OTB - how to get started?

I'm 23

Don't feel too bad.  I'm 36 (turning 37 in January). 

In my first tournament I lost four games in a row and was crying next to some of the other kids!

There are many kids playing these days and you will have to deal with them . In my most recent event there were only 17 players total ( one section ) and 11 players were over age 50 !  This is very unusual though but of my 4 opponents only 1 was an adult , the other 3 were kids . I had a bye in the first round as I often do as I cannot deal with more than 2 classic games in one day anymore .  As scholastic programs/tourneys are supported more and more adult players are being neglected and many are leaving the game , this is a shame really and I doubt it will be good for chess in the US in the long haul .... 

Perhaps I am still a bit young myself at 21, but I dont see how older players are being neglected. It is important to support scholastic tournaments as it will vastly grow chess in the future. 

I find that kids are far more likely to go over a game afterward than adults and kids who play chess are much more mature than their non-chess playing counterparts so I rarely have any problems. 

Thanks for posting the game TJBChess - it looks like you outplayed your opponent with a solid game and you thoroughly deserved the win.

Really?  In my experience so far, the kids I've played haven't seemed very interested in doing much post-game analysis.  They usually want to run off right away and play some more chess with their friends

I'm quite looking forward to playing an OTB game vs an adult, as I feel there would be more chance that they will want to chat a bit or analyze after the game.

Surely there must be a few more internet Chess warriors in the Chicago area who are curious to check out the OTB tourney scene?

give me a share of the prize money when you win

Let me know when your going to play in another tournament and ill come say hi.

Im playing in a quad tournament on saturday.

This is a really interesting thread. I'm also in the unrated bracket, having played virtually no serious OTB chess in my life. I got into chess in a serious way only about 18 months ago, having had a vague interest as a kid but then neglecting it in favour of music, other sports, etc., and now I've got the bug as an adult (I'm 27). I've been playing pretty much exclusively online, though, and am pretty nervous about taking the plunge into the OTB world. I have no conception of my 'real' playing strength, because the games I take seriously, like the OP, are online games, 3 days per move. And I've neglected proper time controls because I dislike sitting in front of the computer for so long outside of work.

This thread is my inspiration to go play some strangers 'out there' in the physical realm!

Ok cool - it would be nice to meet you Zacer

Tbh, I don't know when my next OTB tourney will be.  My wife probably wouldn't like it if I spent too many weekends playing Chess, so realistically I'm probably not going to be able to manage more than 3-4 whole-weekend tourneys per year.  Although, I might check out the 1-day ones at ChessIQ if I have a weekend where my wife is away or doing something else.  Do you know when the next 'big' one is going to be?

Presumably you're playing at ChessIQ this weekend, Zacer?  Good luck!

Yeah I'm playing at the chess iq tomorrow. The next big tourney I might play in is the Tim Just winter open in January.

Hi john4000, I'm glad you like the thread and that's great if it's inspiring you to give OTB Chess a try.  I definitely recommend it and it will be a really fun experience.

If you've been playing a lot of 'Online Correspondence' (like I was) then I'd also recommend that you try playing a few 'Live' online games with long time controls to get a feel for it, before going in for your first OTB tourney. Try to use the same time control as the tourneys you're looking at, if possible.  Other things that helped me were taking notation during my Live online games and going over master games with a real board to 'acclimatise' myself.

Otherwise, I'd just go for it and dive in.  Expect to meet some stiff resistance and prepare for some tough, intense games.  You probably won't win a lot of games to start with, but just try to enjoy the experience and don't worry too much if you get beat by kids

So, for anyone that's interested, this is the one game that I lost last weekend, against Joseph Bulkis who also beat me in the previous tournament.  I was on the Black side of a Scotch game and I seemed to be in a good position out of the opening and through much of the middlegame.  However, I think I chose the wrong plan and, rather than trying to open the center to punish his late castling, I traded down and he caught me out with his Kingside pawns in a King and pawn endgame.  It was an interesting game and I'll certainly be looking to get my own back next time, Joseph! 

Nice fighting game!  I thought that you had the better position in most of the game.  Just a thought, I actually did not think the Queen trade on move nine was all that bad.  You had an open file for your Rook, the Knight on c3 was nicely kept in it's place with c6 pawn being there and you had two very annoying (open) Bishops, eyeing the a2 and h2 pawns respectively.  If you did end up trading Queens, the position is still VERY far from "winning" for White.  

All the best for your next tourney, and keep posting your games!  It seems as if your thread is becoming really popular amongst us "first timers"!

Thanks for the comments TJBChess :-) . I agree the position after the Queen trade on move 9 isn't so bad, although I was thinking of it in terms of being a Berlin-type pawn structure where I don't have the Bishop pair to compensate for the doubled pawns, which is another thing that was turning me off the trade.

The moral of this story was basically: make sure I am going to be getting the result I want BEFORE I trade down to a King and pawn endgame!

Well, for the sake of completeness, here is the 5th and final game I played at the tourney 2 weeks ago.  It was an interesting positional game - I played a Maroczy Bind against his Hyper-accelerated Dragon.  I missed 2 tactical opportunities to win material shortly after we traded Queens (was probably a bit tired at the end of a tough tourney), then I allowed a Knight fork late in the endgame and dropped a pawn.  It easily could have been fatal but again I was a bit lucky, as his extra pawn was hard to use and my Queenside attack was strong, so I kept pushing anyway; managed to force and error and won it.  He's my highest-rated scalp so far, so I was very pleased to get the win and finish with 4/5 :

Kids do analyze OTB games more often, but I don't know how much of it can be called analysis. When I analyze with a few 1800+ juniors, it's pretty common for one of us (sometimes me ) to suggest a really stupid piece sac in a closed position or even make a move that drops a piece. There's really not much thinking, and we're moving the pieces so fast that the adult looking at the "analysis" gives up.

Congratulations on your result in the Midwest Class! I'll analyze a few games when I can (I've been busy with school lately, but winter break is here now)

I think that the best way to get better at OTB chess @T4T would just be to get more experience. You seem to have good positional and tactical understanding; you probably could reach 1700+ after a couple more tourneys. Also, remember to watch your clock in the 45 min games- if you see two lines, one of which might be completely winning but needs like 15 minutes to calculate, and one which definitely wins but goes into an endgame a piece up, go for the endgame. If your opponent plays a move you didn't calculate, you might run out of time.

I live in chicago and yeah theres not alot of tournment options around, Time4tea you play at the Mcdonalds at foster and western? anyways iv been reading your post and glad to see your progress! I too want to start playing OTB. i have a small chess group, since there really no clubs in chicago, but i want more, where did you register online or? Im ready to get beaten by 10 year olds! im 30 lol.