Socks & Chess
By FIDE Master Marius Ceteras
Published in "Correspondence Chess News"
Socks, shirts, trousers. All these accessories have their importance for a tournament player. Before leaving for an OTB tournament, we all have to first solve a little problem - to pack up our luggage. From this point of view, the CC players are luckier, they do not have such a problem, because a CC game can be played from one's bathroom or while sitting in a lounge chair on a nudist beach.
Why is the packing up such a problem? I recognize that I also didn't realise it before I left for Romanian OTB Championship Final. Of course, it wasn't my first OTB tournament, since 20 years ago ,I often played in various tournaments, but this one was special. The new KO system, used in FIDE World Championship, has been implementated for the first time in Romania too with 32 players taking part in the final of National Championship. This change involves new aspects for players' preparation. What is the best strategy for the tournament? Is a tenacious defence better or an aggressive approach is more appropiate? To apply force in slow games or to wait for the tie-break? But before thinking about such technical aspects, you have to answer first to the question: how many pairs of socks do I need during the tournament? Because nobody can tell you how many days you will last in the tournament, it is possible that you shall return at home after 2 days. Conversely you might stay there till the end of the tournament, say, for about 10 -11 days.
Faced with this unsolvable problem, I decided to put in my luggage, clothes for 6 days. The decision wasn't an accidental one, my plan was the following: if I should resist for less than 3 rounds (6 days), at least I will not carry with me a lot of useless socks and shirts. On the other hand, if I should clear the first 3 rounds and advance to the semifinals, I will buy the garments required for the next 5 days from an apparel shop when the matches for the places 1-4 has been scheduled.
Having solved the problem of socks, even if not a perfect solution, I got into the car of my friend Olivar Minescu, a National Master who also qualified for the final. The luggage's problem occurred again when I tried to put my luggage in the trunk of his car. It was almost full with 2 impressive luggages of my friend and a little smile escaped from me, remembering that his opponent in 1st round was none other than GM Vladislav Nevednichy, the 3rd seed of the tournament. During the 4 hour travel, IM Codrut Florescu and I had the chance to understand why the trunk was so crowded, listening the very optimistical plan of Olivar: "I hope to play as White in the first game against Vladik. I will put up a very tough position and surely Vladik will assume the risks because he will underestimate me. Thus I can defeat him in the first game. Then, when I lead with 1-0, Vladik have to force the issue again and, who knows, maybe I will be able to catcht him again and to score yet a new victory."
With such an optimism it is easy to guess that 10-12 pairs of socks were quietly waiting in the luggage to lead Olivar to the national champion title. Unfortunately Olivar's plan was carried out only in the first part, namely he played the first game with White. Then the difference of 428 rating points between the two opponents conserved many clean pairs of socks from Oliver's luggage.
The tournament level was quite high, between the 32 participants, 20 having international titles (4 GMs, 10 IM, 6 FMs), with a "carré of aces" composed of GM Dieter Nisipeanu (2613),GM Vajda Levente (2576), GM Vladislav Nevednichy (2555) and GM Mircea Parligras (2490).
In the first round, I met the young national master Filip Lucian, an uncomfortable opponent for me, but he possessed a significant weakness: he thinks too much and often his results are badly influenced by time-trouble. Under such conditions, the rhythm of play used in the tournament (1h 15 minutes for 40 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds/move increment) was my ally.
Filip-Ceteras
The second game of this match was difficult enough because I was surprised by unfamiliar moves in the opening.
Ceteras-Filip
No big surprise occurred in the first round, thus 4 GMs, 9 IMs and 3 FMs continued the battle. Due to my 11th ranking in the tournament, I avoided the struggle with one of GMs and I played against Iulian Sofronie, the 6th favorite, surely not too bad a player at all. He is a strong IM and was the winner of Romanian Championship 2-3 years ago.
I waited confidently this game, because I often played against Iulian (especially when we were juniors) and his aggressive style of play was convenient for me, as I prefer to defend and counter-attack than to attack.
Sofronie-Ceteras
After such a depressing game, I could hardly get to sleep at night. The next morning, I had to make a come-back, playing as Black. I decided to assume all risks from the first moves and to play for all or nothing. The result was a chaotic game in which I hadn't the necessary force to outplay my opponent.
Ceteras-Sofronie
This was the story of my short participation in Romanian OTB Championship written a day after my elimination from the tournament. My thoughts flew to my friend Bogdan Dan who qualified for the quarters-final. While I am writing this article, probably he is laundering his socks. I guess it because he adopted another strategy during the tournament. He took only 2 pairs of socks with him and every evening he ritually launders a pair of them to be sure that he is prepared for the following round. Even if less comfortable, this strategy supplied better results than mine until now. So, I let you to decide yourself how many pairs of socks you need when you leave for a KO tournament.
© 2002 Marius Ceteras