BELOW 2000 TOURNAMENT

This type of tournament has become very popular especially in India. Check out http://aicf.in/calendar/ for Indian chess players. Popularity of these types of tournament can be known from the fact that last year Delhi Parsvanath or International Delhi chess festival 2013 below rating 2000 met with more than 600 participants. It's a record. You'll see a lot of them. Some are even below 1600 rating. Now is time to think about how to win those tournaments or get consistent good results in them.

Who am I?

Well, I'm rated consistently in the 1900-1980 fide rating for the last few years. So, whenever I play this tournament, I'm seeded in the top ten or twenty. This gives my winning chances quite reasonable with lots of preparation of course or else 1700 ish player would kick my butt seriously.

My experiences

1. KIDs :- When I say kids, I mean players below 16 yrs. This category of players are really dangerous. Some are potential future GMs. Most of them have coaches or trainers. Mark my words they are tactically very good and their openings are spoon fed. Their weaknesses as far as I'm concern is their positional misunderstanding or to put it simply, their endgames. That's where we strike and pin them down. Lack of stamina or inconsistency can be added. I've seen kids who play well today and screw up the other day like a novice.

2. OLD man :- People who are 40 yrs and above. The easy customers in my opinion. Whenever I'm paired with them, I'm genuinely very happy not because they can't beat me or pose any threats against me. The reason being that they are reliable. If their rating is 1700, they play like a 1700 unlike kids whose performances/rating are unreliable. Sometimes kids play way above their current rating. My strategy against these old players is to put time pressure. Remember most of the tournaments are 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

3. Female players :- Most female players are young atmost 20 yrs. So, they fall more or less under kids category. I haven't played a game with women older than 20 yrs nor have I seen one in my tournament career except one whom I won't mention her name. The difference is that they are more patient. If I had a game with them I can be sure that win or lose the game will go a long way. So all I need is a little adjustments from all of them.

Tips for 1900 and above

Most of the tournaments will be in swiss league format i.e in the first round, the top half will face the bottom half. So, the top seeded players would move on smoothly to the next round and the next unless a disaster befalls on you. The tournament for you really starts when you are the leader in the tournament say after 5 rounds in a 10 rounds tournament.

Once you are the leader, there is no looking back. You will face the best in the tournament one after the other every round. Try your best not to lose a game. Draw is fine. Remember that a person can afford to lose a game but still win the tournament. You should know that most of the champion's score is around 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 out of 10 rounds in these format of the tournament. 

Also, remember that a disaster in these format of the tournament would lose a lot of ratings. That's frustrating I know. So, be careful.

Tips for 1800 and above

These are the backbones of the tournament. Few tournaments are indeed won by players from these category. So, don't lose hope. You may start as an underdog but hey remember not all 1900 players are good. Most of the 1900 players rating could be inflated and hence exponentially increase your chances. 

If you are in this category, I strongly recommend thinking more in terms of goals rather than becoming the champion. Like rating improvement, being in top 5 etc. Also don't forget the category prizes. 

Tips for 1700 and above

Your goal should be to deliver the best performance. If lucky you might be surprised to even win the tournament. But it's rare. As a 1700 you have absolutely nothing to lose. If you play well and crushed a few 1900 players, your rating would sky rocket. Also, there are few other prizes for your category which you can look out for. That would boost your self esteem.

Tips for 1500 and above but less than 1700

Here is the transition period in terms of chess wise. If you cross these stage, you would beat almost every non chess players you ever encounter in your life anywhere on the planet. So, it's quite an achievement to cross this limit. Work hard.

Tips for 1500 and below

I honestly love these people. Some are as young as 9 yrs old while others are quite new to the game. My tip for them would be to enjoy the game, have fun and learn as much as you can about the game. It's a wonderful game and the journey just begins.

The Unrated

Last but not the least, my beloved unrated. Remember not all unrated players are bad. They are unrated for a lot of reasons. Most of them due to non exposure. But they could be a local hero capable of giving headache even to 1900 players. I remember an occasion when the thing happen. An unrated had won below 2000 tournament.

For those who cannot accomplish the feat, you can look for the best unrated prizes. It's quite good compared to category prizes and therefore don't miss out on that.

Problems likely to be faced by players

1. The Entry fee and the prize structure

The prizes could be better. Earning like a labour's wage after winning hurts winner's feelings. They got bills to pay you know. Except few most of the tournaments are paid around 20 k rupees to 35 k rupees to the champion where his entry fee would be around 1 k to 2.5 k rupees not to mention his/her travel expenses and accommodation. 

The tournament is paid upto 20-30 position. Those people just got their entry back so to speak. And for most players being in that position is quite an achievement. 

On average, there would be 200 to 600 participants in these tournaments most from far of places. 

2. The venue and accommodation

By far the most important thing is the venue and it's accommodation. Imagine someone new to the venue is denied of accommodation. Hells break lose here. Some organisers are so dumb excuse my term to stage a tournament in a place where accommodation is not provided to outstation players and no hotels nearby. Every single day, the players had to travel hours to reach venue back and forth. 

It could become expensive and tiresome. Also risk factor increases for players. Not a cup of tea for a lot. For unsuspecting players, it kills every bit of motivation they have for the game.

3. Prize distribution

It won't start in time and won't finish in time. If you book your train ticket just 1 hr after prize distribution, you know what you are in big trouble. The train is gone. Some players rectify this problem by negotiating with the arbiters and organisers. It didn't work all the time without sour blood. To be frank the organisers hate players who missed prize distribution.

Anyway it's fun to travel new places, play a tournament meeting people and make few bucks along the way. The challenges faced just makes the players more experienced. Hope if you are one of those, come play and see you there.