In February of 2020, I played my first USCF over-the-board games. As mentioned in other posts, I was able to play six before the COVID-19 shutdown stopped everything. Chess-players in Missouri had to wait a year before any rumblings of a weekend tournament came around but sure enough one sprung up in Columbia, MO! It's something that's been on my chess "TODO" list ever since I started playing over-the-board so I jumped on the registration list as soon as possible. The tournament was ran by Blakeman Chess and it took place during the weekend of March 6th and 7th.
As some background, I'm in my mid-thirties and I've been playing chess seriously for over three years working very hard on improvement with a focus on slower time controls. My classical and rapid ratings on lichess are currently around 1800-1850. I've played less than ten bullet games in my life and rarely play blitz lately. My USCF rating before the tournament was 1096 (provisional/6). The tournament games would be 90m+30s with three rounds Saturday (9:00, 2:00, and 7:00) and two on Sunday. Sounds exhausting.
Expectations and leading up to the Games
As far as my chess life goes, I've never felt quite the level of "nervous excitement' as I did in the day before and the morning leading up to the tournament. It was close to the same feeling when I played my first games at the club over a year ago, but there was more anticipation leading into this weekend. Both then and now, it came down to a matter of the "unknowns" for me. Last February, I simply didn't know a lot of basic things:
- What was it like to score an entire game?
- What if I get put in the wrong section? Are there sections?
- What if I hang mate-in-one?
- Do you shake hands like they do in the super-GM tournaments?
- What if you make an illegal move?
- Do you have your opponent sign your scoresheet when you're done like Magnus and Fabi do? (The answer is nope)
- What do you do when it's over?
This post covers those learning curves from 2020. So I'm glad I was able to get some experience and I knew what it was like to play a classical game in the real world. Those questions were answered. However, a full tournament came with its own set of new unknowns:
- What's it like to play three games in a day? Then two more the next day?
- My only other OTB games were a maximum of two hours. These games might be 3 or 4 hours long, oh gawd. How mentally-taxing will this be?
- Do I need my own scoresheets?
- Is there a larger tournament strategy I should know? Should I take strategic byes?
- What do I do in between games?
- How do they announce the first round? Do I just chill in the lobby until something happens?
- With hotel and entry fee, this was a few hundred bucks, What if I lose every f***ing game and I want to quit chess after this? Am I putting too much pressure on some silly little tournament?
That's where I was coming from. Maybe that's helpful, maybe it makes me look crazy. The best thing about new experiences is they are a guaranteed education. You will learn so many new things. These range from the logistical operations of a tournament to the little nuances you notice in the tournament hall to the struggles and choices you make in the face of new things. The more experiences you have, the more you learn to embrace the nervous excitement. The best thing of all is this ultimately results in growth regardless of outcome.
On to the games
I won't use this space to deeply analyze the games. Instead I'll add thoughts and observations about each one, how I spent my time between rounds, and what it's like to be at a weekend tournament in general.
After breakfast and a quick jaunt back up to my room to make sure I had everything, i.e. a writing utensil, I came down to the lobby a little before nine. As the lowest-rated player in the field, I had a "see the TD" note next to my name on the pairings list. He said there was an odd number of players so I could take a bye and play a rated or unrated game with him if I'd like. I said sure since I'd come here to play chess and didn't want to kill time for five hours. Turns out he's a 2100-rated player and so the game didn't last long. He was very nice afterwards when he told me I was under-rated. We talked for a second then I peaced out to my room with about four hours until the next game.
Even though I did not have a strenuous game in the least, I tried to practice what others had recommended during my break: don't rush up to your room and cram chess between rounds. I laid down on the bed for a while since I didn't sleep well the night before, watched some tv, and eventually finished reviewing some of my opening notes I had. I grabbed lunch then right before next round, I did a handful of puzzles.
Round 2 (first rated game of the tourney)
Finally, actual chess against somebody on my level! I started to try out a pre-game system even though I was largely unprepared for these things. The tournament website said boards and clocks would be provided but to bring your own if you'd like. Many did. I didn't. It would have involved me carrying around my rolled up vinyl mat under my arm and the pieces in a Sony headphones bag. I didn't even own a clock until yesterday. I fixed all that and I've even got a little case on the way now too. I'll be super-pro next time. I'll also consider getting a scorebook since I had to notate the first game on blank printer paper. Anyway, at this point, the TD started printing generic scoresheets for players that needed them. I grabbed one of those, wrote down my opponent's information and the board number and went in.
Just like when I first started playing games at the chess club, I realized there were some things that might go overlooked by those that have played hundreds of club and tournament games. There's a trial period where you're trying to learn the motions you like to go through before a game, how you become familiar with the playing hall and general environment, how you like to navigate through the game itself in terms of snacking, getting up, and drinking water. These things are not really mentioned to you when you go to your first tournament. They're simple things but I found that finding a comfort level with what to expect before and during each game was helpful in calming me down. From round two onwards, I started to get a grasp on how I like to do my pre-game setup.
I had the white pieces against a 1600-rated player. I know these people have families and friends and jobs and interests, so it feels a little wrong to relegate them to some four-digit number. Such is chess though. Anyway, the game was a slav with a symmetrical structure that went to an endgame where I eventually won some pawns and converted four pawns and a knight versus two pawns and a knight. It took four hours and it felt great when it was over. Getting this win was a tremendous confidence booster. Totally worth the time. It was 6pm now and I had an hour before the next game.
Round 3
There are some in-between-game choices you'll have to make that you might not think about until the time comes. For this one, I opted to skip dinner until the 7pm game was over. I'd rather snack before the game and play on a partially empty stomach than eat some crappy takeout or fast food then rush back to the hotel. I was black against another 1600 (provisional but I didn't know or care at the time--people may not have known my rating was provisional either) and he played a london opening. He was probably better after the queen trade but then I won a pawn towards the end and he resigned when I had a winning pawn endgame. This one took two and a half hours. I felt good, more confident, and pretty tired. I celebrated with Taco Bell. Naturally.
Round 4
When I went down to the lobby on Sunday morning right before the round. I felt great so far in the tournament. I'd won my two games yesterday so I thought whatever happens on Sunday is icing on the cake. I was assured my worst fears--losing all my games--weren't going to come true. I'd beaten two solid players. I figured I'd gain some ratings points. I had already learned so much about what it's like to play in a multi-day tournament. That's a win.
I hadn't even considered my place in the standings and it hadn't dawned on me that the first round bye was a full-point. I was solely concerned on playing each round and learning from it. By this time, I'd settled on a pre-game routine when I entered the lobby: Grab scoresheet, write down opponent and rating, who has black and white, the round number, and the board number, go into the playing hall, find my board and set up everything on the table how I like it, then adjust my pieces and make sure the clock is all good to go. After I found this groove, I was so much more relaxed compared with the moments before round one when I entered the playing hall with nothing but a pen. I'd imagine anybody's first round at a new tournament might be similar. It's probably a good idea to scope out the playing hall and chat with some people before the first round ever begins to feel a little more comfortable.
I had white in a slav that featured middlegame fireworks that eventually settled to an ending in which I was up two pieces to one but my knight was stuck in the corner. I found a skewer tactic that my opponent didn't see (not sure if it's winning otherwise) and took the game. We chatted afterwards and that's when he alerted me to my standings and that I was going to be playing for first place in the lower division. After room checkout, I hung out in the lobby for the rest of the time which was a great idea. None of my other games finished at good times where I could shoot the shit with fellow players and the TD but if you have the time to do so, I recommend it.
Round 5
It's the final game and I'm playing for first place. My mindset ever since the night before was that I had already performed better than expected and yet I still tried very hard in this game. I ended up messing up and playing some aggressive-looking move that seemed clever but didn't really amount to much and so I was eventually down a few central pawns. My opponent had two serious threats and in the end I lost the exchange. After he stopped my last-ditch idea--what I believe the redcoats would call a cheeky lil mate-in-one threat--I resigned.
Conclusion
And so with all the nerves and excitement and unknowns, I ended up tying for first in the U1800 division and winning the prize money for highest U1500 finisher. This was a great way to wrap up the weekend and I couldn't have been happier. It was a strange experience to not know I was in the front until the very last game and that undoubtedly helped me. It's not naivete or a sense of "Gee-golly I keep accidentally winning, is that good?" Honestly part of it was that I didn't even know the ongoing tournament scores were posted as part of the pairings list for each round so it was truly off my radar and there was zero pressure. For better or worse, I'm certain I'll be paying much more attention to these things in my next tournament!
Before last weekend, I felt like a 1500 rated player was scary and that I didn't even know if I was at that level to comfortably compete with such a player. I'll be less intimidated now. There is certainly a recency bias and a rose-tinted perception here since the tournament was only last weekend, nevertheless, the experience of my first OTB tournament was a massively positive one on a personal level as well as a results level. It's given me tremendous confidence in progressing up the ladder. Time will tell how I handle the inevitable bad tournament in the future.
Moving forward, I'll feel far more comfortable at the outset of weekend tournaments like this. My ultimate goal is still to reach 2000 USCF and this tournament has given me a lot of positive energy towards that goal.
The weekend also made it abundantly clear that I have to agree with IM Andras Toth that this is real chess. To put it more diplomatically, this is the chess I want to play. I'm talking about real chess pieces, clocks, and long time controls. I like taking twenty minutes and doing a mediocre job at exploring a position. It's fun to hit a clock and write down a move. It's nice to meet people and share experiences. Go play some chess in real life when you're lucky enough to take part!
Post-Tournament USCF Rating: 1391 (P10)
No comments:
Post a Comment