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


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...
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 info@thechessangle.com.
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