Here's my plan in getting ready for the coming CAS tournament. I have only one week to prepare! 1. Tactics: Many advice from the net and some strong players say that tactics training is a sure way to boost chess performance. Now the problem is what tools to use. Will use Renko chess tactics puzzle for this on a daily basis. Have to see if I can copy this tactics exercises to my PDA so I can practice during my daily commute to work. 2. Conditioning: Botvinnik once asked his seconds to blow cigarrete smoke to his face to condition himself in actual tournament conditions. Although I'm sure the CAS tournament will not allow smoking of any kind I will condition myself in playing bullet (1 or 2 minutes) chess on the net. Why? In the allegro, when you are down to 3 minutes it's very hard to switch gears and play fast. I've ruined countless games because of this. 3. Rest: I never get proper sleep the night before the tournament. This time I will force myself to sleep early. 4. Openings: I know I study way too much. However it's a waste as many of the time used does not help in over the board play. Have to understand the fundamental ideas of the openings instead of remembering variations. So this means going back to the drawing board and choosing carefully the openings that are suitable for me. 5. Have fun: I know I have been taking the results too seriously several years back and felt really 'destroyed' everytime I lose. Now I'm used to it and don't mind losing a hard fought game. Wish me luck...