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JYPX Method for chess decision-making
Author: Jean-Yves Moine

JYPX Method for chess decision-making

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MisterOmega
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“Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.” Dwight Eisenhower.

I have developed a method of chess way of thinking: the JYPX method (Jean-Yves, Paul, Xavier). This method comes from Project management world, and can be applied to chess, because chess is in fact a planning game. I am interested to see your returns, .... 

The principle of the JYPX method is as follows:

Ask for each move of the opponent:
1) WHY did he play that move?
2) WHAT does he want to do?
3) HOW does he want to do?
4) WHERE does he intend to act?
5) WHO will take part in the action?
6) WHEN does he intend to act?
7) HOW MUCH tempi it costs him?
8) FOR WHAT did he play this move?

Then, ask for each of our own moves:
1) WHY do I have to play this move?
2) WHAT do I want to do?
3) HOW do I do it?
4) WHERE do I have to act?
5) WHO will take part in the action?
6) WHEN do I have to act?
7) HOW MUCH tempi it costs me?
8) FOR WHAT should I play this move?

You don't have to ask all these questions every time, it depends on the position and the possibilities. The more the position is subject to combinations, the greater the depth of the reasoning must be. For example, in a complex position, it is useful to ask the sixteen questions, especially to define a plan. But if the position is simple, the first three questions relating to each side are sufficient: that is, why? what? How? The order of questions to be asked is important to follow. The last question, the for what? is essential because that is the goal. This objective is deduced from the answer to the question Why?

So the difficulty is finding the answer to the first question, Why? With regard to the opponent's moves that less important, the What? (adverse threats) is more important. But as far as our own moves are concerned it is essential to find the idea, which has its roots in the weaknesses or strengths of the opposing game.

Assessing the weaknesses and strengths of the opponent is therefore essential. When the cause is found (answer to the question Why?), that is, the main weakness or strength of the opponent, one sets a goal and one can try to find the way to reach the goal (the question For what?). The path to the goal that constitutes the plan is described by the questions What? how? where? who? when? And how much? These last six issues are of decreasing importance. In complex positions it is useful to know if we have time to carry out our plan, and therefore to answer the question How much (tempi)? Moreover, the farther the target, in terms of the number of moves, the greater is the uncertainty.

It should be noted that the plan is sometimes based on our own weaknesses or strengths. However, this approach is less active than analysing opposing weaknesses and strengths. As in Poker, aggression is important in chess. However, it is sometimes necessary to defend. Attacking or defending is measured by the relative importance of our strengths and weaknesses compared to those of the adversary. If, for example, the opponent is much stronger in a sensitive area, it should be defended rather than attacked in another less sensitive area.

It is useful to recall Dan Heisman's advice to evaluate a position, to answer the question Why? And so assess the weaknesses and strengths of the opponents. Four criteria must be taken into account: material, king security (small castle, large castle), pieces mobility (space, diagonals and open columns, key cases, etc.) and pawn structure (isolated pawn, double pawns, backward or pending pawns and weak cases they generate).

This JYPX method is useful because there must always be at least one plan, this plan can indeed be in the short term during a tactical combination for example, the medium term, and/or the long term. Sometimes there's a plan A and a plan B, two targets, as G. Kasparov recommends, and it's even better!

According to Steinitz, the world's leading chess champion, a chess game is a succession of plans. These plans follow around a long-term main plan.

These plans need to be reassessed on a regular basis, and adjusted for unexpected events that are sure to occur. A plan is not static, a plan is dynamic! A schedule is a result, which is static, what counts is the planning to achieve the goal, which it is dynamic, this explains the quote of D. Eisenhower quoted above.

To summarize and simplify (being somewhat simplistic), in the JYPX method, it is always a question of at least assessing the threats of the opponent, and always to evaluate the weaknesses and strengths, especially those of the opponent, in order to get the idea to define a plan to achieve the goal (derived from the idea).


 

The For What (objective) is a consequence of the answer to the question Why (cause). The plan is described by the questions What, How, Where, Who, When and How Much. How defines how we produce the What. The What is located in the Where. What, How and Where are the basic tasks to be performed. These are carried out by resources: the Who. Mobilizing these resources takes time (When, in terms of number of moves) and cost something (How much, Tempi). When it is defined and the idea is found, the objective does not change normally, but the paths that can achieve it may vary, the initial assumptions varying over time, which is why there is feedback in the process of developing the plane.

The JYPX method therefore consists of asking a series of basic questions and makes it possible to make the best decision, to:

The first question (the Why) must lead to an idea that must become an objective (the For What). The plan, allowing us to move from idea to goal, is materialized by the six questions What, How, Where, Who, When, How.

With time and experience, players will only be able to ask themselves the first two questions (Why, What), and the last question (For what) for each side, knowing that they will also probably ask the other questions without realizing it.

What is essentially important to remember is the assessment of the weaknesses and strengths of both sides because that is where it all starts, ...