My First National Abroad… Jetlagged, Puking, and Still Finished 7th 😤
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Any one else had similar experiences? Hope I’m not the only one here 😂
Why would you outsource writing about your personal experiences to ChatGPT? That's very sad, IMO.
So boom—first off, I was jetlagged as heck the entire time. Like, my sleep schedule was actually non-existent. I was in this tiny but super modern apartment that looked straight outta some Airbnb ad. Clean, sleek… and somehow felt smaller than my suitcase. 💀
To make things worse, I was stuck with my grandpa—love the man, but bro knows zero about chess. He kept asking me if “castling” was illegal. 💀💀
And bruh, I was so nervous for game 1 I literally threw up in the bathroom. Whole floor. No cap. 😭 I’d walk into the tournament hall every day feeling like my heart was doing bullet chess. But once I sat down and that clock started—boom—I was locked in. Tunnel vision.
Even though I was mentally fried, I still managed to pull off some heat. Took down some 1500s and even drew with an 1800. Felt like a beast. But then… last round, I get paired with the tourney favorite. I fought hard, but yeah—L. Walked out salty af and ripped my scoresheet like it was some movie scene lol. Don’t judge me.
Nights were the worst tho. Couldn’t sleep, just staring at the ceiling wondering who I’d face next and what opening to prep. Ended up half-studying, half-spiraling. 😂
But even with all that mess—I finished 7th overall. First national. Abroad. Jetlagged. Full mental