Tournament routine

Level: Class B (1600–1800)Topic: Competition25 minutes

In short

Good results come from good routines: sleep, food, light opening review rather than cramming, and arriving early. Between rounds, rest and do something unrelated to chess for a while.

By the end you can

Have a pre-game and between-rounds routine
Handle losses without tilt

The lesson

Good results come from good routines: sleep, food, light opening review rather than cramming, and arriving early. Between rounds, rest and do something unrelated to chess for a while.

After a loss, analyse briefly, then switch off. Tilt — playing the next game angry or desperate — often costs more points than the loss itself.

Key points to remember

Sleep and food matter
Review, don’t cram
Short analysis after losses, then reset
Same routine every round

Examples

Example 1 (White to move). A fresh mind sees this: one move wins. (Lichess puzzle 2D4FD, rated 1700)

Show the solution

65. Qe6+ Kd4 66. Qb6+

Homework

Write your personal tournament routine on one page.