Tournament Newbie

fernandohierro

Hi there,

I'm just looking for a bit of advice.

I've been able to play chess since I was a young kid having been thought by my father. I stopped playing for years though until recently I've starte playing against my friend but it's getting a bit boring now and am looking to play against new people.

I'm aware of there being chess clubs around Dublin but unfortunatley most seem to play on monday nights when I'm not available.

Instead I was wondering if your able to enter tournaments with out being a club member? I've never played in a tournament before so I'm not familiar with how to enter or anything.

Anyone able to give me some advice on how to get involved?

Thanks

mikhail

Yes, you can enter a tournament without joining a club.

The next major tournament in Dublin is in Malahide in early May. Some details: http://www.icu.ie/events/display.php?id=578

Most tournaments here are weekenders: you'd typically expect to pay a fee of ~€40 to play 5 or 6 games over a weekend (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.) The time controls are something like 90 minutes each. You usually don't have to bring any equipment other than a pen to record your moves. (If you don't know how to do this, you'll find tutorials online - it's easy, worthwhile and mandatory!) It'd best to start in the bottom section if you've never played competitively before, but be warned: the bottom section is full of gifted children. Getting beaten by ten year olds can dent the ego.

There's a calender of events at http://www.icu.ie/events/index.php

By the way, in my experience, most Dublin chess clubs play on a Wednesday. Perhaps there is a club for you after all. Post the area of Dublin you live in and we'll recommend some options.

cdeb

There's a thread on advice for a first tournament here.

The ICU website has a map of all the clubs in the country here; handy for finding out where's near you. You can't turn off all the Monday clubs unfortunately, but it might help.

fernandohierro

Thanks for the replies!

I'm actually originally from Elm Mount in Dublin so wanted to join their team. Also, my father was heavily involved with them years ago so added a bit more weight to me wanting to join them.

I see on their club site they meet on Monday evenings but they also have Wednesday nights for beginners and novices. I could possibly go down to that.

Naomh Barrog and Finglas appear to play on Tuesdays so if Elm Mount on wednesdays doesn't work out I might go with one of them.

That tournament in May sounds like a good target to set for myself to be prepared to play my first tournament. Although that will probably be good advice about not being disheartened when I'm beaten by a ten year old

I'll look up how to record my moves etc. and have a read through the thread cdeb has linked.

Thanks for the help!