The short answer is . . . whenever you want to. But that ignores a problem players face when both competing and trying to improve.

Let’s supposed you’ve spent a lot of time working new techniques, but haven’t quite perfected them yet. If you play in a tournament, you will be strongly tempted to fall back on what worked for you before . . . thereby setting your training back who knows how much. Think about it – you’ve spent all this time developing new, more advanced skills, and then you re-enforce the old bad habits by falling back into them in the tournament! You’ve literally told your subconscious to forget all that training, let’s go back to the old ways. How much training will it take to undo that?

So, if you think you will fall back into bad habits, then generally avoid tournaments until you are more ready. A very general guideline is it takes perhaps six months to incorporate into practice a new skill. So, perhaps take those six months to do so, and then play tournaments again.

HOWEVER . . . if you are the type who can use these new advanced skills and not worry about winning or losing, or (gasp!) losing rating points, then by all means play tournaments, and use those new skills. You can still play smart tactics, but do so while using the techniques and playing style you are striving for. It’s just a matter of time before you’ll break through, and these new skills will be ingrained.

But here’s an even tougher question. Suppose you play the tournament, and perhaps make the final of an event, using your new skills and the style you want to play. Suppose, in the final, you play someone who you know you can beat with your old game, but are not so sure with your new game.

What do you do?

My hesitant answer is to play to win, while still trying to use as much of your “new” and more advanced style as you can. If you are trying to be a looper, but your opponent struggles with your heavy push . . . then perhaps use both . . . and at key times, throw that heavy push at him. Playing a more advanced style doesn’t mean you forget what you could do before or that you should play stupid – so use that as needed, while perhaps focusing on your new-found skills and playing the style you are striving for.