This is the Digital age right?

Well yeah, but there are still numerous otb tournaments to play and gain that sweet sweet fide rating. But remember, just because you smash your opponents on chess.com by playing a cheap englund gambit does not mean that you will succeed otb. Just saying.

But anyway, whats more important is that you have to be vigilant in an otb tournament. You will have to learn some basic etiquettes, or rules that are unwritten and unspoken yet every chess tournament player knows them. You also need to know them, so without further ado, lets jump into this subject.

The Basics

Remember, there are a lot of important basics that you need to know before you actually get into an otb  tournament. They have a set of rules that are actually very niche and you must know them. Here are a few of them

0.1 : Touch to move

If you touch a piece or pawn that can legally move, you will have to move that exact piece. If you dont move it it counts as an illegal move. After 2 illegal moves, you get disqualified. 

0.2: move in check

If you move any other piece in check or the king to a square that is attacked that will also count as an illegal move.

0.3 touch the clock

You have to touch the clock with the same hand that moved the piece. Otherwise that will also count as an illegal move.

Now that this is clear, lets head to what you shouldnt do while playing otb tournaments.

Do not Distract your opponent

Do not talk to your opponent. Do not distract your opponent. Do not go “oh no!” when blundering or saying “why did you do that” if they blundered. Just stay quiet and don’t talk at all. They only instance where you can talk is if you offer a draw. Also if you are not hygienic, you will distract your opponent. Remember that classical tournaments take a lot of time. And the chess world is not pretty big, especially if you play local tournaments. So don’t be known as the guy with bad hygiene.

Do not offer too many draws

This is not online chess, do not ask for too many draws. I know it might be a luxury when you are given a draw button and the wish to do anything. Remember, you should offer a maximum of 2 draws per match if its in a drawn position. Do not ask for a draw if you are an obviously losing position, and even if you know your position is a deadlock, and your opponent does not draw, asking for another offer a couple moves later is really disrespectful and not good looking. So yeah, let the opponent learn the draw.

Do not stand up when its your turn

You are allowed to stand up while playing an otb tournament. Do not stand up though, when an opponent has just made a move. It makes you look very suspicious, and its not good manners to ignore what your opponent. Unless its an emergency, but do not do it for a gimmick. Its not very good to be a show-off at a tournament.

Do not have too many expressions while playing

If you see a tactic, or blunder a piece, do not make a face that will show that tactic. Remember, high rated opponents read faces and try to see the expressions of players. If you are new to your opponent, pray he might miss it. After all, he is not hikaru, he might miss the tactic. So keep it expressionless. I can assure you this will lead to a lot of missed wins, and in my case, even a missed mate in one (in a classical tournament!).

Lastly, be resepectful!

Even if you lost, dont be mad, and dont make a scene. If you go to local tournaments, people will remember you as the person that raged after losing. This is not online chess, so control yourself.

Also remember to check your local tournaments, their rules may vary. Just a heads up.