Hey there,
Thanks a lot, I haven't thought about it, I will try to practice at home
as you said
It will be, as I said, my first tournament in the next month, so I still
have some time to prepare myself.
It will be a disaster? For sure, but with those tips I do already some
stuff to get right before I get there!
Thanks!
On 19/05/2016 05:36, Paul Benson wrote:
Hello Lucas and all,
Ideal for tournament play are small memo recorders which use microcassettes. In
the UK they cost about £30. While being unable to recommend any specific model,
Sony in general are reliable. They have excellent condenser microphones and low
background hiss. I had a model so sensitive it could hear the ticking of the
clock. If the opportunity to purchase spare microcassettes is available, take
it.
It will be easier if you find one with cue and review. Avoid like the plague
any models offering voice-activated recording. Nice idea but wrong application.
The process tends to miss the beginning of the move so you will not have an
accurate record of the game.
I have no experience of digital recorders. If these come with speech-output
menus they could be an option, but seems an expensive choice compared to
microcassette models.
Please, as you state this is your first tournament, might some suggestions be
offered here? It would be a good idea to be prepared in certain aspects of
tournament play. If the actions needed during a game can be established before
sitting down your games will be easier to play. You do not really wish to be
focusing on what to do to record a game. Perhaps try the following method at
home as preparation:
#1. Make a move on the board.
# 2. Pick up recording device.
#3. Announce move into recorder.
#4. Remember to halt recorder with the pause button.
#5. Punch the clock.
#6. Repeat the above process for an opponent making their move, with the
exception of punching the clock.
If you can get into this routine without thinking about it, then you can focus
entirely on the chess.
Some of those instructions might seem obvious, but perhaps they are not?
Adrenaline does strange things to body and mind. I have witnessed players who
insist on announcing their move and then picking up the recorder and announcing
it again. Time-consuming and possibly distracting to an opponent. I have been
occasionally guilty of this myself when short of time. If you can rule this out
of your routine then you will be more efficient at the board.
Similarly the punching of the clock. Sighted players have been known to make
the moves for a blind player on the sighted board and then punch the clock. It
is force of habit with them. They have a routine. Move, punch clock, write down
move. If you are not aware of this, you could start punching the clock as a
response to making the opponent's move on your board.
Think about some method of counting the moves. Perhaps some form of abacus?
Remember, there might not be much space on the table for all the equipment, so
the smaller everything is the better. So, while it would do the job, a Perkins
brailler or similar will be very large and probably too heavy to carry around.
Something small is needed.
Some players try to keep count as part of their recording of the game. They
announce the move number before they record the move for white. This works
providing you are into the routine of this method. This method is however prone
to forgetfulness or confusion, resulting in continual review of the moves of
the game to confirm what the previous move number was. Again time-consuming and
distracting to yourself. There appears to be no universal approach to
move-counting. You will have to find a method which suits you.
I hope the above tips might be of assistance. We shall leave the suggestion
that a couple of extra queens, one of each colour, be carried in the pieces box
for another tips email.
Lastly, good luck. Yes, there is luck in chess. And for those doubting this
claim, just sit silently in a bar in any tournament venue and listen to losses
being lamented due to bad luck.
Paul Benson.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lucas Radaelli - Email Address: lucasradaelli@xxxxxxxxx
Sent On: 18/05/2016 15:53
Sent To: US BCA - Email Address: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] voice recorders to annotate games in tournaments?
Folks,
I will participate in my first chess tournament soon and need to buy a
voice recorder to annotate my moves.
Was wondering which models are you using, any particular one you would
recommend?
Thank you.
