- Joined
- 12 Nov 06
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So, I finally decided to play in rated OTB tournament. I have never been officially rated before, so I have no idea what to expect. My main worry is the time controls.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc, I have never played with such long time controls, I am generally used to playing 30 minute games at my local chess club.
So I guess my question is what do you do with so much time, I feel like I would be at a huge disadvantage if I only used 45 mins😵
I joined the U1900 section and am generally considered to be between 1800-2000 at my chess club, and I am 1900 here so I plan to win😀
Also the tournament takes place this weekend so I will post the games then 🙂
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Don't get fixated on the clock- it only really matters if you lose on time, and if you win, the time is irrelevant.
GM John Nunn says DAUT- it stands for "don't analyze unnecessary tactics".
At any moment, Greenpawn34 will contribute here, and whatever he writes, he will be right. (Of course, I opened this up for him to run wild with that claim, but in the end you will get the promised nugget of advice).
Good luck!
Paul
Paul left the door open for me to go all silly but as this is the
lad's first tournament I thought it better to rein myself in.
You are used to clocks so you will be OK there.
First timers can get completely over-awed by the clock.
You have been a member here since 2006. Forget RHP grades.
RHP grades reflect how well/bad you play on RHP under RHP conditions.
It has no bearing on OTB play. I'm not saying one is better than the
other but they are like two different games. You can understand this.
An OTB 1600 - 1800 player is either a sly cunning battle scarred vetran or
a good player on his way up.
If you blow a won game in the morning don't dwell on it, don't make that loss
lose you two games.
Get a good nights sleep the night before. No booking up till 3am.
Good Luck.
Originally posted by KnightStalker47Best of luck.
So, I finally decided to play in rated OTB tournament. I have never been officially rated before, so I have no idea what to expect. My main worry is the time controls.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc, I have never played with such long time controls, I am generally used to playing 30 minute games at my local chess club.
So I guess my quest ...[text shortened]... es place this weekend so I will post the games then 🙂
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Originally posted by KnightStalker47I played my first tournament a few months ago. Don't worry too much about it, it'll go fine. Don't get overconfident if you have an advantage early on and don't move too quickly, it's pretty much impossible to lose on time with those increments. Just relax, take your time and make the best move. Oh and don't drink coffee even if you're tired. Learned that the hard way.
So, I finally decided to play in rated OTB tournament. I have never been officially rated before, so I have no idea what to expect. My main worry is the time controls.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc, I have never played with such long time controls, I am generally used to playing 30 minute games at my local chess club.
So I guess my quest ...[text shortened]... es place this weekend so I will post the games then 🙂
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Originally posted by KnightStalker47Use some time when your opponent mad his move to check if it's a blunder, then make a double check, or even a triple check.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc, I have never played with such long time controls, I am generally used to playing 30 minute games at my local chess club.
So I guess my question is what do you do with so much time, I feel like I would be at a huge disadvantage if I only used 45 mins😵
Use some time to analyze the weird moves you can make, sacs, tacticals, traps, and even bad moves. Sometimes you find that it works. Some moves, even if they are not holding firm, can kill your opponent by shear surprise.
Use some of the time before you do the actual move to check, double check, and tripple check if it's a blunder or not.
And relax. This is just a game. Have fun! Laugh at your bad moves, laugh at the others bad moves, laugh at ... everything! Don't get stiff. It wont kill you.
And good luck!
Originally posted by KnightStalker47Just one thing to add to what others have said.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc
The time control.
Dont gamble on a move you know in unsound just because he is short of time.
Inc means that he can often build up his time, unlike sudden death, where a unsound sac can work wonders.
Originally posted by KnightStalker47So how did you do? 🙂
So, I finally decided to play in rated OTB tournament. I have never been officially rated before, so I have no idea what to expect. My main worry is the time controls.
The time controls are 80 mins + 30 inc, I have never played with such long time controls, I am generally used to playing 30 minute games at my local chess club.
So I guess my quest ...[text shortened]... es place this weekend so I will post the games then 🙂
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
- Joined
- 12 Nov 06
- Moves
- 74414
Thanks for the tips everybody, they were great.
I did ok in the tournament with 2 wins 2 draws and one lost. Not bad for my first tournament I guess 🙂
Now for the games as promised.
In the first game I played a 10 year old kid rated 1650. I played as white.
I saw the exchange sac, but I thought I could defend, but it turns out that defence is much harder OTB 🙁
I should have traded those Knights when I had the chance.
38. Qf3 sets a trap as a last hope (eg Qxb1 Qf6+ etc.)
Round 2 I played as white again, against a 1332 rated player.
Don't really know what to say about this game, it looks like he was trying to play for a stalemate at the end, but then walked into a mate in 1🙄
- Joined
- 12 Nov 06
- Moves
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Round 3
I played against an older gentleman, rated 1708, he was very agressive!
I played as black
14...Ng4 is an interesting idea, returns a pawn but gets rid of that evil dark squared bishop.
17...Qc7 wins a piece, 17..f6 looks like it wins the piece too. I played Qg5 because I thought my extra 2 pawns would win, because whites attack would run out of steam without a queen.
30...Kg6 loses to Bf7+ so I forced to accept a draw.
Round 4
I played as black again against a 1700 rated player.
To be honest I completely missed 31.Bxb8😵
but it seemed to work out though.
Also in the last few moves my opponent was in time trouble (He has 3 mins left I had 38 mins)
- Joined
- 12 Nov 06
- Moves
- 74414
Last round
I played against a blind 1450 rated player. (He wasn't completely blind though, he had some vision)
He didn't have to record his moves and the touch piece rule did not apply.
Just like I did in the first round I got way overconfident, luckily my endgame skillz saved the day.
I played as white.
At the end of the day I think i finished around 12th out of 30 and had a performance rating of 1650.
Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Edit: Also I never used more than 42 mins in a single game (not counting increments)
Edit2: Also I have all kinds of excuses, I only got 6 hours sleep (Tournament started at 9 and it is a 3 hour drive to get there). The hotel I stayed at was horrible, it came with a complimentary half-eaten cookie in the drawer. The TV was 12 inches, there was a $4 deposit on the remote (which didn't work) etc.
And my diet consisted of pizza and Mcdonalds😳