I am worried about my calculation skills, Can you see that deep?

So this is the position. Tell me what's your Elo uscf or fide or your blitz here and how much deep you can see after Be3. You have around ~5 minutes to check if Be3 is okay. Then see what i have played. 

I am about 1600-1700 FIDE OTB, but i am mostly online blitz player and i have huge problems with calculation and visualization. I tend to play a move without a plan or without much calculation... I find hard to concentrate in slow time controls, i get distracted very easy and i refuse too quick lines that i dont like and i get tired and lazy too quick... 7 moves deep in that position is dificult for me and i lost a piece. I calculated around 5 moves deep to the point where he captures my rook and i recaputire with my king - position already started to be foggy in my head so i though everything is protected.. but i failed.

do you have simular problem?

I calculated 1.Be3 Qxb2 2.Bd4 Qxc2 3.exd6 exd6 where I didn't see a defense to 4.Qh4 (I had the computer show me the defense... only 1 move works for black try to find it! The threats are e.g. Qh6 and in some lines Bxf7) but also white has 4.Bb1, so I would have played that and then stopped to do the hard calculation after 3...exd6 to see if 4.Qh4 was a mating attack or not.

3.Qxa5 looks not very good after 3...Ng3+ 4.Kg1 Nxf1 5.Kxf1 Bxf3 6.gxf3 and you don't need to see the fork on d3. At that point something simple like 6...Qh2 or 6...Rc6 already looks winning (or very promising) for black.

Blitz is definitely different from long time controls. Analysis is a skill you don't get to practice in blitz. The main thing is to calculate SLOWLY and visualize each new position. For example after 1.Be3 stop. Don't look at Qxb2 yet. Just stop and visualize the new position. Ok, then play Qxb2 and again stop. Visualize it. etc.

That way when it starts to get foggy you don't have to start over at move 1. If it gets foggy on move 5, you can just go back to move 4 and start again from there. You can practice this method with tactics puzzles, or just by analyzing games. I prefer tactic puzzles.

I think my blitz here is underrated I've only played a few games... for whatever that's worth. I think I'm better at blitz than OTB. I'm about 2000 USCF.

Yes, great answer.. the thing is from thousands of blitz and bullet my mind and brain  just.. think fast, i am not calm, I am Addicted to quick chess...  i see a good move and i want to play it.. OR when i force myself to play slow i waste huge amount of time in just several moves and again i am in time trouble and i make fast next moves , just not in shape, and also my energy gets drained that way..

need more practice i guess and to stop quick chess..and focus on tactics with real board.

Yes! This exactly describes me. When I try to go slow I waste huge amounts of time because I play too much blitz chess.

I think you're right, you're just not in shape. I think practicing tactics with a real board will help.

Some players have no problem playing 3+ hours long game and to be fresh after that... but they will collapse quickly after an hour or two of blitz chess online while i could go 3+ hours without a brake blitz online .. is just different world...

My calculation is terrible so I won't even bother...

Playing too much blitz can make you lazy and creates bad habits. GMs have talked about playing too much blitz and how they lost rating points because of it. Before your next tournament you should probably go weeks or a month of no blitz chess and only play longer time controls.

Yeah, b4 is simple and good. If you miss b4 then calculation probably isn't the problem heh.

Me too, kind of. I kept thinking why would I want to play Be3 as that gives black at least ... Ng3+ ... QxBe3
Why can't I play Nd2 and force the exchange of the pesky knight, white cannot play Nc5 as I fork the two knights with b4, then the penny dropped.

@chessknight congrats man.

b4 .. wow , silly me.. Good thing it was from just online rapid game. That's another problem of mine - visualization. I miss some obvious moves, i get lost in some already deep for me calculation i lose time i get nervous and i say F8ck it this is enough ... can't spent same amount of time and concentration on every move and even on my opponent time i should think and calculate but i don't... on one hand i know i should safe energy, on other is this is it, i have to be max concentrated now and focus.. 

Other problem OTB is knights - somewhere in middle game - lack of plan and not recognizing opponent play - for example the action is on kingside, but he pushes a pawn next to my pawn on queen side... i start to think - yea he wants to trade pawns so to open file for his passive rook i see it,  if i take this opens that, if i do nothing and he takes still bad for me, if i push it stays closed.. hm yes much better and i push it.. BUT I miss that by pushing the pawn, the squares left and right are no longer protected and next move he moves his knight out of nowhere and BAM puts it on the new, unprotected by me square and pretty much game over..

Yep my next tour is in couple of months. It's FIDE rated and importhant one classical time control. I will take it more serious. Already  reduced blitz and by next week i will start rapid games and next week after that longer time controls with calculation practice and some study openings, endgames etc. A week before tournament i will stop chess, will eat and sleep property and will be fresh.

"... Most of the time you can find a good move - if not the best move - with a low level of calculation. How low? Two and a half moves into the future. ..." - GM Andrew Soltis (2010)

I guess an example would be the position after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nd2 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 a3, when Black perceives that 4...Ne3 can be played because of 5 fxe3 Qh4+ 6 g3 Qxg3#.

I'm the slow player you described.  You were ok up to Qxa5.  Stockfish says b4 instead of Be3 was the best first move.  Personally, I would have played f5 instead of Be3, but while Stockfish felt White is still ahead with it, it likes b4 or Be3 better.

AllviewP9Lite wrote:

... I find hard to concentrate in slow time controls.  Think of this list as a set of short cuts that will reduce  your need to concentrate.

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Think of this list as an analysis tool.  Analyzing is taking a big complicated problem, like finding the right move(s) in a  chess position, and breaking the big problem into smaller simpler problems.  Think of the things on this list as  those smaller  simpler  problems that have to be solved in order  to solve the big problem of finding the right move(s) in a chess position,

Think of this List as a set of pegs in the calculation tree.  The pegs in the list will be great climbing aids in climbing much higher in the calculation tree than you ever could before.  This list is your calculation big tree tool.

Here is the list I have kept since I started playing chess:

Things to do before I  make a move

1. Am I sitting on my hands  now that I am seated at the chess board table?

2. Is my written list in my possession?

3. What is my opponent  threatening to do and what is my best move to stop his threat and  Kill as much of his counterplay as possible ( you will have to learn what killing counterplay is, and how to execute it on the chess board.)

4. What is the pawn structure  on the board and what are the pawn break points? 

     a. Remember pawn moves are permanent because they cannot move backwards.

     b. Are there any pawn majorities on either side of the board?

     c. Are there any open or half-open files on the board?  Who is in control of that file?

     d. Are there any pawn weaknesses on the board?  You will have to learn about (doubled pawns,

         isolated pawns, backward pawns, etc.) and how to exploit those weakenesses

     e. Is the center blocked.  Flank attacks succeed more often when the center is blocked

5. Are there any of  mine or enemy undefended Pieces and/or Pawns?

   a. Beware of pieces and or pawns that are defended indirectly. ( beware of tactics here!)

   b. Beware of pieces and or pawns that are defended backwards. (yes enemy pieces can defend their own backwards because pieces can move  forwards or backwards.  Pawns can only move  forward or  diagonally forward when capturing.

6. Are there any weak square complexes in the position?   Learn what these are and how to exploit.  

7. Have I checked all of these items above 2x before I make a move,

There is no way you check every single time on every move or even if you skip a move or two. Even if this is done automatically mentally.  It's too much to consider and it drains energy fast and time is flying OTB.

Here is typical mistake of mine. Opponents plays h4 and bring focus on queen side. I look there and i start to calculate. If i take it opens his passive rook, no good, if i do not do anything he will take and open his rook, again no good, so i will push and it will stay closed, yes good move... unfortanetely i did not see his knight coming to d2 and then on juicy c4... where no pawn can attack it.. 

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What is my opponent threatening to do?

Opponents plays h4 and bring focus on queen side. I look there and i start to calculate. If i take it opens his passive rook, no good, if i do not do anything he will take and open his rook, again no good, so i will push and it will stay closed.

You have already  looked into killing counterlay and have found out that the initiative (the attack) is lost with direct defense.  so  you look around for indirect defense.   I look around at the pawn structure and find that the center is blocked.  Step 4e on the list.  And I have more pieces on the Q-side than White.  Oh look 1...g4 threatens the capture of the Q. Indirect defense of the White threat.  Do you really think he is going to carry out his threat of axb4 and let you capture his Q.  I don't think so. 

You get the idea

Yea, counter attack. And not to respond directly to opponent play, so called.. i forgat..  response chess or something..

I did not saw g4 a forcing move (to force white to respond to my move) What i saw is that i have attack on king side.. but he could have attack on queen side and i did not like that. I liked how passive his rook is.. so lets hold him there.. my attack will not go away but his attack will vanish.. that was what i was thinking.. The reall skills comes first to see g4, then to calculate which attack is more dangerous and make an decision by comparing both way of stopping his play and continuing my play.. On top on that to see that knight jump.. i though this knight will go defensive on g3.. not d2.. it was too dificult to see everything and already spend like 10 min OTB..