Tournament play · 7 min read
Controlling nerves before and during a game
Nerves are not a character flaw. They are your body preparing for something that matters, and they show up most in the two places that cost points: the first three moves, and the move right after something goes wrong.
You cannot switch nerves off, but you can make them harmless by having a routine that does not depend on feeling calm.
The hour before the round
- Eat something light and drink water; low blood sugar feels exactly like anxiety.
- Arrive early enough to find your board without rushing — hurrying is the biggest single amplifier of nerves.
- Do a small warm-up: two or three easy tactics puzzles, not a hard study session. The goal is to switch your brain into chess mode, not to learn anything.
- Do not check your opponent's rating and start predicting the result. Look at their name, shake hands, play chess.
The first three moves
Nervous players rush the opening because moving feels better than sitting still. Slow the start deliberately: take thirty seconds on move one even if you know it, breathe out slowly, and write the move down. The physical act of notation is a grounding tool as well as a rule.
A reset routine for when it goes wrong
- Sit back from the board. Take your hands off the table so a shaking hand cannot make a move for you.
- Name what actually changed: 'I am a pawn down with a worse structure' is manageable; 'I am losing' is not information.
- Give yourself one full minute before choosing the next move. The move after a blunder loses more games than the blunder.
- Ask what your opponent has to solve, not what you have lost. Look for the most annoying legal move you have.
- If you are shaking, walk away from the board for two minutes — you are allowed to leave the table while it is your opponent's turn, and often while it is yours.
Between rounds
- Do not analyse a painful loss in the tournament hall with the clock ticking towards the next round. Note the moment it turned and close the sheet.
- Eat, walk outside, get away from screens for fifteen minutes.
- Set one process goal for the next game — 'count before every capture', 'no move under twenty seconds in the first fifteen moves'. Process goals are controllable; results are not.
Train the pressure, not just the chess
Nerves shrink with exposure. Play more rated games, play them at the time control you fear most, and treat each event as data collection rather than a verdict on your ability.
Reviewing your own scoresheets helps directly: when you can see that your bad moves cluster in the ten minutes after a shock, you stop treating nerves as a mystery and start treating them as a habit you can change.
Key takeaways
- Have a routine that works whether or not you feel calm.
- Slow down the first three moves and the move after a blunder.
- Reset physically: hands off the board, one minute, name the facts.
- Set process goals between rounds, not result goals.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I leave the board during my own game?
- Yes, you may leave the playing area briefly during a game in most events, though you must not consult anyone or any device, and some venues restrict where you may go. Ask the arbiter before the round if you are unsure.
- How do I stop replaying a loss all night?
- Write the single moment it turned on the scoresheet and close it. Full analysis belongs after the event, when it becomes study material rather than rumination.
- Does caffeine help?
- It sharpens alertness for some players and worsens the shakes for others. Whatever you use, test it in training games first, never for the first time at an event.