Do You Play Worse, Better, or the Same When There's a Crowd Around Your OTB Game?

Frequent scenario:  You're playing a competitive rated tournament game.  For whatever reason, a group of players come over to watch your game.  ("Crowd" is a size that varies from person to person.  Some might think that 5 onlookers is a "crowd" while another might think that it's not a "crowd" until there's at least 10 people).

You look up, and notice the onlookers.  The onlookers look at you while you're looking up.  You go back to concentrating on your game.  But you know that there's a crowd looking on.

Question:  Does having a crowd affect your play?  If so, is it for the Worse, the Better, or no effect at all?  

Question 2:  If it's for the Worse, why do you think having a "crowd" watching you and your game negatively affects you?

Question 3:  If it used to affect your play, but it no longer does, what would you recommend to someone who says that it affects his play when there's a crowd around his game?  How would you encourage him/her to focus on the game, and to not let the presence and size of the crowd to affect his or her play?  What are your specific tips?

Now for me, I haven't played a competitive OTB game in 30 years.  So I don't remember.  But I was just wondering, given the number of really good children and teenagers playing chess, that when I do come back, there'll be times when there's a "crowd" watching, and it will probably affect me adversely, lol!  

Now, I'm probably not consistent in this area.  If I'm watching a game, and they look up at me, then I'll think, "You should be happy that I'm looking at your game!  I regard it as worthy of my interest!"  But if I'm playing, and I look up and see someone watching, I probably will think, "Okay, that's enough.  Move along now.  Stop watching.  You're making me nervous."  

Isn't that terrible?  So inconsistent.  Hypocritical, even.  Anyways, what are your thoughts on this?  

Well, if you don't blunder when there's a crowd around, then it doesn't seem to affect you.

But suppose there's a crowd around, and then horror of horrors, you make a blunder with a crowd of witnesses watching.   Wouldn't you then wonder to yourself, "If there wasn't so many people around watching and making me nervous, I would never have made that horrible blunder!  Demmit!!"

I know if I was watching a game, and I saw a horrible blunder, I'd try to get away from the scene as fast as possible.  I don't want to see the blunderer's face look up at me.  Oooooh, that would just be horrible.  He or she might blame me silently, "Look at what the @!*%$ you and your face just made me do along with all the other dem Looky Loos!"

Daniel,

It's been a long time since I played an OTB tournament, 23 years to be precise, and I wasn't good enough then for players to gather around my board.    There was one game where I might not make time control and a few players were watching; I made TC and went on to win.  At other times players have passed by, paused briefly and went on.  If I had players hanging around, I'd try to block them out and concentrate.  Usually, I like to be left alone.

Bob

It funny, If one player is winning he will sit back in his chair confidently, almost inviting the onlookers to have a good look.    The one losing will have head in hands, looking red faced trying to use his body to almost cover the board from the onlookers. Any little sound made by a watcher will seem like a cacophony of noise.

I don't really care so my play doesn't change. I mean I just concentrate on playing the game and if people want to watch that's ok with me. I remember getting nervous before games but after a while I just mellowed out and now I just focus on playing strong moves - well I try anyway lol...

Also after the game is over you could totally do this:

My games tend to finish so quickly that there isn't time for a crowd to form, I've been asked if I knew that it wasn't speed chess as my game ended so fast.  The only thing that would bother me by a crowd forming is egress.  How can I look at other games if I'm blocked in, and how do I return to the board if I'm blocked out?

I play very aggressive chess, and I play on a team.  When one of my teammates, who is a very conservation player, looks at the board and gets a puzzled look on his face, I get nervous.  Even though my rating passed his this year, I fear that if I lose a game, he will say that my style is at fault.

That doesn't seem like too much of a problem.  All you have to say politely is "Excuse me, I need to return to my chair there to play my game."  And the bystanders will move aside so you can sit down.

I play for the shear enjoyment of the game, when an opponent play's a good move I enjoy that to , but I can say when playing over the board an opponent with a higher grade than me it lifts my game and  with an audience round the board  the pressure is on them ( I'm expected to lose) 

I never shear sheep while playing, unless they're clogging up the b a a file.

How do you stop the piece's falling off the board when it on the sheep's back

LOL, one of the benefits of being lower rated:  The pressure is on the higher rated favorite to win.   

     Unfortunately when a crowd comes around my board, I have tended to play too fast, which degrades the level of my play.  I need to put my own needs for a high level of play above the crowd's need for entertainment!

Please do. If you lose you just get a pat on the back for being a good sport or nothing at all... If you win you get a pat on the back for winning... It's not worth it in the least lol...

No!

That's up to the person, I guess.

There's usually thousands of fans milling around my on board artistic masterpieces, including my Managers and sponsors etc. - I know I gotta play a great game every time - just one bad careless move could cost me millions of bucks! 

For me it's energizing. I love the feeling that I'm involved in something interesting that's providing entertainment to people. I'm usually able to tune out the actual people and concentrate on the game, but knowing they're there makes me feel inspired. I remember whenever I'd play GM Alex Ivanov, we'd get into a horrible mutual time pressure, and there would be a bit a crowd watching the resulting circus. It was quite a rush.

Chuddog, how do you personally concentrate when you have the double whammy of Time Pressure *and* a Crowd Watching?

Second, how do you think the GM's personally concentrate and maintain their level of move excellence when they're under the double whammy of Time Pressure *and* a Crowd Watching?

For myself, either one of these factors could easily lead me to making a game-resigning blunder.  So what or how do you handle these factors?  Time pressure does energize me, but oftentimes  not in a good way.

Well, first of all, I do make mistakes and even blunders sometimes in time pressure, and generally don't play as well. That's true for you, me, anyone, including GMs. Less time to think = worse play. But I don't get distracted by time pressure, if that's what you're asking. I'm aware of the clock, but I'm not sitting there thinking about the time pressure instead of the actual game.

How I concentrate is a bit hard to explain. Probably a combination of brain wiring and practice. I'm able to (mostly) focus my thoughts on the game and not on other stuff going on around.

You could work on concentration and build it up. Try solving chess puzzles while a TV is blaring next to you, for example.

     Worse.