Thanks to chessiq for the idea.

In his blog, chessiq is listing out a 10 point plan. His committment to chess excellence. One of these points (#5) he lists the questions he will ansewer before making a move.

This realy makes me think, as this is exactly what I have been looking for in books etc... What questions should one ask? Is there a 'perfect list'? Also, perhaps there is an order in which to ask them.

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to see what others think before a move.

This is my list:

1. Is there a threat to my king?

2. What does this move accomplish for me?

3. How does this effect my other pieces?

4. What will my opponent do?

I think it is #4 that gets me in the most trouble. I seem to think that my opponent wil do what I expect him to do and, as a result, I miss things that maybe should have been obvious. 

-Eric

thought process during chess:

1. ha! this will get em!

2. no... wait that won't work

3. but this will!!

4. that didn't work as planned?.... 

4. that didn't work as planned?.... 

happens a lot to me

We're supposed to think BEFORE we move? You  learn something new every day I guess.

no kiddin!

As an experienced player, here is my ten-step thought process when playing over the board ...

1. Did I lock the car?

2. I wonder if there is any food on sale?

3. What IS that smell?

4. Is there anything good on TV tonight?

5. How does this opening go again? 

6. This joker doesn't think he can beat me, does he? 

7. Where did that piece come from?

8. Am I really going to lose to this guy?

9. Why do I play this game? 

10. What time does the bar open?

 

More seriously, here is what I hope is a more useful response: 

The thought process has to be tied to the level of player you are at and the stage of the game. Once you reach a certain standard your thinking should be about evaluating whether your PLAN is going to work, based on each new move. You have a PLAN, right?

 

If you don't have a plan you are really just 'pushing wood' to see what happens, and trying to avoid blunders. That's OK, as until you can avoid blunders most of the time a plan isn't much use. 

 

For less experienced players, a thought process ought to include the following items: (Once you have a certain level of ability and experience some of these questions don't require too many brain cycles to answer!):

1. what did my opponent just do?

2. was it legal?

3. am I in check? 

4. can I force checkmate? 

5. can I take the piece my opponent just moved?

6. is it safe to take the piece my opponent just moved?

7. did the piece my opponent just moved leave others unprotected?

8. why did my opponent do that?

9. can my opponent take anything?

10. what is my opponent trying to accomplish next?

11. if I had threats before my opponent's last move, do they still work?

 

Once you can answer these questions, you are ready to think about more complex tactics. You are also ready to analyse the position to determine the relative strengths and weaknesses of both White and Black, and what you should do about it. This is planning. It takes time and effort. But when you can create a plan and execute it, reacting and modifying it in response to your opponent's best efforts, then you are really raising the standard of your play and will provide a challenge to strong players.

 

'How to reasses your chess' by Jeremy Silman does an excellent job of helping you analyse the position and come up with a suitable plan.

Thanks for that answer! I have just started reading "Play winning chess" by Mr.Silman and I think I will go through his whole series. It is not as stuffy a book as some can be!

Hopefully I can get to the PLAN stage shortly. I do come up with short term plans, but nothing overall yet. 

The fun is in the trying, however.

 

-Eric 

 

A lot of the times I find myself debating whether or not the opponent has figured out the attack I'm trying to set up therefore nullifying the attack as he/she will react accordingly or it will work successfully..

Another frequent one is weighing the benefit of going ahead with an exchange or not..

What am I thinking before I move?

 

This morning... nothing...

That's usually my main mistake!

EricWiz wrote:

Thanks to chessiq for the idea.

In his blog, chessiq is listing out a 10 point plan. His committment to chess excellence. One of these points (#5) he lists the questions he will ansewer before making a move.

This realy makes me think, as this is exactly what I have been looking for in books etc... What questions should one ask? Is there a 'perfect list'? Also, perhaps there is an order in which to ask them.

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to see what others think before a move.

This is my list:

1. Is there a threat to my king?

2. What does this move accomplish for me?

3. How does this effect my other pieces?

4. What will my opponent do?

I think it is #4 that gets me in the most trouble. I seem to think that my opponent wil do what I expect him to do and, as a result, I miss things that maybe should have been obvious. 

-Eric

Finally someone has come up with an idea I can relate to!!

---

 

Trying to find a perfect formula to win a chess match is like trying to drink up an ocean.You just waste your time.

No one looks for a perfect formula, only some guidelines or some kind of "thought" procedure to minimize mistakes.

My line of thought, more or less, in order:

What is the positional situation on the board?
What is my opponent's immediate threat?
What is my opponent's long term plan? (I usually blank here)
What are my opponent's strengths and weaknesses?
What are my weaknesses?
Is my plan still coming along (my strengths)?
If not, what new plan should I come up with?

Finally: What is the move or what are the best series of moves in order to a) continue with my intended plan (attack), b) change my plan into a working plan (modulate), or c) avoid my opponent to fulfill its plans (defense)?

I have a very hard time making calculations though... 

Read Heisman's 'A Generic Thought Process'. It will really shed light on what your thinking process should look like..the harder part is following the thought process during a game.

"Play Winning Chess" is a brilliant book and you will love it.

I actually just started to read that book!

I think......If i could only read minds this would be easy!

4.huh???? How did he do that?????

Have you ever heard about Roberto Grau's recommendation for novice players? He stated that there are four kinds of moves:

1. Attacking
2. Defensive
3. Neutral or development
4. Errors

His rule was that an attack move should be replied with a defensive move. A defensive move should be replied  with another attack move. A neutral or development move should be replied with a neutral or attack move. In the event of an opponent's error, then we should take profit of that error!