players' abilities from a novice's point of view

Some people call that positional play and some people call that pattern matching.

When a pattern matching is found, the good players know how to make it better. When I play with lower rated players, sometime I find a pattern and make a move, not exactly knowing how it will evolve, but something like, the knight has a better placing, the pawn structure is difficult to break etc.

I hear you there; I know positional play, but I always feel fascination by those who can constantly outstep you:  it's a little like running in a race where the guy in front of you is faster, and his lead on you only increases, except that you know in chess that the turns alternate - when you know you're taking the same number of steps, but can't even fathom how your opponent stretches his legs out so much longer than you with each stride...

You mention pattern matching:  it's the necessary ability of blitz chess, and quite separate from positional play... but despite being separate, I feel that a person can't be great at one and not great at another.  Nothing explains someone being able to play almost perfect positional games when they have all the time in the world, but being incapable of carrying that through with some experience into pattern-matching wins always abounding in blitz games...