Are mind games effective? If you want a quick match and need a way to put off your opponent early on, what sort of tactics can i use to mess with their head? I am specifically interested in the opening and middlegame, however answers regarding the endgame would also be appreciated.

I'm thinking about tactics such as alternating extreme attack and defense; making confusing moves to put off your opponent; playing with them and forcing them to move pieces to areas they do not want them in; disrupting their pawn chains and other defenses to make for an easier middlegame; piling up attackers on one square in particular, when in fact you are indirectly preparing for a strong attack on the opposite side (or even simply retreating and creating a stronghold around your king). I am also interested in direct body language such as making eye contact; showing a lack of emotion; and trying not to look like you are thinking hard, either to make the opponent think you are likely to make mistakes or to trick them into thinking you are completely confident with your position.

Answers may include:


Addressing the strengths/weaknesses of a tactic, and how to perform it.
Specific examples of any of these tactics in GM games
Reviews on the use of such tactics and whether they are likely to work
General rules of thumb in how to force moves or disrupt defenses
Any tournament rules regarding mind tricks outside the game (either across the table or between games)
Suggesting tactics not mentioned in the question above and giving reasons and uses
Nigel Davies has a Fritz trainer DVD "chess for scoundrels" which works on this topic exactly. He shows some games and tells some anecdotes about how you can use mind games, to support your game (and he says that at GM level this is completely normal). 

Examples by Davies: there was a Geller-Fisher game where Geller went for a drawing line with white, and offered a draw at move 7. Fisher laughed at his face (which is not so ethical imho) and then win in ~70 moves in a dead draw endgame, because Geller blundered.
Bronstein in a draw or little worse position saw a trap, but was fairly sure his opponent would see it, he offered draw, suspecting his opponent will not take it (and it was fine for him), and went for the trap. His opponent declined, was searching for a win, and didn't notice the trap.
I highly recomend buying the DVD, it's an amazing source in this topic.

People who were/are very good at this are for example Lasker, Tal, Fisher, Karpov, Kramnik. For examples read about the WC games Fisher vs Spassky, and Karpov vs Korchnoi with all the off board activities.

There was also a Benko book on psychology, but I didn't read it.