Introduction - What to expect in this article? 

The internet doesn’t need another complete chess guide for beginners. Plenty of people have dedicated time and effort to creating resources that are great comprehensive guides to provide beginning chess players with as much information and answers as they can. Take for example this article by @RussBell. Here you can find useful information on almost any topic that’s relevant to beginners. Beginners and beyond. Resources like this can be great if you want to improve your chess.  But the vastness of information can also be overwhelming.

That’s why I decided to write a more underwhelming article. Instead of a comprehensive guide that tries to explain everything everywhere all at once, this will just be an easy step by step tutorial on how to make better decisions. You will be able to apply this new method immediately in every game you play from now on.

This article

• Will be about the fundamental process of decision making
• Will address the biggest mistake beginners make when playing chess (rated < 1,000)
• Will be a good refresher for all players between 1,000 and 1,500 rating
  

Basic Decision Making

A recurring theme on the beginner’s section of the forum is players asking “how can I make less blunders?" . On many occasions I made an effort to check their recent games and I observed the same every single time: Players, rated somewhere between 200 and 600, are spending just a few seconds on each move and they wonder why they make too many blunders. What?

There is no way you can make an informed decision in so little time, chess is simply too complicated for that. Only players with massive amounts of experience can make a reasonably good decision in just a few seconds. For others, playing without thinking means they are basically just making random moves.

It’s not easy to make good decisions in chess. In fact it’s incredibly hard. But skipping the decision making part is the easiest way to remain stuck playing low rating chess forever. As soon as you start making better decisions, you will become a better player immediately.

Decision making in chess is always the same drill

In the most basic version the process consists of these four steps: Look, identify, evaluate and pick one. The first step (look at the board) and the last step (pick the best move) should be automatic. The crucial steps are what happens in between in step 2 and step 3. First you identify all candidate moves and second you evaluate the position after each move.

The four steps of decision making in chess:

1. 1. Look at the board
   2. Identify candidate moves you can play
   3. Evaluate the position for each of the moves
   4. Pick the best one

As you get better at chess this process becomes more sophisticated and more elaborate but the process is always the same.

Step 1 Look at the board

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision”

- Helen Keller

It can be challenging to see everything that is happening on the board at the same time, especially for beginners. But without looking it will be infinitely harder. How to look better?

• Make an effort to look. The first step is just to sit back for a second and take some time to observe the position, instead of rushing to any conclusions.
• Learning about chess. Everything you learn about chess will make it easier to see what’s happening on the board: openings, tactics, studying endgames, investing in positional understanding.
• Make an extra effort to look. My approach for a while was to focus on including all candidate moves. After each game, whenever I had made a mistake I asked myself “Did I reject the best move or did I miss it entirely as an option? “

Step 2 Identify candidate moves

For beginners this is the most important step. Force yourself to identify multiple candidate moves. You'll make better decisions just by acknowledging the possibility that there are multiple playable moves, instead of simply playing the first move that pops into your head. Even if you're unable to identify all candidate moves, you'll still have a wider range of moves to choose from.

There is a simple checklist to help you with the identification of candidate moves.  This too is very simple. Start by looking for checks, captures and attacks, because they are the most forcing moves. 

1. Checks

Can you put your opponent in check? What are all moves that I can check my opponent with? These are the most forcing moves, an opponent simply has to respond. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should play them, you should identify them. On most occasions you won’t have great checks available and checking for them won’t require more than a couple of seconds. Other times, you will discover great tactics and perhaps a checkmate.

2. Captures

Can I capture one of my opponents pieces? Are there any more I can capture? Are there pawns for the taking? Not as forcing as putting their King in check but still quite forcing. They most likely will have to respond. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should play them, you should identify them.

3. Attacks

Can I attack one of my opponents pieces? Maybe others as well? Again, repeating for the second time, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should play them, you should identify them.

(4. What else?)

At this point, you won’t have identified all candidate moves yet. But, it’s a starting point. Now look for other moves you might have missed. What else do you see on the board.  Weaknesses in your own position? Potential threats? Weakness in your opponent's position? Potential targets? 

Step 3 Evaluate the positions

After you have identified all candidate moves, it’s time for step 3, Evaluating the positions that follow for each candidate move. This is difficult and time consuming because for each candidate move you'll have to identify candidate moves for your opponent as well. And for each of those you'll have to calculate your candidate moves (and for each of those, etc.).

The process of calculating all positions and potential lines that follow takes time and effort. That's why players are always recommending longer time formats. It takes an enormous effort to calculate positions accurately the first time you see them. But it's worth practicing this skill, because you'll be able to do it faster the next time. And even faster the time after that.

A good starting point is to check all your candidate moves for checks, captures and attacks from their side.  At the very least, this will enable you to prevent you from accidentally blundering your Queen.

Step 4. Playing your move

The final step in the decision making process is relatively straightforward.

Play the move you like best.

Closing Remarks

 Good luck on your chess journeys. Here's a German poem to keep you motivated.

Open your eyes, 

open your mind

Proud like a God 

don't pretend to be blind

Trapped in yourself, 

break out instead

Beat the machine 

that works in your head