The tournament mindset of Guntis Valneris

by wmsg-draughts on October 9, 2008

What is it like to be a professional draughts player? Of course every player has his own way of giving meaning to his job. Latvian pro Guntis Valneris plays many tournaments and takes time to work on the necessary physical condition. One of the  reasons to participate in this many tournaments is to view the fellow competitors and stay updated with their improvements. It is also a way to keep him updated with new ideas for example: new openings that one of the other draughts player introduces.

Although reaching the top level, Valneris is constantly looking for improvement. He is his own trainer. Latvia has some other good players such as Roberts Misans and Raimonds Vipulis, but not on a level that Valneris would be able to improve his game skills by sparring with them.

Scoring a top-three position in championships is important for Valneris, who depends on draughts for his income. He is shooting for a top position in the WMSG because he is an ambitious player. Having the top active draughts players present makes this tournament exciting.

Managing your thinking time during the games in this tournament requires a different psychology. When having the regular two hours time limit for all of your moves, you are able to think for a while before producing a series of moves. Now, with only 1 hour and 20 minutes for the game plus 1 extra minute per move, you are forced to be more precise. Another consequence is that this time limit leaves you with less time for the endgame.

Valneris’ opponent in the 8th round was Ricardo Pierre from Haiti. Valneris: “Pierre has his own style of playing, he is a quick and that pushes on the time. With his tactical ideas he is a surprising opponent. His move 41-37 in the beginning of the game was such a surprising move. I could take a game piece advantage after the 12th move, but I know that it was not good. I had a real technical advantage. Pierre did not worry, he thought that he was quite in control. I did not want to spoil my position and waited till I could take over.”