Calculation: candidate moves

Despite the quantity of information available about calculation, this is still one of the hardest aspects of chess and what separates beginners from masters. One of the reasons behind this fact is probably because there is not a shortcut to calculate better, although there are some tips that can be useful to know, you need to train with a lot of different positions before noticing an improvement.

Many people think that by solving tons of tactical puzzles daily they are going to get better at calculation, which is not 100% true. You can not win a war just by fighting, a certain amount of preparation and planning is required as well. That’s why solving and solving puzzles it is not enough, a good thought process is necessary to analyze a complicated position. Calculation is not a fight between who calculates more but who calculates better.

In a technology world where the answer to everything is almost one click far, finding information about calculation should not be that difficult. Many books have been written, offering tips about the topic, from the classical “Play like a GM” by Kotov to “The woodpecker method” by Axel Smith and Hans Tikkanen. The study of these kinds of books might be really useful to someone who wants to improve his calculation skill.

Studying subtopics (elimination method, comparison method, visualization, etc.) is a fantastic way to study calculation as well, and today one of the most discussed will be covered, the concept of candidate moves.

What are candidates moves?

In a nutshell, candidate moves are all the first possibilities we should consider when analyzing a position. One of the first books that mentioned this concept was “think like a Grand Master” written by Alexander Kotov, in which he suggested that a chess player should spend some time consciously looking for all the possible moves, showing positions where players overlook some good alternatives.

One of the most common questions that somebody could have studying this concept is: how many moves should I consider? If only a few are considered we might not see some astounding opportunities to unbalance the game into our side, the opposite would be a problem as well, trying to calculate too much would be overwhelming for a human. Concluding, it’s impossible to give a single answer to all the possible scenarios, the best you can do is trying to keep it stabilized, not too much to be distressing and not so little as to ignore a winning continuation.

Checks, captures, and threats

One of the most debated tools throughout history, the name refers to the action of looking at all the possible checks, captures, and threats in the position.

This is a controversial theme, many chess players argue that looking for all the possible checks, captures, and threats in a real chess game is not practical at all, in that way someone would spend a lot of time thinking and at the end of the day would lose by time trouble. And many chess players argue that because the majority of checks, captures, and threats do not work, they do not need to spend so much time considering them. Proving someone right in this case doesn't make sense, one tool won't solve everyone's problem, if this doesn't work for you, skip this and try another method.

When you find a good move, look for a better one

Probably Emanuel Lasker's most famous quote, this has become the mantra of many chess players, the idea is quite simple and is self-explanatory, when you get a good move try to find a better one. The idea of doing this is because we usually tend to overlook some possibilities.

The main question of this technique is that you should be able to recognize when you get the best one, otherwise, you will waste much time thinking that there is always a better move.

Think about all your pieces individually

It seems intimidating thinking about all the pieces one by one, it is just insane to imagine that this is possible in a real chess game when the clock is ticking, however, it is a good tool to find astounding moves that decide a game.

The same critic that was considered in the checks, capture, threats section is applicable here, it is impossible to spend so much time just considering all the possible moves of every piece, nevertheless, because with time you are going to distinguish the good moves from the bad ones, you might notice that there are not actually many possibilities.

The importance of pattern recognition

This is a concept that has been developing nowadays, the main idea is to solve a lot of positions where the same pattern was played, and in that way, teach your brain to recognize it when you get a similar position. It might be a tactical pattern, a common plan, a piece’s setup, etc.

This tool might be really useful in rapid and blitz games when we do not have too much time to think about what is the best move. This improves intuition, by solving a lot of similar positions your mind will be trained to follow a certain pattern when you get those situations.

Do not get immersed with one line

This is the number one in the list of worst habits a chess player should eliminate, if you only think and calculate one move trying to make it work, you will miss a lot of opportunities playing chess.

A good way to eliminate this habit is by stopping your usual thought process when it is your turn and try to focus on finding all the possible moves before calculating anything.

Think consciously about finding moves instead of calculating moves

There is a quote that expresses this accurately:

Before you can think, you need to learn how to see

Jacob Aagaard

I do not think it can be explained better, seeing moves is something that a chess player should train.

Unexplainable candidate moves

A little bit of talent, imagination, and creativity create beautiful paintings.

I do not think words or any method can explain such incredible moves. Sometimes you just get it!

Tasks

All of these tools and concepts will not make sense if we do not train them, therefore, I suggest you solve the next positions from the book “Grandmaster preparation: calculation” by Jacob Aagaard. Good luck!

I am Gabriel Salazar, Fide Master and chess coach. Available for new students, contact: gabosalazarolchowski@gmail.com