Chop Wood, Carry Water: Crunch Time
Time to next (first!) tournament (Chicago Chess Center Rated Beginners’ Open #17): 3 days.
This past weekend Benjamin and I met up for an IRL Chessbrunch that doubled as a practice session. Our dear friend Esa joined us to watch and hang out in-between training matches.
We got some good work in, but more importantly, we had fun. I think that, more than anything else, is an important part of our preparations — taking every chance to remember that this game is supposed to be enjoyable, even when it’s maddeningly difficult and frustrating. I haven’t been doing this for very long, but even I know at this point that if you don’t get some satisfaction out of what you’re doing you should probably find something else to do with your time.
We started with a Blitz game (G/5, inc. 3) to warm up. I won, despite hanging my Queen early on.
We then played two games under the time control we’ll be under at the tournament — G/30, d5. I played White in the first game and Black in the second. You can see both games here on Lichess.
I was pleased with my work in these two games for two reasons:
- I finally beat Benjamin in an OTB game, which I had not actually managed to do until last weekend.
- I did reasonably well under the time control. I was worried I would fritter my time away, but I think I did ok, and I’m backing myself to handle this element at the tournament.
We took a break for a late lunch somewhere around there, and then we worked on opening repertoire. We would play through parts of games, taking moves back as needed to explore side lines and hypotheticals, and just sort of talked through our thought processes. It was productive, but, again, it was also fun.
By the end of our session we were both pretty loopy. After talking about the tournament schedule, we decided to both take fifth round byes. We won’t play the last round of the day, and because we asked for byes in advance it’ll count as a Draw (worth 0.5pts). So the highest I can score is 4.5 points — which is still enough to win that chess clock.
But more importantly, we’ll get to be done early. And it’s probably for the best, given that this is our first tournament.
With so little time left until the event, I’ve realized that trying to learn a whole bunch of new stuff isn’t going to help me much. At this point I need to just knuckle down on the stuff I know and am already good at. I’m doing a few things to shore up some weaknesses, but for the most part I’m just focusing on my strengths. I figure the pressure and accountability of a sanctioned tournament will do a good enough job of exposing my flaws, and I can get to work on those after Sunday.
I’ve had to be smart about my time this week because of writing deadlines and my new Queer Chess Social event. My energy level also took a hit, so spoon management is an issue for me right now. But training is still a priority for me. This is what my routine has looked like this week:
Tactics Training (20-ish minutes per day)
I’m mostly using Lichess and Chesstempo for this. The puzzles are pretty solid on both.
YouTube lecture videos (1–2 hours per day)
Mostly I’m doing this late at night once I’m already in bed, in lieu of reading books. (My To-Read pile is very sad right and lonely right now.) I’m focusing on lessons and lectures about middlegame strategy; this is one of my more glaring weaknesses, and I suspect at least one or two of my games will be won or lost here.
Nailing down tournament etiquette
If I had a ready partner I would’ve made flashcards. As it is, I’m putting together a cheat sheet I can keep looking over.
Continuing my correspondence games
The pace of these games means they can function as background processes, and I can even flat-out forget about them for a few hours or a day if I need to. I’m not starting any more until after the tournament, and I’m going to try and wrap up the games I have going on now by Saturday, but otherwise this isn’t taking up a lot of mental resources.
Taking a break from online Blitz games
Blitz is a lot of fun, but in terms of improving your game it’s a bit like empty calories. And with my time and energy level so limited this week, I have to be judicious in what kind of chess I let into my head. I’m going to reward myself next week with some Blitz. Maybe even a nightly arena event on Lichess.
Logistics
Figuring out what to take with me to the event and what to leave at home. How early I need to get up on Sunday morning. How much time I’ll have to get ready. Looking up what the bathroom situation will be like. (I’m trans, I need to know this stuff.)
Finalizing my pre-tournament music playlist
You know, the important stuff.
The other thing I’m working on is mentality.
I’m taking a page from my friend Resa and going into this tournament looking to invoke the confidence of a mediocre white man. So whenever I start feeling Impostor Syndrome creep in, or I think I can’t do this or I don’t belong here, I tell myself that I’m going to fucking do it anyway. It’s working pretty well so far.
Overconfidence is its own trap, and I definitely want to keep a healthy perspective about this tournament. I also want to practice good sportsmanship. But I have to back myself to do well here. I have to have respect for my opponents while still believing I can beat them.
So that’s my work for this week. I’m still nervous about Sunday — obviously — but I think I’m more excited than nervous at this point. It’s going to be stressful, but I’m also going to have fun and I’ll get to spend time with a good friend. And I’ll finally get to do something I’ve been wanting to do for 20 years.
Onward!
