Calculation Training

When I first saw this, I saw the castles mate, but was blind to KD2 mate.  Still my favorite game next to Fischer vs. Miagmasuren. Sad that he did not put it in his 60 Memorable Games.

Very good. You even found the other line.

another great way to improve calculations is by watching games on chess.com with the pieces set on blindfold. or play like that if you can. best to start with rapid. you will be surprised how fast you improve. at first I could only get about 7-10 moves but after only 2 weeks or so I watched an entire 33 move rapid game with only 2 little misplacement, I could even calculate possible lines and see simple tactics

Its a lot like the magnus app mind mirage game. 

in those 2 weeks I trained like this probably 8-10 hours.

It will improve your speed chess.  But I think working on analysis is more important.

Monday August 26th, 2019.

Hey everyone! How are you? Sorry that I couldn't answer sooner, but well let's go!

Well, I was very inspired that I just woke up a little early last Saturday August 24th, 2019 and made this video that has me solving the chess position OTB, on the chess board that my brother gave me for my birthday))), also showing some of the beautiful morning here in Utah)))

I made sure to not read any of the comments yet, I will check all the comments soon, sorry that this past week and perhaps until September 2019 a little difficult to do more online chess as before , but still it's been fun)

First, I spent about 13 minutes, I was able to see that Qxh7+ had to be the first move by intuition and then by actual efforts to calculate every move))). Then, I saw that Black's king would go all the way to White' camp, even all the way to g2 it seemed to me, but still I couldn't see it so clearly after 13 minutes, so I decided to spent a little longer.

I spent it seemed 33 minutes exactly, and somehow I was able to see all the positions that would arise until Black's king was checkmated))). I was really happy and inspired, but as I was making the moves, I saw that there was a faster way to do the checkmate, it still follow the combination that I had originally pursued, but the ending needed a little refining this is in the third board that I'll share in this comment)) Well, without any further ado, let's go, C'mon Zion!!!)

Zion depth 1)

Zion depth 3)

Zion depth 33)

Thanks @KeSetoKaiba for finding the position, let me know what you think, or look forward to any kind comments))), wish you all the best, and well, slowly Zion will make a comeback, wish you a good day or good night wherever you are in the world, C'mon Zion!!!

I'm interested in improving my calculation skills.

My first thought was Nxf6 but a few thoughts in and you can quickly see that black has options and the king can escape or too many trades happen. It didn't feel forcing enough given the situation. It seems like a good move overall, but the position looks like there should be something better.

My next thought was Qxh7 as it is the most forcing, the king must take, and then Nxf6. I saw at worst that you would win the queen back and be in a better position, but most likely there would be a checkmate. I looked a bit harder and saw that you could force the black king down the board. I didn't see the checkmate clearly but saw that this was a winning position and that there must eventually be a checkmate within several moves so that Qxh7 must be the best move. Is this how other calculate or do you go for absolute accuracy and see the checkmate clearly? I know if I calculated for longer that I would see it, but it seems pointless to me once you have calculated enough to know that it is a won position.

That video brought me a smile (as you hoped it would for others [mentioned in the video]). I'm glad that this position inspired you enough to not only participate in this forum, but also to go above and beyond: creating a video as well.

That is a pretty morning in Utah too. I also liked the outside decision, even as simple as showing the moon or the yard gives the video a bit a human emotion you know. Chess videos on chess training software and precision editing is professional-looking and efficient, but sometimes it is nice to just see a video outside done with a lot of personal love for chess overflowing from yourself; I think that chess-loving Bobby Fischer would be proud of you! 

I don't want this too be too long of a post, but I want to also make sure I address how much I liked hearing the thought-process and the longer checkmate line you found (thinking the pawn was still on h2). A big part of why I created this forum was as a teaching and training ground for other players learning from thoughts of other players. The idea is that the more someone is exposed to chess thinking and patterns, then the more likely they are to find those same opportunities in their own games.

Thanks for posting @ZionPureinHeart

You found the right place to practice those calculation skills  Obviously, calculation skills that can visualize all the way to a checkmate is great - as checkmate is valued over all else in chess; however, in a real game, it isn't always so clear that there is a mate in x moves (and often times there isn't, which typically makes the line unsound if attempted). With that said though, there is a misconception among a lot of chess players (not only beginners) that they imagine a memorization-calculating wizard seeing all the way to checkmate and that alone is good calculation at work. However, seeing this deeply is not required (although nice if you can). I can't think of how many times I've heard Kasparov talk about his intuition. A lot of times a reporter would ask something like: "Did you calculate this line in your game?" To which Kasparov would often reply something like: "No. I didn't have to. I had enough of an intuition that this other line was correct." Since these players have seen so many themes and positions and patterns: they should trust their intuition because it is usually right! I don't want this to be an excuse to avoid calculation, but the idea of calculating a line isn't to find checkmate (nice if it happens though), but rather to find if the ending position is favorable/winning for you. If you sacrifice something (like the Queen in this position), then the goal of the calculation is to see if you can calculate far enough to get compensation for the sacrifice. Chess enthusiasts love to look at crazy attacking games from Alekhine, Tal, Botvinnik and others, but a lot of their less famous games include sparkling attacks that only end in winning a lot of material/winning positions. They aren't as romantic as the long forced checkmates, but they illustrate the idea that you are calculating to find compensation/winning lines after your move.

I hope this helps answer what to look for when you calculate any line(s). In the case of calculating for a checkmate, then you should preferably see it clearly to the end (especially if you sacrifice a Queen and don't gain that material back), but if your developed chess intuition is telling you that x line is winning (even if you don't see checkmate) then that still might be the line you should choose.  @Purslow89 You may find this game of mine interesting https://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-showcase/a-nice-game-recently-played-with-mate-in-6-followed-perfectly I played it quite a while ago (and it isn't nearly as elegant as the Lasker game I just posted), but it is a good example of how I reasoned through the calculation and found a mate in 6; even though I couldn't calculate that far to checkmate (I might be able to calculate that far now, but at the time of that game I could only calculate 3 or 4 moves accurately most of the time).

i dont understand can somebody explain calculation to me

I created this forum 4 days ago (and am glad with the responses in participation), but I was thinking of giving roughly a week until another position though. That way, people have more chances to keep up in the conversation. Since the puzzle seems "solved" enough though, I might post another position soon

I wanted to spend some time to address the "solution(s)" even though several chess.com members were able to find a winning line to checkmate. I might post the next position in a day or two. I want to find another quality position for this training. I have a few ideas for which position to present next, so stay tuned  

KeSetoKaiba
5 days ago

I like the way you set this up. This is very professional.

Here is the next position then  As a few people mentioned in the last position, White's pieces were all aimed at the Kingside and suggested an assault at the King (which ended up being a forced mating net). However, calculation isn't always about sparkling attacks and sacrifices. The goal of this forum is to practice calculation ability, not simply King hunts (although that is sometimes a part of calculation prowess). With that in mind, here is a middlegame position: let us see how different participants reason through the position and see what they come up with in calculation. Remember that this forum thrives off of explanation and reasoning. I'd rather have a detailed description of a losing line than the winning "solution" with no explanation. Anyway, without further ado: with White to move, here is the position...

Anand, V. (2810) vs Wang Hao (2731) 73rd Tata Steel GMA, 1/18/2011, Nimzo-Indian Saemisch Keres Variation, 1-0

Okay, so I started out by analysing the situation. White is ahead in development, on first look things look okay, nothing is under attack and white has the move. But you quickly realise none of the pieces are doing that much and even the pieces which have made it up the board are quite inactive.

The first move that stood out to me was f4, try and take that centre away from black and put a bishop on the useful diagonal. But of course black doesn't have to play exf4, so this move is too slow and it actually looks better for black if he just plays a normal developing move like Nc6.

I should probably add that because of how inactive the white pieces are Nc6 is a likely candidate for blacks next move. 

My next thought was whether I could prevent Nc6 and make any pieces more active. I considered Qa4 but after a6 black is just better and Nc6 comes anyway. There is no way to prevent Nc6.

Next I considered moving the two c pawns, c6 looks terrible because of, you guessed it, Nc6. c4 is perhaps playable but I don't really want to trap that bishop in for the sake of creating some holes on dark squares.

The next moves I considered were planting either of the rooks on the open d file. The problem with this is that it doesn't really do anything in this situation, it needs to come later. The queen and bishop look like they need some attention before things get ugly.

Then I considered Queen movements, of course there's only 2 to consider, but you don't really want her on the back rank so Qb2. Again, it's just on a dark square and is almost equally as cramped as she was on b4, although there is some progress.

Having had all of those thoughts and seeing no other candidates, I plumped on c4. The vague line in my head would go something like c4 Bc6, Qe1 Rd8, Nc3...

But even this, I'd rather be black. It's a difficult one. 

Perhaps I'm missing a move but to me this is a "how do I improve my position" rather than calculation. Difficult to go more than a few moves ahead in these open positions with no forcing moves.

Thank you for for the long insightful post. I know that it takes a lot of time to list out the thinking process like this, but I think you'll see that it really helps your chess in the long run

As far as this position not being much for calculation, I disagree; but I will admit that you are correct when you state that it is sometimes "Difficult to to go more than a few moves ahead in these open positions with no forcing moves." Of course, I think that is sometimes the point. In chess, not always is there a forcing continuation or King hunt; yet calculation can still prove helpful. Since you put in such a detailed description into your thought process here: I think you'll feel a greater sense of awe when I post the "solution" in about a week or so.

I am glad this position is one you like; I chose to take extra time to find good positions I personally liked - quality over quantity.

I don't remember seeing this position, but I see the move White should play - and I think it's very obvious. I saw it in 20 secs.  I won't give it away.   

private message me if you don't want to give it away; I'll tell you if that is the best move or not