Chess board awareness


Good Question. I know it helps to recall tactics knowing them by name - it puts a sort of hook in your brain from which you can recall the pattern easier, like knowing that diagonal Queen mate is called the Dovetail Mate and it's horizontal or vertical equivalent is called the Swallow's Tail Mate.
I think being able to visualize the colors of each square is related to seeing patterns in how the pieces move and in tactics. Being able to visualize instantly the colors of the squares may help you visualize diagonals better. for example the Black QB is originally on c8: where does its diagonal hit the edge of the board on the h-file? Do you instantly visualize h3? A Knight on d5 (white square) attacks eight squares of the opposite color - what are they? e3, e7, c3, c7, f6, b6, f4, b4. What squares are in the diagonal that includes d6 and e7? All of this is related to recognizing patterns.
