Extremely Nervous

Hello all,

     I am a regular tournament player with a couple solid years of experience in OTB tournaments. I usually play rated tournaments at my local chess club every Tuesaday night and it is very fun and stress-free.

     This upcoming tournament on Saturday, however, is a WHOLE different story! It is a state championship event with hundreds of players in my section.

     I am nervous to play because I understand the competition should be quite fierce, and possibly, even worse, have kids in it!!! I am not a grumpy old man, however, playing kids OTB phyches me out and heightens the pressure. At my local club, we play from 7 to 12 midnight, so their are not really any kids who play there.

     I was wondering if any of you had some coping strategies to suggest. These could include basic tournament preperation, mental preperation, dietrary information, et.

**ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED AND ANYONE IS WELCOME TO POST**

My advice is you will probably lose some matches.  Now you know that you can relax! 

                        In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan; don't let your opponents youth and inexperience become an issue in that tournament.

Thanks. So all I should do is relax?

I don't know. Maybe I just feel embarrised to be "outsmarted" by a kid. I know this isn't what chess is really about, but I cannot help the feeling.

                   Its the same in drumming and football, and NASCAR. The kids are younger quicker, stronger, faster.

Gee...Thanks! :)

                            Its not a real fear. It was created by your mind. Can you try hypnosis??

Hmmm. Humble, hypnosis, prep to lose, anything else?

I tried that against a 10-year-old at the Manchester rapidplay last year, and he crushed me very neatly.

Maybe everyone on chess.com is younger than me, then.... 

@OP: If I were you, I'd give the kid who's unlucky enough to be my opponent a few creepy looks, as if I'm a guy with a windowless van and a basement full of.... you get the drift. 

It's just a suggestion. Maybe they'll freak out and lose focus?

Haha. Maybe I'll try that!

Fart. 

Never mind the kids, beware of the parents. Some woman once wanted to kill me because her (15 year  old!) son starfted crying after he fell for the Budapest Smothered mate trap

A glass of red wine will calm your nervs

I've played some tournament games drunk, just having fun. I don't do that now. You'll be relaxed for sure. Well, maybe too relaxed if you drank as much as I did. Maybe just a glass of red wine is good, not most of a fifth of liquor.

TL;DR just try some Valium/Xanax, whatever you like best.

BTW, I've just read your post. You've got a problem (with kids), face it. If you've got insurance just see a psychiatrist - they'll take care of that.

I don't think it's productive to tell him to go and abuse alcohol.

1 glass of red wine is abusing alcohol? geez...

Actually, it's a good idea, might intimidate the kids.

I had a similar suggestion. But mine was greener.

Benzodiazepine wrote:

TL;DR just try some Valium/Xanax, whatever you like best.

BTW, I've just read your post. You've got a problem (with kids), face it. If you've got insurance just see a psychiatrist - they'll take care of that.

Annabella1 wrote:

A glass of red wine will calm your nervs

I don't think it's productive to tell him to go and abuse alcohol.

Excuse me??? Hahahahaha ONE glass of red wine is not abusing......drinking the entire bottle is! gosh......you need to understand the meaning of abuse.....get a diccionary