Psychological Ploys

My tournament set has one pawn that is heavier than the other pawns so that can cause confusion in the minds of my opponents.  In addition, I like to pay with a key-chain king instead of my standard one.

Now that I think about it, I have pawns from three different sets.  One of them has a hole in it.

this is funny.  there are players at my club who would do everything in their power to get you to use their set.  i don't really think about it.  although i'm not a big fan of playing on a ratty board. 

Korchnoi wore the sunglasses before the hypnotist guy, it was because he didn't like Karpov staring at him when it was his move.  It was his reflective sunglasses, then Karpov's psychologist guy, then Korchnoi's crazy convict couple who taught him yoga or something.

You can always try going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes!

I use this amazing psychological ploy.  I play better moves and when we finish I tell them good game.  Nothing is more damaging than being told gg after being crushed- or maybe it is just the being crushed part.

If I start noticing your silly "tactics" I am just happy to know that you are spending more energy on how to distract me than at the board finding the best move

We have one of those aswell, very distracting.

This one kid at the local club plays air guitar/drums/keyboard whenever a song he likes comes up. Its more funny than anything, probably why it works so well.

If I am playing Rich, I would play 1.d4 c5!

No more Tromp.

More importantly, I think everyone has a "tell" like in poker.  People that use these extreme ploys may also have a "tell".  That's what I would watch for.

Oh yeah?  I play a guy who in club or tournament acts like it's a poker match :)  He pulls the bill of his cap down to where you can't see his eyes, and he sits with his arms crossed leaning over the board.  I've seen him blunder and he makes no expression until after you've punished it.

One of the first times I played him though he did trick me, he made a move that seemed to lose the exchange, he waited about a minute then muttered "oh, damn it" as if he'd just seen it, so I went right for it.  When he immediately moved after I took his rook I knew I must have fallen for something lol.  Now when we play he just plays like a statue.

lol, yes.

I hate playing against the colle-zukertort too.  I've decided to adopt the system where black plays a pirc/modern setup (against either of those) but haven't gotten to test it yet.

You should let me know what lines vs the london you find most irritating :) of course I'll promise not to use them against you ;)

YES. Intimidation is just as important in a chess game as skill. I often fake yawns and uninterest, chucke at not-bad-but-not-great-moves, laugh out loud when they slam pieces on the board, and anything else I can think of to make my opponent second think his/her moves. Its almost as enjoyable as the game itself. 

Coltinator5000:  To be honest, that is rather immature.

More like sleazy.

If I'm in the mood, after my time starts at the beginning of the game I'll just wait a minute or two before making my first move and simply stare down my opponent during that time.

Does that work with grown men or just kids?

once i was playing a guy who laughed at something i did during our match.  so i shoved the clock down his throat.  i was banned from the club for 2 weeks.  i thought that was fair.

I think psychological ploys are dumb and just play the board etc, but then I remembered once or twice I did do something like this.  But I was in the mood to do it, and two players I played may show the pros and cons.

The first guy I knew was a bit sensitive to this junk, because he was usually the one doing it to others.  I made it a point to blitz my moves, then when it was his turn I'd lean back and look away, or stare at him, or start a conversation with someone else, get up to get a drink etc.  I ended up on the defensive, but he was so annoyed after I was able to defend for a good number of moves he over pressed and lost.  Then I beat him again :p and he's rated a bit higher than me hehe.

The other guy played how I like to think I play, he completely ignored everything I did and just took his time with each move.  I hadn't played him before, it turns out we were the same level, but he beat me pretty easily.  After he won he just got up and left without saying anything, and I haven't had the chance to play him since (haven't seen him), so I missed out.

The most effective of all psychological ploys are the ones that are below the level of consciousness, aka hypnosis. Josh Waitzkin talks about it ( I believe in his book "The Art of Learning" if my memory serves me right) He had multiple encounters with a dirty opponent that liked to tap one of the captured pieces against the table when Josh was in a critical position and thinking of his next move. This caused Josh to make a hasty move without realizing what was happening. He only learned about this after somebody informed his father about it. I notice a similar effect when I shift in my seat or change arm positions. All of the sudden my opponent moves and I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't do it on purpose but I do notice it. I do however use this knowledge in those situations where it's my opponent's move and he is apparently oblivious about his time trouble and so I make sure not to move a muscle.