[Fluffy]

The European Championship is gone fo me, and although my hopes at the start were to finnish 13-14th with this weak team, we did really poor in the end making less than 20 vps in the last 5 matches added.

summing things together, and taking into acount passed championships I think I have an stamina problem, I played my best the first and second days, but then on third I would go down on boards 35-40 (from the 40 we play each day), and it will just go worse and worse (very quickly) to the point that at the end only first few boards I played really well enough.

I made my best to avoid eating pasta, hamburgers, etc, and went for fish and salads, this helped a bit but not much.

I suspect bad results have something to do with this, and also the fact we never play more than 28 boards a day in Spain (normally 24) is probably a bad factor on my side. But there is nothing I can do about these 2.

I need to solve this and I would want some ideas. Losing some weight and being more healthy is the only thing I come up with, wich I will try for the olympiads in Lille.

[wclass___]

Do some cardio exercise, really. That helps.

[han]

Obviously getting into good physical shape certainly won't hurt you, but it doesn't strike me as the most important factor. To be honest 48 boards per day doesn't seem very much to me, although playing many shorter matches is more tiresome than playing one or two longer matches.

Playing more boards per day regularly seems most important. Once you get used to it, it is not so hard.

Were you playing on a 6-person team?

What did you do when not playing bridge? Did you discuss the hands a lot? Were you able to relax, perhaps go for some walks?

Getting a better team might also help.

[gordontd]

Fluffy, on 2012-June-20, 04:09, said:

my hopes at the start were to finnish 13-14th with this weak team,

I don't suppose this helped team morale.

[Hanoi5]

Cardio exercises are very good, but it's not something you have to try at the playing site. You just have to start doing it every day and keep doing it at the playing site. When your body gets used to the exercise (I believe in about a month of doing it everyday) your stamina will be higher everytime you exercise.

Food, of course, is important as you mentioned. Eating 'light' is a good idea, but also not drinking too much alcohol.

Do you do siestas? Maybe you're missing things you're used to, you have to check on this, what if you have a pair playing (or you yourself play) during the time of day when they should be sleeping? Or maybe you just stay in the lobby or playing site discussing results when your body is telling you to get the rest you usually get at that time of the day...

As it was also mentioned you have to let go of the boards played. Yes, putting up a hand or two on the forums is nice, but if you go over every result/detail at the playing site it takes 'mana', energy, resources from you.

Finally, the amount of boards. What about playing teams/rubber matches AFTER tournaments in Spain? In Venezuela we do bridge 'marathons' three times a year, where 48 boards (two sessions) are played. The fact that you don't have it now doesn't mean that you can't create it.

[gnasher]

Hanoi5, on 2012-June-20, 06:21, said:

In Venezuela we do bridge 'marathons' three times a year, where 48 boards (two sessions) are played.

When we call something a "marathon" in England, it means we're going to play 170 boards.

[Hanoi5]

gnasher, on 2012-June-20, 06:30, said:

When we call something a "marathon" in England, it means we're going to play 170 boards.

It used to mean 72 boards here, but we're getting older and more scared.

[Phil352]

One of the best things, which you may already do, is just to switch off whenever you are dummy. This means you avoid thinking about things you have no control over - saving energy on a quarter of the boards. I usually find the best way to do this is to leave the table for a glass of water or a toilet break (when partner plays a lot of hands it quickly turns into a lot of toilet breaks!).

Also you mention eating a lot of salads and fish - the light meal in between matches is obviously a good idea but hopefully at the end of the day you eat a large energy-filled meal. Caffeine is also an interesting one - obviously it helps to begin with but once it dies off you feel much worse, in a 20 board match the caffeine can wear off pretty quickly. The following is a quote from Marty Fleisher's interview on bridgewinners:

Quote

...I'm really focused on when I eat carbohydrates, when I eat protein, when I eat sugar, when I have caffeine, and when I don't have caffeine. I'm really focused at the nationals in both body and brain chemistry and mental focus and discipline.

BW: Would you mind going into a bit more detail about some of your dietary regimen?
MF: I have fiber and carbohydrates a few hours before I play in the morning. I never have carbohydrates right before I play or during. I only eat proteins and vegetables between sessions. During the session I have caffeine and sugar available, and after a hard hand I try to have some sugar to replace the glucose I might have lost. All my secrets are getting revealed. I never have caffeine a long time before a set. About half an hour before the set I have some caffeine and do my meditation tape then go play.

Also, going over the hands during the day can take a lot of energy/create tension - when we played in the Juniors last summer we saved all 40 or 60 boards until our big dinner in the evening. We played 4 handed throughout (although the schedule was reasonably light on some days) and to be honest this worked better than when I'd played in 6-membered teams in the past.

[dake50]

5-hour energy drink. That stimulant is allowed.
Other OTC caffeines?
Have you tried blood-doping? Won't be caught.
(sorry couldn't resist a dig on cycling)
Fish oil for the brain: big doses up to 1 day
before game day?
Cardio between sessions - even as little as 20
min brisk walk. Get your body revved after
much brain demand and sitting.

[Phil]

There's been a lot written about this in recent years. My own checklist:

1. Drink a LOT of water. If you aren't going to the head at least once an hour, you aren't drinking enough.

2. Fleisher's advice is excellent. You need to keep a supply of sugar in your pocket.

3. If I'm playing 64 board matches and we are four handed, I'm generally pretty tired by the last quarter. A Red Bull or a Monster can help.

4. I play better overall when I'm in better physical shape. I'm leaving for Philadelphia in 3 weeks and I'm running 3-4 times per week.

5. Don't post mortem and don't engage in little exchanges with your opponents. All of these are energy drains. Keep the hand discussion during lunch breaks to a minimum, although there's inevitably one or two hands that gets brought up.

Playing a lot seems to help too. Pattern recognition is much simpler, and you don't use a lot of brain cells.

[JLOGIC]

From what I have seen, the health and diet stuff are extremely overrated when compared to just being used to playing a lot of bridge in a row. You have Jeff Meckstroth playing every board from the QF or semi finals on in the trials and world championships, the guy is not exactly a pillar of health but he has the best bridge stamina I have seen. He also plays a lot of bridge and has for a very long time.

Your problem was:

Quote

we never play more than 28 boards a day in Spain (normally 24)

In my view, if you had the perfect diet, were in the best shape ever, getting the best sleep you had ever gotten, and getting as much cardio as you wanted, you would still OBVIOUSLY be tired on the last few boards, and especially during the last matches of 40 boards a day. You are simply not used to playing that many boards, how could you not? And you also probably don't play so many days in a row.

Think about it, you are used to playing 24 boards a day in spain, and occasionally 28 boards. You then got tired on boards 35-40 and are surprised. You did poorly in your last 5 matches after playing however many days in a row (seems like a lot) when I'm guessing you also usually don't play that many days in a row. Why would you be surprised, or think it was a diet or health issue. A huge amount of the top bridge players are overweight and drink regularly, smoke, eat a lot of unhealthy food during bridge tourneys, etc. It is much more about conditioning yourself to being able to concentrate fully for x boards a day for y days in a row than about the other things. This is especially true for someone as young as you, it should be embarassing that some fat 70 year olds can concentrate for longer Of course this shows that it is about being used to playing that amount more than all else.

Next time, I would say maybe prepare for the tournament by playing lots of bridge. Jeremy and I used to play 100 board team games for fun on BBO. Try doing that or at least 60 boards or something and playing hard during it for like a month before you go and play. It will probably help your system/bridge also.

[JLOGIC]

In fact, if you are eating stuff that you don't usually eat and don't like as much I'd say that's probably worse for your bridge in that tournament than eating unhealthy food if that's what you're used to. You want to feel comfortable, I would not all of the sudden break my normal routine once I got to an important bridge tournament. Now, if you want to make the change to your diet in general then more power to you but obv do it when you're not at a tournament?

[nigel_k]

JLOGIC, on 2012-June-20, 12:42, said:

From what I have seen, the health and diet stuff are extremely overrated when compared to just being used to playing a lot of bridge in a row.

Agree 100%. Being fit and healthy in general may give you a minor advantage, but getting exercise during the event will not help, especially if it is not what you normally do. Eat what you want during the event and just go for a walk or something now and then.

It sounds like you just needed to play a lot more boards before the event. If playing 60 boards a day, prepare by playing 80 boards a day. Even if you just log in to BBO and play with randoms, you are still thinking and counting and getting your brain used to that extended period of bridge activity. Obviously have a break for a few days before the event starts though.

[BunnyGo]

All the above suggestions sound reasonable and from people more knowledgeable than I about long matches.

I've heard that adderall can also help stay focused when tired and distracted.

[JLOGIC]

But don't do anything illegal!

[gszes]

no md here but the fact that day 1 and 2 you are generally ok (maybe until the very end) and suddenly day 3
you have a lot of problems quickly-----is it possible your are getting bored???? Maybe consider getting bridge
mostly out of your head after each match-stay away from bbo forums for ex until match is complete. There is
plenty of time to write about interesting hands etc when done playing-------------Life is not only bridge (heresy)
take in a movie go swimming do something different when not playing and see if that helps keep you fresh.

I do not recommend reading a good book because it may be that your eyes need some rest. Follow that
earlier suggestion to just zone out when possible as dummy and if p revokes it is their fault not yours:))))

[JLOGIC]

Phil, on 2012-June-20, 08:35, said:

3. If I'm playing 64 board matches and we are four handed, I'm generally pretty tired by the last quarter.

That's because you are probably used to playing 48 boards a day (typical sectional or regional in USA). Not coincidentally you are tired for roughly boards 49-64. You noted only if you are 4 handed, if you were 6 handed you would only play 48 boards of the 64 board match.

I mean, this isn't rocket science guys. Fluffy plays 24 or 28 boards a day, then gets tired for roughly boards 35-40 when he plays 40 a day. What a shocker, must be his diet.

[CSGibson]

JLOGIC, on 2012-June-20, 14:56, said:

That's because you are probably used to playing 48 boards a day (typical sectional or regional in USA). Not coincidentally you are tired for roughly boards 49-64. You noted only if you are 4 handed, if you were 6 handed you would only play 48 boards of the 64 board match.

Interesting and, now that you've pointed it out, obvious correlation.

I imagine the majority of people on these forums have some sort of job, then often play bridge after working an 8 hour or longer day, frequently with some sort of thinking involved in that job. I wonder if playing regular night games after work would approsimate building up the stamina needed for a full-day event which is longer than normal.

[Phil]

JLOGIC, on 2012-June-20, 14:56, said:

That's because you are probably used to playing 48 boards a day (typical sectional or regional in USA). Not coincidentally you are tired for roughly boards 49-64. You noted only if you are 4 handed, if you were 6 handed you would only play 48 boards of the 64 board match.

I mean, this isn't rocket science guys. Fluffy plays 24 or 28 boards a day, then gets tired for roughly boards 35-40 when he plays 40 a day. What a shocker, must be his diet.

Who regularly plays 64 boards a day?

Even if I did on a regular basis, I'd be tired - just like I'd be tired running a 10K every day

[dake50]

Even if I did on a regular basis, I'd be tired - just like I'd be tired running a 10K every day

*** Nah, 10K is only 6.2 miles. That's only 42 miles per week.