Before you calculate, figure out what to calculate

I've heard that when telling people something you should first tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them it, and then tell them what you told them.

It seems the same may be true for chess calculation. Before you just calculate some lines it seems important to assess the position well, especially if it has just changed.

Here's an example:

So how did I miss that simple mate in two? Because I was not thinking about how Black's king was in a mating net. Instead I was thinking about how I had missed Kf6 and needed to save myself.

Before you jump to the conclusion that I would have found the mate in two if I had been better at calculating, take a look at the following:

In that example I found a much more complicated mate. Why? Because I was looking for one.

Although calculation is vitally important, it's just as important to assess the position before you start calculating and figure out what types of moves to calculate.

I was reminded of this simple concept when I reviewed this game and I hope it benefits you. 

Candidate moves are important. If you just calculate moves randomly there is a good chance that you will miss some moves.

Ugh

@csalami, yes. In the game I should have thought about all my options. Instead I played the first one that came to mind.

@bb_gum234, the time control was G/90 and I had plenty of time on my clock at move 25. I have no excuse except that I was only thinking of saving my knight. Very well summarized :)

@now_and_zen, okay.

Jeff, I reckon when we make those kind of mistakes it's because we value the aesthetic above the "win". I made an OTB mistake the other night that I could have kicked myself for. I had a won endgame and moved my knight to a "nice" outpost square protected by a pawn that made a nice impression. Problem was ,my opponent's knight and rook had a mating net to cast over me. At the back of my mind I made the move because I liked the visual impression it made.

I was looking at those forced mates and thought to myself, this guy must be at least 1200 or 1250 even to find such nice moves, then I looked at your rating 2038 and thought, bloody hell, you should see things like that in an instant, without any calculating. When the King is exposed and all your pieces are active around it, you should know that you must attack the King, its a no brainer.

I thought this was VERY well put together(no LONG WINDED over-descriptions), simple, and insightful.  Good job!

@RandomJeff, that does sound very similar. Perhaps the best solution is to sit on your hands and continue to calculate even after you've found a good move/idea. When you have a brilliant looking idea, wait! Finish your calculation and look for any forcing moves from your opponent. Probably easier said then done.  My guess is that it's best to go one game at a time. Anyway, you've taken the first step to overcoming the problem by knowing you have the problem :) I've found that when I realize I have an area to improve in I automatically start to think about it in my games.

@Ziggy_Zugzwang, that makes sense. I just got my first Dvoretsky book, Attack and Defense, and he mentions that when you have a winning position you must go for the best and simplest win, not the most pretty. He says that ultimately the beauty of chess moves is the logic behind them. What you said made me think of this.

@Murphy70, thank you. In future games I'll try to remember to attack my opponent's king if it's exposed and all my pieces are active around it. On the other hand, if it's a no brainer I suppose I don't have to remember it 

@BigKingBud, thanks! I'm glad it helped you. If I post more content I will definitely keep your comment in mind 

No, you don't have to remember now that you know the idea, the brains auto pilot (intuition) kicks in. 

Yes. I suppose I should stop thinking at the board and just trust my brain's autopilot to find good moves. Then my USCF rating might make it all the way to that 1250 rating you talked about!

Oh, actually that's not possible because I have a 1700 USCF rating floor  I guess I'll be stuck playing all these poor 2000 rated players who also probably face this problem  Any suggestions? 

Move to the England UK then you can achieve your dream rating. We have very few FIDE rated tournaments, 1 at the last count and no floor to speak of. Players in England are rated by the ECF who refuse to adopt the FIDE system for fear it would make them redundant. 

I read once that even a very strong player can fall for a tactic; that a talented beginner might see....

but that, the AMOUNT Of oversights is much less...

In short; these couple positions could be the only oversights in hundreds of positions; while us Patzers do this day in and day out!

@Murphy70, I'll think about it 

@joliepa, yeah, that's probably true. I'd say that the stronger the player, the better their ability to spot tactics. As you point out, however, they still fall prey to basic tactics sometimes, but the stronger they get the rarer this occurrence.

In terms of exactly how often, that's quite an interesting topic. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "strong player," but I can say that at my level we're not very consistent. Sometimes I play a game without a big mistake. Other times I make a lot of basic mistakes in a single game. Overall though I probably make a lot more mistakes than most beginners would think.