There are some things we do for fun and some things we do to compete. Both reasons provide fulfillment but when you’re in a competition, that feeling of fighting for a prize gives some next level feeling of excitement. Plus, when you go with friends, that just adds a layer of confidence and comfortability. I attended my first chess tournament for all those reasons. I wasn’t expecting to win but I also wasn’t expecting to go against the toughest opponent, which turned out to be the highlight of my tournament experience.
The chess tournament details.
4 games. 45 minutes each. No increment. Tournament started at 11:00AM and ran until 6:00PM.
It was a rather small tournament. The tournament itself was open to 42 players but only 16 players signed up. It was held in the biggest indoor mall in Tucson. I almost didn’t sign up because I wanted at least 20+ players (the more the merrier).
If you’ve never played in a chess tournament, you have to purchase a chess membership before you can play. So it can be a little pricey for your first tourney (it’s the tourney fee + your chess membership fee). The membership is used to track your rating and score. You have to play at least 26 games before they grant you an official rating.
If you’ve never played chess, here’s a good video on how to start!
My experience prior to the chess tournament
Up until the chess tournament, I’ve mostly played online with the Chess.com platform. I’ve only played over the board with friends and everything was for fun. Based on what you find online, this can be considered either classical or rapid chess, but the point being is that these are “longer” time games than what I would normally play online. I usually play 1 min games (bullet games) or 10 min games (rapid games).
Entering the chess tournament battlefield
My first opponent
Here’s the first guy I played against! He was such a homie. Explained to me some tournament rules and even helped me fill out the form for logging your moves. I was definitely losing most of the match, but managed to survive the endgame and win!
2nd opponent
This guy was the highest rated person in the tournament (I think his rating was like 1970 or something like that…). Fun fact is that his mentor was the chess tournament director (she has a National Norm or NM rating). Before I even started the match, I was expecting to lose. The odds were heavily stacked against me. A 1400 online rating vs a 1970 real life rating…that’s like a 500 + rating differential. I was also eating a big fat burrito in the beginning of play. I was hella hungry after that first match.
Opening was equal but to my surprise, I developed a massive attack in the middlegame. I somehow was able to line up all my rooks and queen on the middle ranks and aim them at his king. However, I couldn’t quite execute my plan and panicked because I got low on time. I blundered my queen and resigned. Apparently, I was playing on a fancy board that could track your chess pieces; there were spectators outside the chess store chatting about my game when I was playing.
The cool thing was that at the end of our game, he said it was a really tough game and his mentor said I really put the pressure on. When I heard that – I thought…”well I gave him a run for his money. I’d say that’s worth the fee I payed for this tournament”. If I had to blame anything…it was that burrito. It was so good but them carbs probably slowed me down.
3rd opponent
This guy was the 2nd highest rated person. This guy was playing so fast that it made me look like I was learning how to play chess for the first time. At one point, he got so bored that he started practicing his Chinese on the move sheet. I had built up a solid attack in the middlegame but similar to the 2nd game, I couldn’t execute in time and got slaughtered. I lost 🙁
4th opponent
I was playing against a middle schooler. At this point, I was so tired mentally and a little tilted from the last 2 games. A part of me wasn’t going to show the kid mercy though. Since I was so tired, I wasn’t thinking as much and was playing twice as fast as my 2nd game. I won the game 🙂
“Life is like a game of chess…”
Won 2. Lost 2. I wasn’t expecting to do that good. When I walked to my car, a part of me was really thinking about how my playstyle was similar to how I was living my life. It sounds super weird but it was like some weird instant connection in my mind.
I searched up this generic “life is like a game of chess…” quote and so many different quotes came after the “…”. But the quote spoke to me the most was this one:
Life is like a game of chess. There are many moves to take, but you ultimately have to take one nonetheless.
AAllona Yahni
If you don’t make a move, you won’t win. You’ll lose on time or you’ll just lose from overthinking. If you plan your game but don’t make a move, you’re in the same situation as just not moving a piece at all. Thinking that your plan is going to work and executing it are two very different things. You have to make a move. Even if it’s a blunder or a mistake, you can adapt and learn along the way. It’s not easy to take on the consequences for each move you make, but making a move is better than making none at all.
I definitely will be attending more chess tournaments in the future; they are definitely fun and I have to get my money’s worth for my chess membership. I may choose a lower time increment though…45 minutes is a bit too long.
