What were your "Aha!" Moments in your chess development?

Prove it to my :) (any logic is fine)

I don't know? I don't know or really have to know any openings or systems. Once I found out that I could play one defense against any white opening then I just became familiar with the variety of positions which commonly occurred throughout my games. I could play chess without studying openings, which was good for me:)

Well. my 'aha' moment was playing 45/45 chess realising

i)    How being a pawn down can lead to a defeat
ii)   How phase "when you find a good move, look for a better one"
      applies
iii)  Learning to think 3-5 minutes or more depending on the moves
      especially the critical ones
iv)  Having a bit of opening knowledge helps
v)   etc

That is how i improved from 175+ to 19++.   

My most recent Aha moment came when I realised how important patience can be in Chess. Trying to win too quickly in a good position can often lead to throwing away an advantage. I am trying to learn how to slowly increase advantages until my position is overwhelming. Additionally, not being afraid to keep pieces on the board and not accepting every trade you are offered is an important lesson.

My first really big 'Aha!' moment was when I realized that the same tactics apply whether or not a square is occupied by your opponent's piece.  For example, you may fork a Rook and a square of some particular strategic value with your Knight.  You can skewer your opponent's Queen and a safe square on the 7th rank with your Rook.  Imagine that your opponent has a magical piece worth 1,000,000 points, and it is sitting on a checkmate square.  Is there some sort of tactic you can think of that can win you that piece?  This sort of thinking, thinking of the game in terms of squares instead of (or in tandem with) in terms of pieces, really helped me to play for the win instead of trying to grind my opponent down on material all the time.

I was partially watching WC, Carlsen -Anand. I was surprised in the first two games when Anand really was pressing Carlsen. I think Magnus was behind, and behing behind fighting the World Champion is the worst possible game in my mind. Magnus also allowed massive attacks , but was able to survive them, and when survival was ok, he  came more on top(in the later games).

What i learned: It is possible to survive attacks from Super-Grandmasters.

I also learned that the best players also makes mistakes.

I think it is possible to beat anyone (althoug not sure about Magnus).

Another thing:

Two weeks ago (my first week here) I experienced that 1000-1100 blitzrated players were to strong to me, 200 games later I am playing on their level. It is amazing how playing a lot can help , and how the experience actually can elevate an underdog up to medium strenght.

What i learned from  Magnus, and from Chess.com (I joined the day Magnus became World Champion), is that  a lot of practice gives progress, and that very strong players also are possible to beat.

Carlsen doesnt give up. I realized that it is possible to win even with a terrible start, one or more pieces down, you just adjust your game and attack hard with the material you have left. 

Another thing: Pressure. Putting pressure presses your opponent, and increases his mistakerate.

My recent aha-moments was watching Magnus, and me joining Chess.com and getting into the game again after 36 years with very few games (less than 50?).

Good thread!

Some of my *aha* moments:
- a piece has a value, but it varies depending on how much the piece can do
- if you'll follow basic openingprinciples you'll probably make the midgame fine
- When you're deep into the midgame, look for ways to transpose to an endgame that is good for you (passed pawn, etc). 

It seems stupid and obvious, but one of my biggest aha moments was when I heard (or maybe read) the statement "protect everything." Until then, I was constantly thinking about how to use my pieces to attack and then only protected the pieces that were under direct attack (usually too late to save something). This phrase made me think about placing a bishop in the middle of the board with nothing to support it may actually be dangerous! 

No "aha" moment, except the fact that chess is nothing like math (in the sense math problems don't fight you back for resolution).

My Ahaa...moment was learning attack from Mikhail Tal, the way he managed 2 create power attack n magnificent sacrifice 4 initiative or mat attack very natural & beautiful 2 see

This is a great thread! Some really useful information and ideas being shared

My own a-ha moment I think are still to come. But one thing that has helped me slowly start improving is being patient. My best wins have come from games where I have spent time really trying to evaluate the position. I have thrown away too many games by making moves without fully considering the continuations.

Also, playing fewer concurrent games allows me more time to study each game.

Hopefully, in 2014 I can reach my goal of getting my rating to over 1300!

Calculate! Look at every check, capture and threat (e.g. attacks on your hanging pieces, pawn pushes and checkmate threats) your opponent can make in response before making your move. If necessary check with the analysis board to verify your calculations.

You will get there in no time.

Thanks for the advice!

my aha moment was when I learned about the value of activity. when i started looking at things from that perspective, my rating went up over 100 points in live and in correspondence.  and as mentionned above... protect everything!!  hanging pieces can quickly become targets and a big problem.

when i was on oprah...

Running lots of engine tournaments on my PC's and watching the worlds strongest engines play.

Made me realise that one of the reasons they are so strong is they don't get hung up on rules and chess wifes-tales and never fall in love with their own positiion.

They will happily stick a knight on the rim if that's the right thing to do without a seconds thought, or instantly move a piece back to where it was only a move ago if that's the correct move.

Purely pragmatic (cold-blooded?) chess that is impressive to watch when they are at their best.

You'll never see a strong engine get hung up on its Kingside attack efforts and miss an opportunity to bust open the opponents queensside.

Had a big impact on how I look at positions and moves (though not my rating, yet.... lol  :)   )

Wasabi, I am following Eivind Berntsens advice, "play a lot of blitzgames". It really helps me, my blitzrating elevates ca. 100 points a week, or ca 1 point pr game. My openings are a lot more solid now, and so are all other parts of the game. Eivind ment that blitzgames is the best way to learn openingplay.

I play ten minute games, fast enough to try a lot, and slow enough to do some thinking.

I also wish to join an IRL-chessclub, I am thinking about the local Oslo,Norway- based club "Nordstrand". I believe that playing and discussing with skilled persons in the same room is very helpful.

Interesting idea. What is the rationale for playing Blitz games?

I often play 15/10 or 30 minute games, but whenever I play shorter times I tend to get fried. I just can't think that quick.
Is there an explanation for how playing Blitz can improve your opening play? Does it improve your reactions or thinking time perhaps?

I think just because you get a chance to see more openings. I can't say I agree with the idea, I think it's more likely to give you bad habits.

Playing lots of blitz definitely helps.

Even in long time control games, you can still get in time trouble, and being able to switch to blitz mode and bang out 80 moves in 3 minutes (my current record) to seal a win is far better than losing a won game on time.

Interested to hear how it helps with opening learning though.

And I agree, too  much blitz with no long games and you just end up playing the same mistakes over and over with no time to learn to avoid them.