In my teaching experience, I saw that most of the students do vague chess preparation. Because of this, they end up spending a lot more time doing unnecessary things.
I believe that 1.5-2 hours of preparation against an opponent is far more than spending hours and hours, especially when you have to play an intense round.
Let’s get into the procedure.
Step 1 – Check your Opponent’s Previous Performance
Time – 15 min
Once pairing is displayed, check out your opponent’s FIDE Profile, recent results, and all online profiles (Lichess, Chesscom, etc.)
Then, gather all the games of your opponent from the Mega Database and other sources.
Step 2 – Check Your Opponent’s Openings and Go Through the Games
Time – 20-30 min
Most of the players who are reading this article will play against players between 1000-2100, and hence, they will not find more than 100 classical games of their opponent.
The best way is to check recent 15-20 games quickly from one side (White or Black, depending upon the pairing)
Try to figure out the weaknesses in the opponent’s middlegame and openings. Maybe you can ask your friends or coach if they have played against your opponent recently.
Step 3 – Conclude the Opponent’s Weaknesses and choose what you will play
Time – 10-20 Min
Write down what your opponent can play against you. You can make a simple tree on paper, and then you will understand that you have to prepare only 3-4 variations.
After that, decide what you are going to play against your opponent. Once decided, DO NOT CHANGE it.
Bonus Trick – Sometimes, you can take the risk of choosing a different line when you clearly see the opponent’s weakness. For example, You are white, and you play 1.e4. But you found that your opponent lost almost all games in English opening, and their theory is very weak. You can decide to play English Opening for that game.
Step 4 – Check Your Opening Database
Time – 30-45 Min
It usually depends on how many variations your opponent plays and how deep is your opening repertoire.
Usually, it takes around 20-35 min to check all the opening files. But in some cases, you have to dig deep into it.
Step 5 – Check top Players Games
Time – 15-25 min
Once you finish checking your openings, you can see top-level games played from the same openings that you are going to play.
For this, you can do a filter like the one below on Chessbase
- Rating range – 2200+ both players
- Add the position from which you want to see games
- Win from your side (White/Black win)
Then you will get anywhere between 20-500 games.
Watch only classical games and not blitz/titled Tuesday’s games.
Step 6 – Turn off the Laptop and be Confident in Yourself
This is the most important step. Most players keep checking something until the start of the round, and that will not really help.
Turning off the laptop and setting a 2-hour timer are some of the best ways to keep preparation in control.
Finish your preparation 1-2 hours before the round (Except double round events)
If you have any questions, you can comment on this post. I will be happy to answer all your questions.
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