed to be what the organizers were encouraging, so I decided to be different.  I specifically made sure that when I held tournaments, we had the site for hours longer than the tournament, so people could socialize if they were so inclined.

No one is so inclined.

I don't want to exaggerate my opinion on this subject, but it makes me feel like Chess tournaments are a bit "empty".  I've seen a lot of the same people at several events, but I wouldn't say I have made friends playing Chess.   In all other sorts of groups that I have been a part of I have seen people linger after the main activity chatting and getting to know each other. 

I have a couple of questions for the community.

Is your experience similar?  Is this just part of the Chess culture, and unlikely to ever be any different?

Is there any way that you have seen tournaments and/or chess events organized that encourages a little bit more human interaction?

Of course, for many people, the answer will be that Chess events are the way they are because people like them that way.  That is undoubtedly true, but I think there is a whole group of other people that are not quite that way.  I'm sort of on the fringe myself.  I'm not exactly the most gregarious person in the world, but I would like just a bit more of a human touch than I find at a typical Chess tournament.  So, if you like things that way, I wouldn't want to change every event to be more party like, but I would like it if some were just a bit different.  If nothing else, I would love to play Bughouse or Euchre after a long day of Chess, just to unwind.

Does anyone else feel the same way and, if so, have you seen anything that helps to encourage that sort of thing?

Good TDs serve martinis.

hisssss, how dare you speak to us . . .

/me crawls under rock to study isolated queen-pawn endgames from the 19th century

Yeah, not sure if you noticed but a lot of chess players - especially tournament players - have some 'issues' socially.  If we started talking to one another, some of us might get into relationships, which could lead to dating, and (shudder) reproducing.  Do we really want a population explosian among chess players?

I thought not.

oh come on guys let be a little more serious here.

Organised the tourney near a cafe so when finish (btw not so late) you can go there for a cuppa/drink even play chess.

That is the problem, players being too serious and not allowing themselves to relax and share a joke. That and the lack of martinis.

Yes I can see the problem there, is just too serious. And also is very tiring after a long day of playing chess they just want to go home and rest ? 

Meadmaker:  This is an interesting observation.  My take on it is this ...

In most FIDE tournaments, the number of games per day is one.  This leaves a player not so exhausted.  In most USCF tournaments, there are multiple games per day, and often, this means one game on Friday, followed by two on Saturday and Sunday.  When I am in this situation, I want to conserve every amount of energy that I have, because when the final game comes on Sunday, my mind is just "mush".  So, there might be less conversation because players just want to leave ASAP.

There is another aspect though.  Chess is an individual game/sport.  Some players do not necessarily want to share why they won with their opponent, as that strengthens their opponent.  Others have to much pride to have their opponent tell them where they could have done better.  This of course is referring to game discussion.

Idle talk:  At USCF OTB tournaments, I have not found many people who engage in idle talk.  However, my personality is such that I normally initiate idle and/or chess-related talk with my opponent, and players on surrounding boards.  So far, the attempt at conversation has been successful.

As for me and my chess club, we have fun playing but not alot of talking during. Once it is over, we talk and dicuss things with each other. Not so much going over our games but we do talk about chess in general and other things. I am not huge on talking to much about how I think and evaluate the board. For the most part we have lots of socialization and are friends. We are not into big tournament play yet, so maybe it will change since it will be much more enduring and exhausting. I hope not but once you go a couple hours without speaking, I probably wouldn't have  much to say either, at least for that night. Hope this helps

 One of the great surprises to me when I started playing Chess in tournaments was just how exhausting it could be.

My personal preference is more toward "low end" tournaments, with several quick games all played on a single day.  (e.g. 5ss g/30, Saturday afternoon, or 4ss g/45.)  I must admit that I am a bit tired at the end of the day, and could be talked into going home pretty easily.  Still, I think if anyone else hung about playing games, whether Chess, cards, or other, I would do it.  I am surprised that I am such a small minority in my preferences.

 The fatigue factor is certainly there, but at my tournaments I run 5ss G/30 with a schedule that gets us done by 4:00 if the tournament is on time, and has never run later than 5:00.  I found a venue that lets us stay late and use the hall until 9:00.  I always try to promote Blitz, or Bughouse, or Shogi,  or any sort of side event.  The only one who has ever played is my son.

I still believe that as my tournaments get better known, there are people who like things other than strict tournament play, and those side events will eventually draw other people, but so far, nothing.