#4 Graz Open Championship 2025 Part 3

In this post, I would like to reflect on my performance in this tournament and summarize what went well and what I need to work on in the future. In particular, I want to think not only about my pure mahjong skill itself, but also about the surrounding factors that affect performance.

[What went well]

What went well was my "concentration and moderate sense of tension."

Regarding concentration, since this was my first tournament of this kind and an event in a city away from Vienna, I felt I was able to summon a very good level of focus from the day before through to the first match.

While I often play online, holding the tiles for the first time in a while, and playing against unknown players from various countries, gave me a high sense of freshness, and the joy and fun of holding the tiles were particularly special. Unlike online play, I could perceive every move—the players' gestures, expressions, breathing, and how they organized their tiles—and it was good that I was able to focus on catching that information as well.

Conversely, I tried my best not to give my opponents any information through my own gestures, expressions, breathing, or tile organization.

Regarding tension, I think I was able to approach the games naturally, without being overly nervous or trying too hard. I believe that a moderate sense of tension maximizes a person's performance (you shouldn't be too nervous or too relaxed), and I think I was able to approach the matches with the optimal level of tension.

In the rounds or matches where I couldn't maintain this balance well, my results were indeed poor, so I think this is an important point and I will write a little more about it below.

[Areas for improvement]

On the other hand, related to this, an area for improvement in the future is "diet."

The lunch on the first day was Austrian cuisine and the second day was Chinese; both were carbohydrate-heavy meals. Although I was careful not to overeat, my concentration inevitably dropped during the first half-game after lunch.

Looking at the results, in the half-games immediately after lunch on both days, I placed 3rd and 2nd (though I went from 4th to 2nd due to a miracle in the final round). As for the content, the time I dealt a double mangan to Lukas was a discard I think I could have prevented if I had paid attention to his discard pile from the beginning, and because my attention had dropped, I only focused on my own hand and was late in preparing for the opponent's attack.

Conversely, this means that after lunch is a chance when everyone's attention drops, so if I can enter the second half in an optimal state, I can take advantage of my opponents' mistakes.

I would like to try eating small, protein-based meals and taking in appropriate amounts of water and caffeine before the afternoon sessions.

[Reflections on performance]

Based on these reflections, I was able to realize once again that not only pure mahjong technique, but also the condition of my mind and body, greatly affects my mahjong skill.

This is true not only for mahjong, but for sports, work, relationships with people, and everything else, so I want to be conscious of it again.

By optimizing sleep and diet, and approaching matches with focus, your mind and body will feel refreshed, allowing you to perform at your best.

Furthermore, the comfort of the chair, the heat or cold of the room (my clothing), the lighting... all of these factors have a small impact as well.

Also, mental factors such as carelessness, overconfidence, and extreme tension are intertwined with this.

Conversely, if you approach a match while sleep-deprived, full, distracted, slightly cold, or overconfident in your own abilities, your capacity for concentration decreases, and you will not be able to output your maximum performance.

Furthermore, when playing eight hanchan, you need not only this level of concentration but also the stamina to maintain it.

Therefore, for the next tournament, I intend to keep the following in mind:
・Sleep the night before
・Breakfast on the day... don't overeat, wake yourself up
・Lunch on the day... don't overeat, don't consume too many carbohydrates
・Build up concentration from the day before through the day of the event
・Prepare clothing that can handle both heat and cold
・Bring a cushion

Maximize my peak output and keep it going for as long as possible during the tournament period.
This was a tournament where I learned that there are quite a few factors outside of mahjong that affect performance.

I will do my best to aim for a repeat victory in the next tournament as well!