What is lacking?

Hi All,

I feel something needs to change, or is something wrong?

I feel myself to be very good tactically and can beat even the best of the players, but there is really something which stops it. After a prolonged 4-5 hours continuous play, i tend to somewhere slow down, start making easy blunders, and things get too bad till my rating drops to around +-100, and then i quit for the day.

I think 4-5 hours should not be too long a time for prolonged concentration at least for a chess player.
What's wrong? And what should i change?

Someone please give me a good advice.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, but I would also suffer from mistakes after 5 hours of concentrating. I'd also probably have a headache by then.

I would recommend taking relaxation breaks in that 5 hours.

BorgQueen wrote:Sorry, but I would also suffer from mistakes after 5 hours of concentrating. I'd also probably have a headache by then.

I would recommend taking relaxation breaks in that 5 hours.

Thanks for the reply Borgqueen, but matches with 1 hour 30 mins + 30 secs increment may sometimes drag up to 4 hours, at a max, don't you think so?

I'd still take short breaks over such a long game.

I tell you what I do. I eat fruit during the game, a banana, an apple, ... gives you the sugar you need, I eat it after one hour the game started. I also drink water and an engergetic drink. If you still feel you slow down at the end of the game, then you should eat after two or three hours to give your brain the sugar it needs to keep working. Hope it helps you

Tweety wrote:I tell you what I do. I eat fruit during the game, a banana, an apple, ... gives you the sugar you need, I eat it after one hour the game started. I also drink water and an engergetic drink. If you still feel you slow down at the end of the game, then you should eat after two or three hours to give your brain the sugar it needs to keep working. Hope it helps you

Ahh..that was a useful tip, however, i am a bit skeptic towards liquid items (during the matches), fruits are great. This is because, i really can't trust the opponent to change some board positions (to his favor) while i am away, and i have heard people doing like that in even serious matches and rated tournaments.

I have a good memory, to remember the positions before i leave, but i don't wanna take the risk.

I consume about a liter of water during a game, no food, and no stimulants. I find that that keeps my blood sugar level, and I don't get anxiety attacks.
I have no problems stitting still at the board for full games with short break and small meal between games.

I do have problems with some of the competitions here in the US where players are expected to play three long games back to back which can lead to 15 hours of play a day. That's age more than anything else and I find myself taking a 1/2 point bye more often.

Hi

I think that the visualization-training in the ICS-course is supposed to help you because it enables you to calculate without using too much energy. Dont know if it actually works but i think it could - it makes sence. So maybe focus on the visualization training could help you,

@PawnCustodian: Thank you for the answer. I agree with you.

@Larsen_fan: Ahha, yes it has been quite sometime that i have gone through the ICS lessons. Will need to start with that again, and the visualization too. Hope it helps me.

My chess suffers badly after alcohol, but it certainly becomes more enjoyable when I'm playing OTB with friends who are also drinking! All of a sudden we become grandmasters! lol

Yes, I know the feeling there!

Grandmaster Jack Daniels vs Grandmaster Butterscotch Liqueur is always a great matchup ^.^