Memory and analysis improvement

Hello everybody! My first post in this excellent chess community.

Being a terrible chess player, I have often wondered what could be the ways to improve my game. I noticed that I am really bad at memorizing chessboard positions or openings and, more important, at in-depth analysis of the coming moves (mine and of my opponent).

I have friends who can easily, after a match, rebuild some past positions and think ahead many moves in a clear way. In my case, I can think ahead 2/3 moves, then the pictures becomes very foggy...

Are there any exercises or books meant for improving this specific area of chess playing?

Thanks a lot and glad to be part of the community!

Chess_Hopeless

I don't think that the problem is your memory, but that you're having to remember much more than your friends.  As you continue to play games and grow as a player, you'll begin to recognize patterns.  Once you can start remembering the position by pawn structure and tactical possibilities, it makes reconstructing the board much easier.  You are currently having to remember all 64 squares, rather than a few key blocks with the rest falling into place.  I would suggest not spending as much time focusing on this aspect, but tactics and strategies.  Strategies in particular will help you think of the board as a whole.

 I definitely agree. How about thinking ahead?

 Thanks a lot!!

chess_hopeless> "I noticed that I am really bad at ... in-depth analysis of the coming moves (mine and of my opponent). How about thinking ahead?"

A good way to improve your skill at tactical calculation... is to spend more time calculating! But seriously, some worthwhile approaches are:

1. Play slow games where you get to spend more time analyzing each position but are still time-restricted. G/45 or G/60 for example. You might also aim for openings that lead to early tactics for this purpose.

2. Analyze master games, especially tactical ones from the Romantic era of chess. For example, Morphy or Anderssen are good choices.

3. There are also books on calculation like "Excelling at Chess Calculation" which focus on common thought-process mistakes while calculating. These are worth skimming through, but put more focus on the first two methods.

 Will do! Thanks a lot for answering.