English Chess Forum

How do people cope between rounds at weekend congresses? Quite often I will have a couple of hours between games, if not longer. Other than intensive reading (if I can find somewhere quiet-ish) I get pretty bored; and not knowing when my game will finish makes it difficult to plan alternative activities off site between rounds.

Thanks

PB

I commune with my inner Buddha

It may surprise some to learn that I have an inner Buddha. But I do

I used to go for a walk around the town between rounds when I was playing on the congress circuit. Good for clearing the head. Not without risks though: I once got lost in Knutsford and finally arrived back all hot and bothered 10 minutes after the start of the next round.

Welcome to the forum Brian. I noticed your name when you were the newest member, because it is so like another regular member, Ben Edgell - with a curious similarity of surname.

Paul Buswell wrote: ↑

Thu May 10, 2018 12:47 pm

How do people cope between rounds at weekend congresses? Quite often I will have a couple of hours between games, if not longer.

If it's a gap between a morning and an afternoon round, or an afternoon and an evening round, I'd probably spend some of it going to a restaurant to have a meal.

Find a coffee shop, read something not chess related. Or find a pub, watch sport.

Go for a walk? Important to relax. Even in city venues. Hampstead is nice. Plenty of choices.

Pint in a nice pub. With some food if there’s a reasonable gap.

If there’s no nice pub, a pub will do

If I'm playing somewhere scenic (anything with a beach will normally do) then I'm normally glad of a bit of downtime between rounds. Even if I'm playing somewhere more mundane I can have a walk around the town and grab some lunch while I'm about it. If I'm staying locally (or on occasion in the venue) and I have the hotel room as a base then I can just kick back in there, although on Sunday this can sometimes not be an option.

Occasionally I end up playing in the middle of nowhere with nothing to occupy my time but that's when I just have to lump it. That said I normally play in what could be called `destination` congresses so it doesn't come up very often.

Definitely a walk or exercise of some kind. In fact I find it more of a worry that I won't have enough time between rounds for this.

I no longer play in any tournament that has more than one round a day.

1. Eat lunch
2. Short postprandial walk to aid digestion and clear the head
3. Afternoon nap
4. Last minute prep for next opponent
Failing all of that 5. Engage fellow competitors in light conversation.