Slow Tactics Training

"I stay dull with tactics training"

I'm not improving much with Tactics Trainer, and don't find it fun. Main problem is I'm feeling too rushed by the "solve it instantly or die" mentality behind the regime. I just act like a rabbit in the headlights. 

So I thought I'd experiment with slowing it right down and argue myself to a solution slowly on paper, or rather, here, so others can join in. This is the first problem I attempted, Black to move after 19. Qc2, see if you can solve it, Stockfish give the solution in the first line:

https://www.chess.com/analysis-board-editor?fen=2rq1rk1%2Fpb4pp%2F1p2pb2%2F4np2%2F1P1N4%2FP1n1P3%2F1BQNBPPP%2FR3K2R+b+KQ+-+1+1&flip=true

I started by looking for checks, captures, and threats (CCT). In that order. For each piece:

1) Nc3 can't check. It can capture Be2, that allows Rc1 to attack Q. Q has to move so N can now take Nd4, meaning Black is a piece up. But is this the best move? I've plumped for a point winning capture in the past only for TT to tell me it's wrong, and point to a mating opportunity.

2) Ne4 has eight moves, moving forward it just gets captured or threatened. So no obvious threats, to me. Deep Blue might suss out a seven move Knight dance, but how would even the GMs here know if that is the case or not? My tiny brain can only just cope with two move tactics as outlined in 1.

Hmmm... This is going to take hours if I look at every possible tactical combination even just two or three moves ahead. I'm going to pursue a different heuristic. Having seen that 1) wins me points I'll just do it, in a real match I'd be ahead and likely to win, even if I missed a better move.

Hey I solved it! Only +1 point 'cause I took half an hour, but at least I got it.

By slowing things down I also discovered the excellent analysis board, which expllcitly shows the solution, and a couple of moves after the N/B sack. (Should we be looking a couple of moves after? Or leave that Stockfish, and be happy to see the N/B sack? I mean the worst White can do (surely) is threaten a piece after takinging back the N... which it does... but that piece can move...)

 Next time, you can use the game editor to post the position for people. (Few people take the  trouble to click links.)

Mal_Smith wrote:

"I stay dull with tactics training"

I'm not improving much with Tactics Trainer, and don't find it fun. Main problem is I'm feeling too rushed by the "solve it instantly or die" mentality behind the regime. I just act like a rabbit in the headlights. 

Hey I solved it! Only +1 point 'cause I took half an hour, but at least I got it.

                                                                     ______________________

Please DO NOT deviate from the tactics practice that I am writing for you:

1. Do Not use internet tactics trainers (many bad features, especially hint button feature)

2. Purchase good Tactics problems books

3. Purchase a timer.

4. DO NOT USE A SEPERATE BOARD AND PIECES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

5. Use only the diagram in the book to calculate in your head

6. Give yourself 3 min. on the timer.

7. When 3 min are up.  STOP.  DO NOT LINGER ON THE DIAGRAM.  NO OTHER ANALYSIS ANYWHERE.

8. Look in the back of the book to see if you got it right or wrong

9. Mark the diagram with a check or an X

10. Move on to the next diagram. 

11. Do a total of 20 diagrams with above procedure. DO NOT  DEVIATE FROM THIS PROCEDURE.

12. At the end of the section in the book go back and redo all of  the diagrams in that section.

Repeat the same procedure until you finish the book.  Get another book and repeat.

I promise you at the end of a month what will happen to you is the following.  Whenever you look at chess position, if there is a tactic(s) in the position, the tactic will jump up off the board and smack you on the forehead in a flash!!

@fieldsofforce Perfect detailed instructions. Internet tactics trainer encourage trial and error approach. In real games online or otb, there is no take back or 2nd try.

With a diagram in a book there is no take or hints or anything else.  At the end of the 3 min. you stop.  You check in the back of the book.  You mark the diagram with a checkmark if you got it right.  You mark the diagram with an X if you got it wrong.  You reset your time for 3 min. and move to the next diagram.  No lingering trying to figure out the position or anything else.

Thanks urk, that's the kind of expert response I'm looking for. You just see the pattern instantly, we mere mortals do not. Is there a shortcut to learning these patterns? Has anyone devised classification system for chess patterns, like architects and software engineers have done for their disciplines? See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern

If I take five seconds over this problem I (i) don't see the pattern (ii) don't learn the pattern (iii) have no time to calculate (iv) guess wildly and 50% of the time wrongly (v) my TT rating stays permanently below 1000, I get stressed out, so just play games, don't spot tactics, push wood (so relaxing!), and my "rapid" rating stays permanently below 1400.

                                                                                        ____________________

Please DO NOT deviate from the tactics practice that I am writing for you:

1. Do Not use internet tactics trainers (many bad features, especially hint button feature)

2. Purchase good Tactics problems books

3. Purchase a timer.

4. DO NOT USE A SEPERATE BOARD AND PIECES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

5. Use only the diagram in the book to calculate in your head

6. Give yourself 3 min. on the timer.

7. When 3 min are up.  STOP.  DO NOT LINGER ON THE DIAGRAM.  NO OTHER ANALYSIS ANYWHERE.

8. Look in the back of the book to see if you got it right or wrong

9. Mark the diagram with a check or an X

10. Move on to the next diagram. 

11. Do a total of 20 diagrams with above procedure. DO NOT  DEVIATE FROM THIS PROCEDURE.

12. At the end of the section in the book go back and redo all of  the diagrams in that section.

Repeat the same procedure until you finish the book.  Get another book and repeat.

I promise you at the end of a month what will happen to you is the following.  Whenever you look at chess position, if there is a tactic(s) in the position, the tactic will jump up off the board and smack you on the forehead in a flash!!

@Mal_Smith

Please don't be urk's dupe.  He and a couple of others are on report with chess.com for harassment.  If you need documentation check with chess.com.  They will verify. 

Next problem, "solve it in five seconds like urk," I think. Spent five and many more seconds as rabbit in headlight. Try it, Black to move:

This looked much trickier, to me, than the last one, though that was tricky enough. I *did* just about get the last one in a few minutes (even if I did waste time futilely checking other options...) So I decided to take a deep breath and go *slowly* through the options. 

Thought process: Q looks dangerous, check the King. Ah! Now now I can take the pawn. Do it! INCORRECT. So now my pragmatic, "do it NOW if it wins material" approach is shown to be rubbish...

The "Checks, Captures, Threats in that order" mantra still applies (I think...)  What I didn't do was CHECK OUT ALL THE CHECKS that Q can perform: Qe4 (don't do it...) or Qh4... correct answer. I also didn't check out all the threats that Ng5 was making. So I guess I need to look at Checks, Captures and Threats that White is making BEFORE I can look at the Checks, Captures and Threats I can make... Obvious really; sometimes the obvious needs to be stated...

Anyway, I'm back to my usual one step forward and one step back in Tactics Trainer, although more slowly than usual... this isn't going to do my rating much good...

I'm with Urk: Nxe2 springs out. Take a quick look for any immediate mates or dangers to your king (after all, it's a puzzle and you've just been thrown into this position) and then grab the bishop with a discovery on the queen. The time taken depends purely on how long you scan through the other moves but there aren't any.

Mal, on the second one, Qh4 springs out as a nice check and it's almost mate, except for the d2 escape square. That allows Qxg5 with another check. You've now restored the material balance and liberated the BSB. Play it now, unless you care to savour the pleasure of trying to see whether there's a forced mate or gain of even more material from the ensuing position.

These are pretty much the whole of my thought processes on the two puzzles.

I'm not feeling at all harassed by urk, in fact I find his input unfailingly useful. I'm very unsure about much of FoF's advice and will be continuing with tactics trainer, and spending as much time as I like trying to solve the problems. That said, FoFs idea to get a tactics trainer books is probably a good one, and I may get round to that if I can maintain my interest in chess. If it wasn't for urk and a couple of other inspiring experts I've encountered in the forums I might have given up already... again...

This will help: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-qLOQ-OEls4I3rqV_pQje1olPqu1VglD

I was just thinking a little further on this, while I was cooking dinner, and realised that there is a very reasonable question of "Why is Nxe2 a standout move", similarly for Qh4 in the second puzzle. This is where pattern recognition comes in.

With the first puzzle, even before I think about my Knight being en prise, which I don't really think about at all, I notice that the Rook on c8 is bearing down on the Queen on c2, with only my Knight in the way. There is an immediate opportunity for a discovered attack. Can I take anything with the Knight where he can't recapture with the Queen. Yes, there's a free Bishop on e2. Nxe2 then becomes "obvious".

With the second one, there are two pieces on h5 and g5, with the Knight undefended. Qh4 checks and hits the Knight. I then see that the King is in the crossfire of the bishops, or would be if that Knight were out of the way. Suddenly, everything falls into place. A quick scan for anything else is always appropriate, unless you're under the clock, but there is nothing else of merit, so Qh4 it is.

Two of the next three tactics did seem obvious, but another one caught me out. Black moves ...Qd7, what's white's next move?:

Obvious when you see the answer, I think I got too bogged down thinking "must exchange pieces", and didn't think of Qc8 to checkmate.