Question about calculation - Chess Forums - Page 3

SeniorPatzer

Jul 3, 2018

0

#41

Preggo's suggestions are excellent.

aaaaaaairlol

Jul 3, 2018

0

#42

CoffeeAnd420 wrote:

Kemp7 wrote:

play a lot of blitz

Is that it? If I do that, can I start playing at 16 and be a 1500 too? I really don't mean to be such a jerk to some of you but ...I'm watching 9 and 10 year old Indian kids on here who could literally crush your mind. There are guys who started 10 years later than you who could crush you. Then you come on here and give people bad advice when their goal is to become far better than you are right now and you know it.

Really - Wait until you're actually good before you tell us how to get good. I saw a 2900 rated blitz kid from like Egypt or something earlier who would absolutely embarrass our little USCF basement events.

must've hit a nerve

torrubirubi

Jul 4, 2018

0

#43

CoffeeAnd420 wrote:

torrubirubi wrote:

Most people stress tactics, but I have the impression that beginners should invest a lot in learning to play good moves in the defense.

What I mean is that beginners usually are very poor in moving attacking pieces to safe squares. I think that we all know the situation when playing weak players. We usually play normal moves and wait that the opponent lose something by a fork or something else.

For this reason I recommend the OP to try the book “Learn Chess the Right Way” book 3, by Susan Polgar.

The whole book is about how to defend. It is like a book on tactics, but you are playing to prevent the tactics by the opponent. For example, where to move after the king is attacked? Usually you have only one right move. You can from the exercises that Susan Polgar is not only a terrific player but also a very good chess instructor.

I purchased the book today and although I first though it is to basic for me, the exercises begin later to get a little bit more complex. For people under 1200 is the book great, but even for me around 1600 here is the book very helpful.

You know, I was reading your profile and I'm curious: What's the correlation between music and Chess? I see you've delved into the correlation between language and Chess but the more I play the game, without having the ability to read notes myself, it just seems to me like there's a great deal of cross theory in regards to developing intuition. Has there ever been a method of training that encourages the listening of certain kinds of music while training/playing? I've seen so many guys play with headphones on or earplugs in and I'm noticing an almost rhythmic relationship between the two arts, myself.

I have the impression that a lot of people are listening to music when playing blitz. Aggressive and fast music together with aggressive and fast play. Not my thing. I usually avoid blitz.

torrubirubi

Jul 4, 2018

0

#44

Preggo_Basashi wrote:

torrubirubi wrote:

Most people stress tactics, but I have the impression that beginners should invest a lot in learning to play good moves in the defense.

What I mean is that beginners usually are very poor in moving attacking pieces to safe squares. I think that we all know the situation when playing weak players. We usually play normal moves and wait that the opponent lose something by a fork or something else.

For this reason I recommend the OP to try the book “Learn Chess the Right Way” book 3, by Susan Polgar.

The whole book is about how to defend. It is like a book on tactics, but you are playing to prevent the tactics by the opponent. For example, where to move after the king is attacked? Usually you have only one right move. You can from the exercises that Susan Polgar is not only a terrific player but also a very good chess instructor.

I purchased the book today and although I first though it is to basic for me, the exercises begin later to get a little bit more complex. For people under 1200 is the book great, but even for me around 1600 here is the book very helpful.

When I was still somewhat new (playing for years, but still not very good) this was a turning point for me. Identifying my opponent's threat helped anchor my calculation. Instead of random sequences of threats and checks trying to find anything that works, I'd first spend a little while trying to find my opponent's biggest threat. The bigger it was, the easier subsequent calculation became because everything revolved around that. Sometimes you defend directly, sometimes you counter attack, but either way, positions in general started to feel like they made more sense to me.

This sounds like a really good advice: focus first on what your opponent can do before you begin to calculate randomly. I think my defensive skills are poor, but I improved somehow in the last months. I hope to get better with the Polgar's book.

mateologist

Jul 4, 2018

0

#45

robbie_1969 wrote:

we cannot make hard and fast rules, chess is far too complicated for that. Sometimes there is nothing to calculate, sometimes there are multiple lines to calculate, sometimes there are long variations and sometimes there are little variations. It gets even more complicated than that because there is a symbiotic relationship between tactics and strategy. Probably its best to absorb and synthesize the position before calculating anything unless there are obvious and immediate forced continuations. I have lost hundreds of games trying to force matters when there was no advantage in doing so.

This is the Best answer in the Thread it gets right to the point, the great Capablanca said it best " It doesn't matter how far you can calculate if you do not know what you are looking at" !

RoobieRoo

Jul 4, 2018

0

#46

AnhVanT

Jul 4, 2018

0

#47

Ah, I just found out a tip from Magnus. Basically, he does not calculate moves that make his position looks impressive (he is famous for playing equal positions). Instead, he calculates move that restrict his opponents' options/choices/plans. In the other words, he knows what the heck is going on and tries keep everything under control as much as possible.

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#48

This is how I train for calculation/candidate move and decision making.

The software needed is ChessHero (free)

The website needed is found on pgnmentor.com

First download a pgn of your choice. Personally, I love Lasker/Capablanca/Tal. You don't have to customize your pgn, but if you want, you can filter "win only" games of the master you love. If you don't have a chess hero, you can pick the opening of your repertoire. Same thing, customize your variation if you want.

Second, load the pgn in ChessHero. The interface is simple and easy to figure out.

Basically, this software will generate a random position from your pgn. The difference between this method and tactical puzzle is that, there is not a hint of what to do. When you do tactics, you can foretell that there is something to do with capture, fork, pin bla...bla. However, with this method, sometime, it is just a pawn move the slightly improve you pawn structure or position. Another awesome feature is that, this does not tell you the answer immediately but it gives some the evaluation with the variation. So, you can test all of your candidate moves. And keep in mind, master's moves are not necessarily best move. You can set the max attempt is 3 moves, which means you should have 3 candidate moves in your pocket at all time. If you want to train for blitz, set the max time you like. You can also set the successful threshold. Default is 25. I would change to 30, indicating a tempo.

Overall, this method give you a boost in

1. Your confidence in making a move when there is no hint.

2. Your candidate moves.

3. Accurate calculation.

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#49

CoffeeAnd420 wrote:

AnhVanT wrote:

This is how I train for calculation/candidate move and decision making.

The software needed is ChessHero (free)

The website needed is found on pgnmentor.com

First download a pgn of your choice. Personally, I love Lasker/Capablanca/Tal. You don't have to customize your pgn, but if you want, you can filter "win only" games of the master you love. If you don't have a chess hero, you can pick the opening of your repertoire. Same thing, customize your variation if you want.

Second, load the pgn in ChessHero. The interface is simple and easy to figure out.

Basically, this software will generate a random position from your pgn. The difference between this method and tactical puzzle is that, there is not a hint of what to do. When you do tactics, you can foretell that there is something to do with capture, fork, pin bla...bla. However, with this method, sometime, it is just a pawn move the slightly improve you pawn structure or position. Another awesome feature is that, this does not tell you the answer immediately but it gives some the evaluation with the variation. So, you can test all of your candidate moves. And keep in mind, master's moves are not necessarily best move. You can set the max attempt is 3 moves, which means you should have 3 candidate moves in your pocket at all time. If you want to train for blitz, set the max time you like. You can also set the successful threshold. Default is 25. I would change to 30, indicating a tempo.

Overall, this method give you a boost in

1. Your confidence in making a move when there is no hint.

2. Your candidate moves.

3. Accurate calculation.

Um - ChessTempo is the site you want to use for this kind of thing ...and a hell of a lot more.

I don't have a membership on CT so I cannot tell if it does have this kind of thing. So far, I have seen only tactical problem like capturing, mate, combination. It is much different from what I want to do. I want to practice with a totally random position, where there is no sight of tactics within the next 2,3 moves. I cannot tell how many time I have struggled with finding the next move just to slightly improve my position. This kind of thing, I don't think can be practiced with CT

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#50

Here is an example of what I want to practice. White is better but how do I continue. As an amateur, the very first choices I can see are
1. Hanging pawn on b6

2. double rook on d-file

3. Bh6 attack the knight.

But, how does the engine play? How does the master play? Those kind of situation is just hard to put in a category.

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#51

CoffeeAnd420 wrote:

AnhVanT wrote:

Here is an example of what I want to practice. White is better but how do I continue. As an amateur, the very first choices I can see is
1. Hanging pawn on b6

2. double rook on d-file

3. Bh6 attack the knight.

But, how does the engine play? How does the master play? Those kind of situation is just hard to put in a category.

lol...definitely take my advice from the last post then. It will be totally up your alley.

I just want to verify one thing. The positional motif is used to look for the specific problems? Or, is it just for Guess the move?

SmithyQ

Jul 5, 2018

0

#52

AnhVanT wrote:

Here is an example of what I want to practice. White is better but how do I continue. As an amateur, the very first choices I can see are
1. Hanging pawn on b6

2. double rook on d-file

3. Bh6 attack the knight.

But, how does the engine play? How does the master play? Those kind of situation is just hard to put in a category.

This is an interesting position. After the material, which is even, what I notice is a general lack of coordination with Black's pieces. He would very much prefer to have his Knight and Bishop switch places. His Re8 is passive, his Knight is doing nothing, and it's not easy to see how Black generates any threats.

It's worth noting that the Rook on the f-file is well-placed: aiming at a pawn, and it indirectly pins the Be7. If it moves, then f7 would fall. It's not easy to defend f7, because playing Rf8 would drop the Bishop. As such, the Rook and Bishop are tied together, and it's not easy to improve either one.

Contrast that with White, where his Knight can easily get to e4 and then f6 or d6, and his Bishop is eyeing b6 and can jump to h6. Black can only really play Nf5. Said another way, if Black cannot play Nf5, it's not clear if he can do anything.

g4! is not the first move I would consider; it's a pawn move and potentially weakening, and I'd want to examine other possibilities first. If I don't have to play g4, then great. The more I look at it, though, the more I see that it completely stops Black's only active plan, which makes it very difficult to untangle his pieces, and White can do anything. Yes, g4 is weakening, but Black is in no position to take advantage. The more I look at it, the more I like it.

I think I would play g4 in a real game, but it's hard to say (the game continuation makes it look effortless, but it's not immediately clear at the start).

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#53

SmithyQ wrote:

AnhVanT wrote:

Here is an example of what I want to practice. White is better but how do I continue. As an amateur, the very first choices I can see are
1. Hanging pawn on b6

2. double rook on d-file

3. Bh6 attack the knight.

But, how does the engine play? How does the master play? Those kind of situation is just hard to put in a category.

This is an interesting position. After the material, which is even, what I notice is a general lack of coordination with Black's pieces. He would very much prefer to have his Knight and Bishop switch places. His Re8 is passive, his Knight is doing nothing, and it's not easy to see how Black generates any threats.

It's worth noting that the Rook on the f-file is well-placed: aiming at a pawn, and it indirectly pins the Be7. If it moves, then f7 would fall. It's not easy to defend f7, because playing Rf8 would drop the Bishop. As such, the Rook and Bishop are tied together, and it's not easy to improve either one.

Contrast that with White, where his Knight can easily get to e4 and then f6 or d6, and his Bishop is eyeing b6 and can jump to h6. Black can only really play Nf5. Said another way, if Black cannot play Nf5, it's not clear if he can do anything.

g4! is not the first move I would consider; it's a pawn move and potentially weakening, and I'd want to examine other possibilities first. If I don't have to play g4, then great. The more I look at it, though, the more I see that it completely stops Black's only active plan, which makes it very difficult to untangle his pieces, and White can do anything. Yes, g4 is weakening, but Black is in no position to take advantage. The more I look at it, the more I like it.

I think I would play g4 in a real game, but it's hard to say (the game continuation makes it look effortless, but it's not immediately clear at the start).

OMG! That is a nice explanation! Although, I only understood well, half of your words, but it is enough for me to understand why g4 is an excellent move. The continuation makes sense to me but to explain it in my words, I am speechless. Thank you!

Kestony

Jul 5, 2018

0

#54

Calculate only forcing moves in this order: checks, captures threats. Only end the calculation when there are no more forcing moves.

RoobieRoo

Jul 5, 2018

0

#55

Enjoy!

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#56

robbie_1969 wrote:

Enjoy!

Nice attacking moves

RoobieRoo

Jul 5, 2018

0

#57

AnhVanT

Jul 5, 2018

0

#58

I think the easiest way to learn calculation is to study sacrifice move of winning games for a few reasons:

1. It requires tons of accurate calculations.

2. It is very forcing, especially when it is a queen sac.

3. It is very good for visualization training.

4. It often starts a sequence of moves.

For instance, in the diagram, we know for sure there is a sac at 23.exf5. I will stop at 22...f5 to visualize the board after 23.exf5 because it was what Tal did. From there, I will immediately look at Black's king position because more than often, the sac is a catalyst for an deadly attack. Then, I walk through the logic, if Black takes my Knight then what is the best thing to do with my tempo bla bla. I tried a few games, not saying that I could guess the entire calculation , but I could follow through the next few moves. So, again, this is very helpful to study sacrifice move.