OTB - how to get started?

Possibly ... although after 10. cxd4 the Bishop has to move and then the Queen could get over to the Kingside to help apply pressure.

Re. the internet chess not helping OTB:  I think a big part of my problem is that I've been playing way too much correspondence on here and I've seriously neglected my live game.  In correspondence I'm used to having an eternity to play my moves and access to the opening book, but I've lost the knack of the practical quick-thinking techniques and thinking fast under pressure that are so important for live/OTB.

I agree with Chessmicky that with online play you get out what you put in and I can totally see that someone who plays casually online (tries out whacky openings or unsound sacrifices, etc.) might start to pick up some bad habits.  From now on I'm going to start playing at least 1-2 live games per week with a 45/5 time control and I'm going to annotate the games as well, to help build it in as a habit.

Havent looked through this whole thread to see if someone posted it yet but this is a really nice monthly tournament that has a u1500 section and is close to the city

http://www.chessiq.com/

The exact reason why I refuse to play correspondence chess.

I need time limits so that I will not be sucked into perpetually thinking.

That looks pretty cool Trapper4, thanks!  Might well check it out if I can find a weekend coming up with some time to spare.  The Greater Midwest Class Championships looks good too - I'll have to see if I can bribe the wife to let me out that weekend

Well I'd love to play a game or two, if you're interested.  Especially if you're up for an analysis after.  I'm usually online/available to be online between 7:30 and 11:30 (ET) weeknights.  Let me know if you'd like to play.

Well ... I would certainly like to play some games, but weekday evenings are kind of difficult for me to play long time control live games (e.g. 45/5).  I have a very demanding job and by the time I get home I usually only have a couple of hours to eat, spend time with the wife, clean up, etc.

Weekends tend to be a lot better for me, especially Sunday afternoons.  Are you ever free on Sundays?  I'm definitely up for analyzing games afterwards too  :-)

Ok, here's game 3.  It was an interesting and fun game - up until move 27 I really had my opponent on the ropes and I was playing probably some of the best chess I played all tournament.  Unfortunately the madness hit me soon after and I threw it away again with another couple of careless blunders:

Now this has me more nervous than I was before.  I am doing my first OTB this weekend and I enrolled in the open section (1500+) and I have mainly been an online/correspondence player too.  I think this might be an eye opening weekend for me.

Sunday afternoons are just fine.  Looking forward to it!

@chessmicky: 9... d5 is a terrible positional blunder because of e5! and the queen has not many squares. Even when he can survive you simply play Bd3/Be2 with a clear advantage. 11... d5 is really a strong move, here I even like blacks positions, he should be at LEAST equal.

Cheers, Till

No need to be nervous. Just concentrate on the game at hand.  You'll notice some people will leave the table and take a break.  Try to stay at your game.  I am sure that you will do great.

Ok, cool.  I'll look out for you this Sunday :-)  I should be online between about 2 and 6 CST, but I'm not exactly sure yet.

I would say to just jump right in to tourneys. What do you have to lose? Based on your online ratings, your OTB rating will definitely be high enough to beat most players if playing in an open section.

Well, if I could go back in time and give myself of 3 weeks ago 3 pieces of advice, it would probably be:

1. Focus on playing good, solid Chess and not missing simple tactics and hanging material.  Try to force yourself to take those 3-4 seconds every turn to do a quick sanity check of your move.  If you can do that every move then you'll almost certainly play at a better level than I did.
2. Focus on managing your time well and using it - don't play too fast or too slow.  Take your time and give it everything you've got every single move.
3. Don't bother trying to cram opening lines beforehand.  Instead try to get in as many practise games as you can in Live Chess at the time control you'll be playing.  Annotate those games to try to make it a habit and so you don't get distracted by it in the tourney.  Also, go over some master games with a real board and pieces to get used to analyzing and visuaizing with it.

Expect some tough resistance from players at 1500+.  They will play intensely and will be giving 100% on every single move to win the game.  They probably won't be giving away material like some of my opponents were, but don't worry about the rating or what's sitting accross the table from you - just play the board and play the best Chess you can.

Also, think of them like bears - they're more scared of you than you are of them.  Their worst nightmare is some newcomer off the internet with a big zero rating coming to steal their precious points.  Just give them all you've got and make their lives difficult!

Also, remember to have fun.  Even if you play bad and lose all your games, try to just enjoy the experience and learn from it!  :-D

Re. Black's ...d5 move in that game above:  I've been looking at it and Stockfish seems to give 11..d5 a +0.5 for White and 12..d5 a -0.72 to Black, for tactical reasons that are frankly too complex for me to understand 

So, in these positions, Black is looking for an opportunity to play ..d5, to equalize in the center and free their pieces?  I guess that makes sense and I should try to remember that in future.

One thing I don't quite follow though, Chessmicky:  why is 9.f4 bad for White?  It seems to capture more space in the center and threaten to apply pressure to Black's Kingside.

I'm not going to bother posting game 4 - there's not much to say about it.  I was pretty exhausted at the end of my first day and my confidence was low after the mistakes I'd made in the previous games.  I fell prey to a couple of basic tactics and it was all over in about half an hour.

In game 5 (second day) I played the highest-rated player I'd faced all tournament (1470) - somehow he must have had a bad tourney and he ended up down on the bottom board with me.  I wasted some time in the opening after playing 6.a3 rather than 6.c3 in a Giuoco Pianissimo and handed him the initiative.  I then made a poor decision to open the center when I was behind in development (chasing material) and I failed to adequately defend his Kingside attack and got mated.  Looking back at it now, I should have done better, but I think he played a good game:

Yes, I was tired the last day too. Luckily I was playing someone alot lower than me though haha, so it was all good.

To add on to what chessmicky said-I still don't see what black has after 18. dxc6 Nf4 19. Ng3. It stops all the pins and if black plays something like h5 you can just play h4. You also can play be3 to stop that dangerous dark-squared diagonal for black's bishop. 

I also dont quite understand why you notated Qf6 with two !!, I can see his threats but they can be stopped. An example: 20. Nxg6 Bxf2+ 21 Kh1 Bxe1 22 Qxh5, I think your a pawn up here. Also if black plays Qh4 instead of Qf6 I still dont see any clear threats he has after Nxg6.

Of course it would be hard to see this when it's the last day, but remember to always push on and make sure to calculate as many lines as possible, especially if you have 90/30 (I think that's the time control for second day g45?)

Edit: I take back what I said about dxc6, it actually doesnt work because after Ng3 he can take since the bishop is pinning the pawn. My bad :P but I think the Nxg6 line still works

You still have to post your win...;)