Calculation in tactics puzzles (Visualization)

Hello! I am new at chess (relatively), and have started to do tactic puzzles on various websites. I have heard good players visualize the puzzle and (after finding candidate moves) run through the variations in their head. Do you guys only visualize the pieces that are of use, or all the pieces? Doesn't memorizing where all the pieces are first take a lot of time? Thanks

At least when I calculate, in general, I'm only looking at a particular area. Maybe less than a quadrant, and maybe half the board or more, but rarely is it the whole board.

I usually only do a whole board visualization at the very end of a line, to check how much, if any, compensation the side losing material might have.

Although before trying to solve a puzzle, I will familiarize myself with the position by looking at all the pieces. Maybe a rook on a1 doesn't seem useful now, but I need to know it's there because it may be part of the solution. So even before calculating I recommend looking at each individual non-pawn and tracing its line of movement with your eyes (even if it's through pieces). For example a rook on a1 you'd look across the first rank all the way to h1 and then from a1 up all the way to a8 no matter how many pieces are in between.

But how do you manage to keep the position in your mind so well? I can't seem to keep the puzzle in my head so I can visualize the moves. Is it just a matter of experience? Thanks for all the help

Yeah, just lots and lots of practice.

In the beginning I'd calculate 1 or 2 moves, and already start to lose track of things, start over from the board position, try the same 1 or 2 moves, it gets fuzzy again, start over again, etc.

One thing that helped me was purposefully going slower. Just do 1 or two moves, then stop and really try to see that new position. What new squares are attacked? What squares did you leave undefended? If a pawn was captured what new files are opened? If a pawn moved what new ranks are open/closed? Just look around and get a feel for it. Then calculate move 3 and 4 and stop again and try to visualize the changes (all while still looking at the board or diagram).

But why would you need to do visualization exercises (like knowing the colors of every square) if you can look at the board? Sorry for the late reply and thanks (again) for the feedback.

Having an automatic feel for how squares are related can help. If I ask you to add 7+3 you probably don't count, use your fingers, or anything like that, you just know it's 10. When you know a lot of these little relationships then when you're trying to solve something harder it helps because the little steps require no mental energy.

Having said that, I'm not sure trying to learn the colors matters. To my mind that's more of a symptom of having played and solved a lot. I don't know if trying to copy the symptom helps. But if it does help, it's probably the way I describe above. Lets say you calculate a very long line and are at the limits of your ability to visualize. The last move was Bb3. But you know the b3 square is on the same diagonal as g8, and so you know your mating attack should work without needing to visualize anything. It may even help you go a move or two further because knowing b3 and g8 are related required no effort.

So when trying to solve puzzles in my head I should just focus on the relationships between the pieces instead of the actual board?

By "in your head" do you mean you're trying to find the whole solution before moving the first piece (which is the way you should do it).

Or do you mean you're trying to solve puzzles blindfolded?

It's kind of a hard question to answer because you need at least some board sense to know how the pieces are interacting... but my answer is the relationships between the pieces is what's important. It's not necessary (and probably very hard) to visualize 64 squares.

When you trying to solve puzzles, first you should look the whole board if there are so many pieces on it, to identify the nature of the position. In many puzzles you are defending threats you can't understand if your mind is only focus how your pieces coordinate in the attack. There are many times in between moves. I am telling this because I have fail my self in this trap trying to solve with speed in numerous times.

Take your time. Identify the position first. Not only your attacking chances but your opponents also. After that you can start calculating move orders between piece placement, captures and checks. It is better to solve slow than be inaccurate. I am always say that to my self but lack in consistency.

Hardest things to do, and certainly true.

                                                      ______________________________   

 The goal is to build in your brain a tactics visualization pattern memory bank.           

There is a rather easy way to solve most tactical problems which arise from a real game.

1. look at any check regardless of how stupid it might look at first glance.

2. look at any forcing move regardless of how stupid it might look at first glance.

Indeed, that's the right way to think. Computers think like this, and so find some really shocking moves often. We can't emulate a computer in everything, but we can emulate it's unbiased consideration of moves.

Calculation begins with pattern recognition, which is rooted in the understanding of contacts. You need to quickly spot the threats and possibilities. Through teaching many hundreds of young students chess, I have observed that those who advance and become skilled are those who can see one and two move tactics.

The easiest way to learn such tactics quickly is solving lots of very easy exercises, preferably with only a few pieces.

I know of two books that present the right kind of exercises:

https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Chess-Elementary-Problems-Players/dp/0671795015

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Tactics-Building-Foundation-Chess-ebook/dp/B06XKG1VZD

 Yes , Those 5 steps are Enough . I agree

Sorry for not checking in on the topic for so long. I've been doing as advised, doing tactic puzzles over and over again. But if you look at the board while doing long variations, won't you get mixed up with the current position and the calculation?

First under no circumstances use a real chess board or computer screen chessboard.  Only use the diagram in the book or video.  Do the calculating in your head.

This is not rocket science.  Tactics puzzle training exercises is rote repetition in order to add more tactic visualization patterns into your brain's memory bank

Sure, that can happen. The more you practice the more you're able to ignore the pieces on the board that aren't really there anymore... but certainly players of every level screw up now and then.

During a long line, if the pieces start to distract me and I can feel that I'm about to lose track of stuff, I'll actually look away or shut my eyes so I can see the end of it without getting messed up.