Chess theory

I didn't know what to call this topic but I am sure everybody has wondered how strong players find and analyse good ideas over the board.  It seems as if it happens randomly and is often put down to "talent".  However, a number of the strongest ever players had their own secret as to how they found and analysed ideas.  Some of these players hinted at it without giving it away.  I have my own system which proves good in tactics but is harder to apply when it comes to strategic issues.  It works for me and chances are it would make no sense to anybody else.  How do others approach this question?

how the hell have you managed to crush 3000+ tactics.. that too within a few seconds..??? are you human???

I said that I had a system or a number of systems.  The system that got me there was too complicated to learn or teach and so I gave it up.  Anyway, strong players have their own system.  Mine was good for tactics but not necessarily other aspects of the game.

Do you have a game where you applied your system?

I don't play competition.  I haven't played for years.  I only use the system for tactics.  My TT rating was 3603 before it was deleted because I stopped using TT.  At one stage I was stuck on about 2500.  The system itself is evolving.  I believe I have made improvements.  It is hard work but it works.

....this is incredible. Okay....let me get this straight. You were cheating the system to 3600+ TT rating ? Or you just earned it ? I mean the world's best players have never-never been that high in TT.

Absolutely hiliarious !!....love it !!

The system that got you up to 3600 on TT is worth knowing. The system that brought you back down to 1200 is not.

You can say what you like.  As to 1200, TT defaults back to that rating when you do not use it for a while.  I can get my rating reinstated if I want.  I did it once before but I can't be bothered.  As to the world's best players, I am not the only person to have got that rating.  TT does not make a person the best player in the world.  Far from it.  Being able to solve puzzles is a separate skill in itself.  That is why we have a separate world championship for that sort of thing.

Hi eastyz. Can you give us a reference about those players and a hint concerning your system? 

You can do some of your own research.  Alekhine for example was famous for the twist in the tail of a combination.  He once recommended that players should be looking for geometrical relationships in a position.  Everybody knows that now but not everybody can find tactical devices like Alekhine did.  It can't be just a question of moving the pieces in one's head which many people can do.  Lasker was also a great tactician and recommended like Alekhine looking for the geometrical relationships.  Kotov I found unhelpful.  He described what thorough analysis would look like by his analysis tree without really saying how to find the key moves.  On the other hand, when you listen to today's players when asked how they go about analysing, Kramnik for example said that it is chaos in his head and it is very much at random that he analyses variations.  Maybe he was exaggerating, maybe he was not.  Kramnik is not alone.  I seem to recall Giri said something like that as did Short.  So how do these very strong players see as much as they do?  A large part of it is pattern recognition because they have so much experience.  There is also an element of luck i.e. looking at a variation that works as against a variation that does not.  Kramnik can calculate many variations and so his ability to move pieces in his head is very good.  Grischuk is like Kramnik but it appears that because he tries to be more thorough he often gets into time trouble.  Kramnik gets into time trouble too but that is usually when he feels he is not in good form and therefore has to double check variations too many times.  But what happens if you don't have the pattern recognition ability that these very strong players do?  Without being able to move the pieces in your head, you have no hope.  That is certain.  Let us therefore assume that you have learnt to move the pieces in your head for several moves.  Many strong players have said that if they had a hint as to the right idea, they would have been able to calculate the variations as required every time.  Fine once said that the essence of every combination is a double attack.  Not true, of course, but there is a great deal of truth in what Fine says about the “double” element when you think about it.  I am not talking about simple forks or skewers.  Lasker coined the term desperado which is an attacked piece that gives itself up as dearly as possible.  It happens in many complicated combinations.  When the desperado happens, it is often the key to the combination.  That is an example of a double function - defence and attack.  Petrosian used to say that one of his greatest priorities is to ensure that his pieces are protected.  Petrosian, despite his defensive reputation, was in fact a great tactician.  Looking at all that, what I tried to do is come up with a working method that incorporated those concepts.  There was a lot of trial and error.  I think I solved over 25,000 TT puzzles before I stopped.  The idea of the method is as much as possible to avoid confusion and be more efficient and thorough in calculating.  I am not saying that the method is easy to learn.  Nor am I saying that you will become an instant genius on learning the method.  However, what I do say is that on learning the method you will improve your tactical ability significantly.  How much, I can't say.  It was always said of me that I had a tactical gift and so I don't know if I can judge how the method would help others from what I have been able to do.  All I can say is that it works for me and I don't see that it won't help others who are prepared to work hard at improving.  The method improved my tactical prowess much faster than anything else ever did.

Fascinating! Do you think you have any chance of winning the World Chess Solving Championship?

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Solving_Championship.

I had a quick look at the link.  The method is not for helpmates and selfmates unless I find a way to include them somehow.  I am not sure about that.

A Cow Dung Theory of Chess might also attract comments to his thread.

The OP should give it a try.  He has nothing more to lose.

Thank you Zirab and zborg for your comments.  Just for the record, when I did play competition, my rating was much higher than yours.

In our one game, you managed to hold equality with the White pieces until you dropped your knight.

Ziryab, I played competition 30 years ago.  I only came online a couple of years ago to have some fun.  I don't know anything about openings anymore.  You are comparing apples with oranges.

You do know that ratings 30 years ago were inflated in comparison to those today? If you were 2100 then, you would be 1700 today with the same skill.

Quite the opposite the experts will tell you.  Anyway, you have had your fun.  Thank you for your contributions.