How to Avoid Having a Bad Chess Tournament (for Experienced Players)

Having played a bunch of OTB chess events recently, the penny finally dropped as to what was the deciding factor that affected whether I had a good or bad chess tournament! Of course, there are countless factors that can go into playing good or bad chess, but given the premise that I'm in good chess form, I really think it comes down to just these two things that I spoke about in the video that decides if the tournament result ends up being good or bad. What do you guys think? :)
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[@GreaterJan]

He solved the chess tournament meta guys

[@schachbetrachtungen1242]

Definitely agree that results pressure doesn't help, but being in good shape and being rested does. I guess it comes down to the old distinction between process orientation vs results orientation.
Any energy spent on results or rating is in a way 'restless energy' because it can't do anything concretely as it cannot really be applied anywhere because it's trying to do something impossible (ie force results). As opposed to energy that goes into playing and training+studying.
I've had some trouble myself with inconsistent tournament results, but the tournaments that went really well were characterized by calm focus and, as you said, just playing one game after the other (and to have the confidence to let the results take care of themselves) and there was also an element of genuine interest in the games and positions I was playing.
Tournaments that went really badly on the other hand often had some of the following elements: Results pressure, self doubt, lack of sleep and rest, general worrying.
Best of luck for Prague and Dortmund!

[@ChessLifestyle]

Glad to hear you've come to similar conclusions Sven! Can't wait for these Classical tournaments, gonna be so much fun! 😁

[@davesharratt917]

To sleep well your brain needs to feel safe. If you are anxious about taking you don't feel safe. If you have been doing valuable study etc and are not thinking about eating then you will fall asleep more easily and maintain it well. Best of luck on Prague.

[@houseofleaves126]

Do you have any advice for 120+30 (+30 minutes at move 40) time control? I have a lot of experience in 90+30 but I’m playing a 120+30 tournament for the first time soon.

[@ChessLifestyle]

First thing that comes to mind is try to avoid a time scramble approaching move 40! It's a common occurrence for blunders to occur on move 40 itself, so save yourself the trouble, and give yourself a buffer.
If you have mostly experience of 90+30, I'd say treat the game like a 90+30 game, where you have some extra minutes to spend on critical moments (to double check analysis etc.). Best of luck!!