Hi!
Visualization comes with lots of practice, usually in the form of tactics. Here is a very interesting post explaining how to visualize deeper by @Gertsog : How to Improve Chess Visualization? - Chess.com
If you would like to, you can look at the solutions and they play the moves backwards, thus allowing you to have a sense of why this specific sequence is played.
Problemists have meetings where they solve endgame studies and/or checkmate problems. They get boards and pieces and move them around as much as they like. So there is no requirement to visualize, only to solve. In general these challenges are too hard to completely solve in the mind unless you are willing to spend many hours per challenge. And even then ...
Still these chaps become highly skilled in solving problems by recognizing patterns and themes. They don't do it to become better chessplayers but because they love the creativity and beauty in chess compositions. Solving is only part of the fun.
It is extremely difficult for me to see the whole solution without moving the pieces.
Hi jaychard, Endgame Study is NOT combinations, there is no reason AT ALL for not moving the pieces on the board, I can assure you that no GM would solve most studies like they do with "tactics".
I recently picked up "Domination in 2545 Endgame Studies" by Kasparyan. I attempted the first few problems by setting it up on a board and staring at the position without moving the pieces.
It is extremely difficult for me to see the whole solution without moving the pieces (I can only see the first 2-3 moves of the continuation). What is the recommended method to solve these studies to get the most value out of them?
The reason I ask is if I start moving pieces around then I will eventually stumble upon the answer by process of elimination since endgame studies have so few pieces on the board.