Tournament (After 10 year hiatus...) Good afternoon everyone,

*This is my first post on this forum, so if I placed this in the wrong section, please let me know.

I used to play regularly back in high school and stopped once I started college. I found my passion again and finally started training/studying again in the past few months and noticed there was a tournament coming up not too far away from where I live.

It’s the 7th Annual Reno Larry Evans Memorial (https://sites.google.com/site/renochessclub/lem/tournament#EntryInstructions)

I personally feel my chess has improved (definitely personal opinion), but I haven’t had the opportunity to play OTB in a while, so the majority of my games have been online.

My USCF rating back in early 2008 was the following (this was based on 46 games):


Regular: 1,376
Quick: 1,352
Blitz: Unrated


My Lichess rating from the past few days have been:


Classical: 1,748
Rapid: 1,722
Blitz: Unrated


I completely understand that online ratings are definitely inflated, so I’m assuming my rating is much lower than the 1,700s. I was considering entering into the tournament and it looks like I would fall under the “D” Section. And this leads to my questions:


I regularly play 30+0 games and am definitely more comfortable with longer times compared to shorter blitz games. This tournament is 40 moves/2 hours, SD/1 hour, 5 second delay. From your experience is this a drastic change?
If I apply for the tournament now, would I be in the “D” Section even if I haven’t played in a tournament in over a decade?
If I apply under the “D” Section now, join a chess club and in the 2 months prior to the competition get a rating over 1,400 would I automatically be placed in the “C” Section?
I’m assuming I need to be a USCF member before I apply, correct? If so, how long is the process?
Do you think if I prepare for the tournament for the next two months (reviewing end-game/middle-game, tactics, and at least one game per day), I will do well? $150 entry fee is on the larger end for me, so want to be sure I justify it for the wife.


I know this was quite a lengthy first post, but its has been a while and want to understand the topic before committing. I appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Thank you!
Regarding your questions: 

2+1 hours is a big difference to 30-0, which is basically rapid chess. With 30-0 you'd rarely think at a move more than a minute or so. At your level this should be enough to avoid obvious blunders, but the longer time control allows you to invest say 10-30 minutes or so at a complicated position in order to really delve into the position and to calculate longer forced lines or develop long term plans. Might be worth playing some games at the longer time control prior to the tournament.

I'd ask questions 2 or 3 to the organizer unless it is specifically stated in the tournament regulations.

USCF membership seems to be required. It says, New memberships/renewals available at site. so that should not be a problem.

Too many unknowns to say how you will perform.