Tournament prep

How to prepare for a chess opponent

The pairing is up and you have their name. Good preparation won't predict every move, but it can get you to a position you understand and warn you what they tend to get wrong.

1. Find their games

Start with their name and federation, then look wherever their games might have been recorded:

• Tournament files. Some organizers publish PGNs of the top boards or the whole event, so check past events they played.
• Lichess Broadcasts. Many over-the-board events are relayed there, and you can download the games as PGN.
• Databases. The Week in Chess and ChessBase cover stronger events, which helps if your opponent is titled or plays in big opens.
• Online accounts. If you can confirm their username on Chess.com or Lichess, those games count too, but treat them as weaker evidence. People often experiment online, and blitz habits don't always carry over to a classical game.

Prefer recent games at a similar time control. Twenty games from the last two years will usually tell you more than a hundred from a decade ago.

2. Split the games by color

You only need one side of their repertoire. If you have White, look at their Black games, and if you don't know your color yet, check both. Keep their response to your first move separate: what they play against 1.e4 tells you little about what they play against 1.d4.

3. Look for what repeats

A single game is an anecdote, so look for patterns across several:

• Openings: what they play most, and how they score with it.
• Depth: where they leave known theory, and whether they do it well.
• Game phase: whether their mistakes cluster in the opening, middlegame or endgame.
• Winning positions: whether they convert when ahead, or let opponents back in.
• Losing positions: whether they collapse or defend stubbornly.
• Time: whether they often reach the last moves short on the clock.

A small sample can mislead you. If they've played a line only twice, treat it as a possibility and not a plan.

4. Choose a plan you can actually play

The classic mistake is learning a sharp line the night before because the database says it scores well. Your opponent may know it better than you do, and you'll be alone once you forget the moves. Start from your own repertoire and ask which of your lines takes them somewhere they're uncomfortable.

5. Short on time? Use this order

With an hour or less before the round, skip the deep analysis:

1. Find what they've played most against your first move, or your likely opening as Black.
2. Pick your line and review your own notes on it.
3. Note one thing about their style, like "weak when short of time" or "avoid tactics".
4. Stop early enough to eat, walk and arrive with a clear head.

Being fresh at the board is worth more than one extra variation.

6. Don't get surprised by your own prep

Your opponent can deviate, and strong players may prepare something new for the game. Once they leave your preparation, stop trying to remember it and play the position in front of you. Remember too that your own games may be just as easy to find.