Improving Chess Visualization?

My chess visualization is pretty sub-par I think.  If I recognize a pattern I might be able to see 4-5 moves ahead (if it's a very clear mate in four for example) but often times it's a challenge even to see two moves ahead (like in one of those crazy mate in two problems with 15 pieces & 13 pawns still on the board ).

I've heard of various techniques like practicing endgames (where there's not a whole lot going on) and moving up from there to more & more complicated positions or memorizing the colors of all the squares so you can see them in your head or playing little games like the knight's tour.

I fear playing so much coorespondence chess (and using the analysis board liberally) and playing so many games at once has undermined this ability of mine even more.  Perhaps I should just forget trying to be a perfect visualizer & simply ingrain common tactical, endgame, middlegame, opening & strategic motifs into my brain so that I can learn to trust my intuition very well.  I do admire long range calculation ability very much though for example check out the below game by Stienitz, pure majesty!  The calculating genius begins on move 22 (up until then it's just Stienitz building up a strategic advantage).

YouTube video on the match 

Correspondence play does not hurt your visualization skills. Many consider playing a game from a book with out the aid of a board great training. Tisdall recommends starting slowly from a diagram position and see if you can play through two or three moves ahead. keep going until you can see more of the board (and variations) in your head. I find that seeing the board three moves ahead is usually enough. But the key is examining all pieces and seeing where they can move

That's for sure, I went from a +1 advantage vs. a 2500 to a resignation on move 18 (with a mate in 4 pending) because I simply did not look at the whole board.  I also fell apart too quickly as soon as I got hit by an unexpected shot instead of gathering myself & finding the best defensive move (in this case 16. Na3).

Game

um...what is chess visualization?

 It is being able to imagine in your mind  where the pieces will be after a few more moves.

The thing with the Steinitz game is that is mostly based on the same pattern QxR (I don't care where the rook is) RxR RxR QxR+

I share your quest for better visualization. Mine has improved through daily, or near daily, work on  "white to move and win" type problems taken from real games. The object is to work out the winning variation and all meaningful subvariations to the win (clear material or mate) ... Doing this (one puzzle a day minimum) for, gosh going on two years now, has roughly doubled my ability to calculate...  which is nice because I'm getting now where if it's quiet and I can concentrate I can follow most books without a board.  The key is really trying... really looking for everything there is to see in the position -- gains are proportional to effort. And gains come slowly... For me, it takes about six months to have an improvement that' s even noticeable.  The chessgames.com puzzle of the day and the kibitzers there are a good resource for this practice.

Narz, I, too, would like a better board visualization. Where I could see beyond and beyond, not just what 's right in front of me.

I read Heisman's "Everyone's 2nd Chessbook" which was touted as improving board visualization. Maybe it is just me, but it did not help me very much.

stwils

There is an interesting book that tries to help players improve their visualization called Chess Visualization Course. It will give a position and then a series of moves and then ask you what the material balance is. You are also supposed to note how well you visualized the resulting position. The problems range from 4 ply to over 12 ply (19 ply looks to be the longest). They plan on doing a whole series of the books.

I do like Tisdall's idea of stepping stones from Improve Your Chess Now!. As said above you would go through a move and then focus on the position until it is clear in your head, and then do another move in a repeating cycle.  

Edit: Hah, rob beat me to it while I was writing my post. 

"Narz, I, too, would like a better board visualization. Where I could see beyond and beyond, not just what 's right in front of me.

I read Heisman's "Everyone's 2nd Chessbook" which was touted as improving board visualization. Maybe it is just me, but it did not help me very much.

stwils"

I actually thought it was overrated also.  I bought it when I was working as a part time chess instructor was grade school kids.

Thanks everyone for all the replies & ideas!

Best way to learn visualisation is to use a good chess program. I found Fritz 12 to be excellent for that. It has a calculating section that prevents the pieces from moving but records the moves as you make them out. The idea of verbally saying the moves and visualising in your minds eye is greatly strengthened. After three weeks my visualising skills improved remarkedly.

I am not sure as to the merit of my ideas, as it would pertain to everyone on this subject. I welcome anyone of any skill level to critique, put their two cents in or even ask questions pertaining to the things I am about to type.

I have noticed, I tend to find myself with a set of goals I would like to accomplish as a games goes on. I calculate this based upon the position mainly. These goals change as the game goes on, due to changes in the position. They tend to change more rapidly against stronger players.In fact it isn't so far fetched for me to find myself totally defensive against them.

Here in appears to lie two opportunities, to work on your defensive and offensive visualization, by playing opponents of varying skill levels intentionally. This includes weaker ones. I see some people refuse to do this because, they are affraid of either their rating taking a hit or feeling as if they aren't able to learn anything useful from playing "someone beneath them".

Having stated previously, I have goals I calculate, based upon the ever changing position. I find it easier to predict "my moves" by far, because of what I hope to achieve. I find it is actually my opponents threat ( or retaliation) I have to calculate perhaps more than my own, so as not to get myself into a bad position.

It can be difficult to predict your opponents moves based upon your assessment of what the best moves appear to be. They might not see them.You might not either. Because of this, or an opponents appetite to intentionally be different to keep you off balance, I find it is far easier to plan for the greastest adversity(the immenent danger they pose or how this could change for the worse), all the while hoping for the easiest circumstances to arise after they move.

So, you end up being forced to calculate variations. Whether these variations actually get used is either here nor there. What is important is that, not only are you expanding your capability to potentially see what might actually come to pass, in the form of a predicted set of moves of a certain number, but that you are preparing your mind to be able to increase that number based upon you using another part of your mind, to simultaneously do a nearly identical exercise.What is especially important about this, is that it pertains to an actual game you played from begining to end, instead of an exercise that was given that didn't involve you coordinating all of the moves. You can later use the variations you previously calculated to learn from mistakes. You can see how better to avoid opponent attacks, while learning to taking advantage of their misfortunes.

The only other tips I have for trying to be able to calculate moves in advance is to make moves that intentionally limit your opponents opportunities. The less replies they have to your prompting, the easier it is to pick your best move there after and you simply try to repeat the process. When all of this mumbo jumbo seems to be a bit overwhelming, just slow down. After all, chess is still a game and it is supposed to be enjoyed. I have lost many games to an opponent who only had 2 minutes remaining on their timer while I had ten. If you aren't sure if the move you are making is the right one or atleast what seems like the right one, look at it again until you have a better idea of why you are making the move and its consequences. Good luck.

You might be interested in a program I made specifically for training visual skills. It really works! You can see some examples in this video:

http://chessfox.com/visualwize-3-0

Thank you guys for some truly insightful points raised in this thread. Visualwize, personally, was full of errors and bad grammar, I found. Not opensource either *grumble* However, I'm keen to implement the sage advice of the other posters. Cheers!