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I have a problem with finding alternate plans to choose from and just seem to go with the first one that seems to have any merit. Does anyone have an idea for identifying viable alternate plans of play. For instance: I get to a position in the middle game. I see no particular move to make, no forcing play or threats on either side, so I make a move. Later after the game the computer recommends three separate moves and plans of attack that are all better than the move I chose, but more importantly, THOSE MOVES WERE ONES I HAD NOT EVEN CONSIDERED. How can I find  and consider these alternate plans??? Any thoughts?

I personally believe that this skill comes with the more games you play, tactics solved, and just overall experience gained. If you're let's say, a 1900, you may consider more playable moves in the 20 minutes that you thought than a typical 1300. There isn't a very obvious solution to your problem, as there are tons of different possible positions each with their own best moves, there are simple things you can do to increase your chances of finding these moves, such as putting more thought into an unobvious position, or only focusing on one particular part of the board and branch of from there.

YEAT can probably answer this question better than me, this is just my take on things.

Similar to anikolay's answer, you should repeatedly play or calculate so that it trains your visions of possible moves. Then from there you can calculate each of your candidate moves out thoroughly

I like the idea of focusing on one part of the board. I think I will try looking at a part of the board that is away from the move I am looking at. Then I will find the move I like best if I have to move in that part of the board. If I just find one better move now and then, it will be better than what I do now. Calculating candidate moves out farther will also help, if I have time. Thanks to both replies.

Hey I was wondering if anybody in here could help me prep for an upcoming OTB tournament I am going to on April 22nd if you can just friend request me it will be my very first tournament

We can help with some general details and questions!

What is the best way to prep for an OTB tournament? What can I do to prepare myself to get the best result?

for your rating, definitely just practice and tactics

so i got into this position

and it's +8 for white, and the engine is saying play Nd8+. idk if this is a bug or not

after i'd play Nd8+ it'd go from +8 to +2

is there some secret tactic behind this move or what

It's just the engine at extremely low depth i'd assume cuz that move looks horrible

As a catalan player myself, I suggest playing the early dxc4 which is annoying and as long as you know the 20 lines you should be good against it. If you don't play e6 setups, maybe a kings indian but that gets into a lot of theory. For the reti, if you want to be aggressive then study the d4 line right after c4 but if not then you can play an archetype similar to your response to d4

What opening should I play against 1.d4 as black? Like, what seems to be a good one for a beginner-intermediate player such as myself?

d5/e6 setups

@YEAT Thanks!

Also, what can i do to concentrate better while I'm playing rapid game, so i can maybe win more and stop blundering pieces?

well obviously try to remove all distractions and play in a quiet place.

Alright thanks

Im kinda wondered I play several opening mostly italian and Sicilian righter versov and some openings and variations als slag defense and oh well some more openings. They mostly put me into a stable start. Though I kinda miss general ideas of tactics for the middle game, not in case something specific happens but just broad ideas one could use as general guidance.

Hey. I'm not a master or anything, but after studying tactix for awhile, i find it useful to use GothamChess's strategy before every move, to see if there is a threat upon your position, and if there is, take care of that, and if there isn't, you can check if there are any checks. Are they bad moves? If yes, then don't play them. If they aren't bad, then play the move, or think on them awhile longer for a possible checkmating combo. If there aren't any checks, look for captures. If there are captures, do the same thinking process as with checks above. And finally, if there are none of the above that seem good, look for attacks. This could be setting up for a future capture, fork, pin, or other tactical move, or setting something up for a checkmate in the near future. Its commendable that you're good at openings, and i struggle with my openings most of the time. Good luck!