OTB Competition Rituals

1. Good night sleep
2. Wake up early enough that you will have been awake for atleast 3 hours. I find that my brain finally starts functioning around this time.
3. Bring tons of COLD water. Avoid high sugar and caffine drinks.
4. Protean(?) is good. Also any "comfort" foods. ie: i love raspberry yogurt, so I bring a couple in a cooler to between games or during matches (that often bugs my oponenants).
5. Walk around, learn where the closest COLD water fountain is (you will often run out of water) and where the nearest 2 bathrooms are.
6. Learn where the matches will be, specifically where your devision will be held.
7. Politly greet your oponent but stare at him menicingly during the game.
8. If your oponent ever seems to start studying you, turn your attention to the opposet end of the board (you are considering a Queen side attack so stair at his king, sometimes even mutter "and hxg6.....but Bxh7" and such)
9.When nearing time trouble (10min or so left) make your move and go to the bathroom, you might not get another chance.
10. In general, if your oponent is taking a rediculose amount of time, check our clock. Often they will try to "wait" you out though I have only managed 10 min on this.
11. Also, if they are taking way to long go for a walk. Look at the board from your opponents side of view, look at the top match, looking for tactical solutions in other games. This can often awaken your tactical abilities or even give you some insperation.
12. If your oponant leaves the board during his move, follow him. You can keep him honest AND you get a chance to stretch your legs.
13. Between rounds go for a walk/jog/run, it gets the blood flowing.
14. If permisable (such as in scholastic events) and if your oponent is ok with it, listen to music quetly, often music will relaxe you.

Gee, I'm not sure where to begin with this thread, lol.

I wouldn't waste my time with any intimidation tricks. I don't think they're in the spirit of fair competition. Although I haven't played in any very large tournaments, not one single person I've played has ever tried any intimidation tactics on me. These tactics might work on kids, but I doubt seriously if they'd work on adults at all.

Yes, if you want to remove one of my pieces and take your time completing your move, go ahead, it's your clock that's running, not mine. :-)

Also, if anyone ever tried the old staring trick on me, I'd probably just try staring back at him. If that didn't work, I'd probably fall back on a solution that someone mentioned to me. After staring back at the staring opponent for a short period of time, simply begin a slow smile and make a few "kissy kissy" motions with your mouth. The guy that told me this claims it really takes the starch out of the other guy. (Of course, if he just keeps on staring, you could always protest to the TD that your opponent is exhibiting annoying behavior, but that idea isn't nearly as fun.)

-Before starting a tournament game, I loom ominously over my opponent and growl menacingly at them.

-When I take my seat, I slap my opponent lightly a couple times, to make them feel highly uncomfortable.

-If I sense that they are about to make a great move, I poke them in the eye, causing tremendous pain and agony.

-After I win a game, I spit on my opponent and say, "Don't mess with me, punk."

If only I could do these things...

Check the pieces are on the right squares, check the clocks are on the right time etc.

Dont lose sight of why you started to play chess.......play to have fun.

I drink watered down apple juice before games (if left in it's processesed state, the sugar can turn my brain into a vegetable) to stimulate my brain.

Originally posted by Nordlys
Be careful, you might be accused of cheating! 😉

Whenever I play chess I always go to the board, sit down across from my opponent, and play the game to the best of my ability.

Works every time.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Whenever I play chess I always go to the board, sit down across from my opponent, and play the game to the best of my ability.

Works every time.

Originally posted by RahimK
To me that's like touching your own piece and then wondering what to do with it.

I have only played in oen OTB tournament, but glancing over to their kingside every once in a while made my opponents feel a little uneasy.

Listen some good music. And then think "I am wayyy better than those suckers."

I wait untill the game gets intense, then I leave the board, and set his/her car on fire. Then inform him/her about the mishap.

Originally posted by Ice Cold
I wait untill the game gets intense, then I leave the board, and set his/her car on fire. Then inform him/her about the mishap.

In a very tense moment, when the game is just reaching the climax and my opponent is about to make his/her most important decision of the game, I find that ripping off a loud (and sometimes smelly) fart usually makes my opponent a little uneasy.

Originally posted by aenrko
In a very tense moment, when the game is just reaching the climax and my opponent is about to make his/her most important decision of the game, I find that ripping off a loud (and sometimes smelly) fart usually makes my opponent a little uneasy.