kobesarmy wrote on 04/10/10 at 17:02:29:


Something similar happened to me in high school. I had greater responsibilities while preparing for college and although eventually I started to get invitations to special events once I reached the top 300 under 21, I couldn't do anything about it even though I preferred chess to the obligations I had. In my last major adult tournament during high school, I bombed all my games, which was not typical as I had been progressing very steadily up to that point. I remember having to go to some science-related competition in between the first and second round. Maybe I knew at the time that I would have fewer chances to play for a while.

The good news was that I regained the points I lost very quickly after my senior year ended when I had some chances to play in the summer. When I think back, it seems that some of my worst tournaments were when I knew I would not get another chance to play for a while. Interestingly, I remember having time trouble those times!

This may not sound encouraging, but maybe the best thing you can do is try to have fun and not worry so much about the result. I used to be a very nervous player when I was younger, but now I don't have the same concerns I used to have. Most of the top scholastic players I knew are inactive now. Ultimately, I continued to play for myself.

Markovich wrote on 04/09/10 at 17:27:26:


My advice is directed towards this because I think this is the real problem. Getting physical exhausted the last day before tournament makes you pay as well as you already wrote yourself. So basically you have two options:

1) follow my advise; do some but not too heavy exercises;
2) if this middle way does not work, follow the advise of your parents and quit OTB chess. Corr. chess is fun too, you know. Stress isn't as high because it's spread out over a longer period. And it's very good for your analytical skills. Keres and Alekhine did it in their younger years.

Unless somebody else comes up with a good idea to get kobesarmy at sleap. Valium is not one.

It sounds like the stress is coming from focusing on the outcomes too much. A little nerves are good, but if you can't sleep than you need to clear your mind of everything but what you can control. 

Dont think about rating points, wins/losses, crosstable position etc.

Sometimes when I am waiting for a second round, I will clear my mind of chess all together. Being an adult, one learns to conserve energy for when it is most needed. 

Well, there is an alternative: you could take a bye for one of the afternoon games.  You'll probably have to request it upon registration, but then you'd get a half-point instead of 0.

You could also take a bye in the morning round instead and see if it's an afternoon thing or tiredness.

How do you do during the standardized tests at your school?  Are you really tired in the afternoon sessions then?

kobesarmy wrote on 04/08/10 at 21:57:42:

There must be a middle way, don't you think?

yeah, the thing is the night before I just can't get the tournament out of my head and unless I'm exhausted I spend most of the night just lying there....my heart rate pumping fast

Thanks for all the responses!!

I'm a kid so I don't drink coffee hehe,

The thing with exercising the day before is, I used to not do that, but I would never fall asleep until midnight even though I'd be in bed by 9 or 10, I'd be too stressed out to fall asleep.

Yeah I do find that walking helps, I try to stand up sometimes when playing, definitely helps but when I'm tired it's doesn't help enough.

I don't seem to have much of a problem taking a dump every morning though, I always get it in before the game even though I have butterflies before the game starts.

I do tend to drink "too much" water though, I have the tendency to grab at my water bottle after every move and take a sip.

I eat bananas in the morning, however I may consider eating a banana during the game, might help