Ep. 65: Your First Chess Tournament - Tips & Tricks

04/16/23 • 57 min

1 Listener

Live, over-the-board (OTB) tournament play is the ultimate in chess competition. It's fun, exciting, and aesthetically pleasing. However, rated chess events are not always unicorns and rainbows. There's a harsh reality to tournament play that is often omitted from the discourse on chess. Neal discusses some hard truths about tournaments, shares some of his own personal journey as a player and TD, and provides some tips and tricks along the way. Some of this episode's talking points include the following:

Chess equipment
Local clubs vs. major events
Ratings & pairing systems
Tips & tricks while playing
Should you play speed chess between rounds?
Things that will annoy the tournament director
Rules you may not be familiar with but should know
Openings and using a "forever" repertoire
Scorekeeping
Dealing with disruptive behavior

Referenced: Tournament Announcement Terminology (Scroll down to "TOURNAMENT LIFE ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS") If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Our links:

Chess equipment
Local clubs vs. major events
Ratings & pairing systems
Tips & tricks while playing
Should you play speed chess between rounds?
Things that will annoy the tournament director
Rules you may not be familiar with but should know
Openings and using a "forever" repertoire
Scorekeeping
Dealing with disruptive behavior

Previous Episode

Ep. 64: Beating Higher-Rated Opponents: It's Easier Than You Think at the Club Level...

This episode offers some direct and pragmatic ideas for club players when facing a higher-rated opponent. Talking points include the following:

Why chess generally hates the underdog
Why there's often more pressure on the higher-rated player
Upsets happen quite often at the amateur level
Is creating complications the ONLY way to beat these players? (hint: no)
An effective mindset approach that you probably haven't tried before
Strategic draw offers to place pressure on your opponent

Referenced:Chess for Tigers (Amazon) by Simon Webb

If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Our links:

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Next Episode

Ep. 66: Starting Chess at a "Late" Age feat. NM Anthony Levin

For this interview episode, Neal spoke with National Master Anthony Levin, a NY based chess player and the News Manager for chess.com. Anthony shared his insights on adult improvement and his own personal journey. Talking points include the following:

Puzzle Rush vs. speed chess
The mythical "phase out" of classical chess
Anthony's role as News Manager for chess.com
Chess improvement tips
Endgame realities for amateur players

Referenced:

Links for NM Anthony Levin:

If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Some of the Amazon links above are affiliate links, which earn us a commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you. Our links: