Algorithm for choosing the best candidate moves

What is the algorithm you prefer for selecting the best candidate move or any suggestions related to visualization?

Well, looking at my rating I guess I'd better ask you then to tell you what I do, but anyway. About visualization - I searched for what the smarter guys advice and I found two advices: doing more complicated puzzles without moving pieces and replaying games without moving pieces. So when I read a book, I'm trying to visualize the game till the next diagram before I really replay it. And at least I'm getting better in reading books in this way.

When I'm looking for the candidate moves (let's talk about OTB standard tempo like 40 moves in 90 minutes or similar). I do something like:

1. what changed by his move (threats, weakened squares etc.)

2. review my plan and go over the moves I would like to play. 

3. check for some other ideas and maybe tactics.

4. quickly discard as many lines as possible.

5. solve problems in the rest playeble lines. 

6. recheck for blunders.

7. play whatever the outcome is. Like well, I don't like it, but this is the outcome I got from the thinking. Play this now and study more later.

I wonder what you do.   

I don't remember which player first explained chess in this way, but the classic trio of space, force, and time are, IMO, an excellent way to choose (or discard) candidate moves.

In short, space is linked with maneuverability in an area, force with how many squares you influence in an area (and how many pieces are contributing to that influence) and tempo is like the utility or efficiency of a move.

I think tempo is often overlooked by beginners.  In the opening it's easy to understand.  You take 3 moves to develop 1 piece and your opponent has a very visible lead in development.

In the middlegame it's similar, but often you don't realize you're spending multiple moves to find a good square until your opponent forces it to move later in the game.  The beginner probably dismisses this as bad luck.  But experienced players really work hard at determining how efficient and useful their moves are all through the middlegame too.  An easy example may be placing your queen on a closed file... but it's a file that will open later and eventually your opponent will place a rook there and force the queen to move.  Unless the queen is doing something immediately useful / necessary, then it will later prove to be a wasted move.

@wafflemaster: you actually raised a good point about tempo, you have analyzed this approach correctly. Most of the beginners(even the class B and lower level) think of tempo in the opening because they read somewhere in the opening books or tutorial that that move would develop a piece with tempo.

Tempo is neglected in the middlegame by most of the players and then they again give importance to it in the endgame when there may be pawn race, opposition, or similar concepts which plainly requires the knowledge of tempo.

@petrchpetr: Thanks for giving an algorithm. I disagree that being a lower rated player you can't possess a good visualization skill. According to me, Visualization is to see what we can do in actual without doing it. A GM can visualize moves with his understanding, on the other hand a beginner visualizes with his understanding. Now there is a difference in chess understanding but the visualization is common.

I actually get correct moves when i have enough time to think but in 15min or 10min games, i find it difficult to go for the analysis of each candidate moves. I want to learn from others that whay actually they do find out the correct moves.

Like wafflemaster gave an example about placing your queen on a file which is actually going to open. However, his intention was to highlight the importance of tempo but it is important to understand it.

I thought that 1796 was better than 1522 

@StartlingNewEvidence I just checked the quick profile info where there  @deligent has 2k+, but anyway, that's not that important. 

@deligent the coach in our club who is 2.300+ FIDE metioned in one discussion with me that at the end of the day you are sitting over the board, and you play some moves which you just feel that are good. I think this is especially true in the rapid and blitz games, where you have to do so. But it also apply to some extend to standard tempo games.

We discussed other interesting phenomena too - you play on some level and one day you decide to get better. So you do puzzles, study games and at first it may happen, that you actually get worser. And it might go wrong for some time. Eventually, one day it clicks all together and suddenly "you play better". This is of course all more about subjective feelings than about some real facts. But this the kind of thoughts you have to deal with.  

I believe these are also things you should note in your post game analysis like: "I saw Ng3, but I thought it's too risky, so I played Re8, what is actually much worser move. I should have been more confident." This happens to me all the time.  

@petrchpetr: Yeah, you are right that in blitz games most of the moves are played with intuition and just because you feel good about them. I agree that when I study more, I actually face more defeats but after some weeks i get the concept and achieve what I was trying to do few weeks earlier.

Now I want to improve my calculation and visualization skills and so I posted this topic, just to know how other people thinks , how they implements their ideas.

Chess is a positional game, The best move can be declared on the position, movability, number of pieces, and many more currently the chess engines calculation value depends upon mobility, pawn waightage - opponent pawn waightage. Im trying to build chess engin where im including all current engins features and my 3 more discovered facts, i'm coding them alone, so it'll take time for completion of it. Trying to contact chess related websites to become part of them and develop it along with them by explaining those 3 facts ;) hoping i could find some support from any of the websites related to chess ;) later i'll try to explain how to choose best candidate move. only thing we miss is calculating in depth, where as computer can do. ;)