"If you see a good move, look for a better one - you are trying to find the BEST one." | |
"In 'Real Chess' you make sure you can meet all of your opponent's threats before he makes them; otherwise, it is 'Hope Chess.'" (See Feb 4 2011 Tweet of the Day) | |
"*Hope Chess is not when you make a threat and you hope your opponent does not see it. Hope chess is when you make a move, wait for what your opponent does, and then hope you can meet his threats. Players that play Hope Chess will never get very good because some threats cannot be met." | |
"Always assume your opponent will make his best move. Never make a bad move and hope your opponent will make a worse one." | |
But...When your opponent makes a move you have to assume it might be a mistake. So check to see if your opponent's previous move is safe, whether it no longer guards a piece, etc. | |
"If you play a bad move and hope your opponent plays a worse one, that is not Hope Chess - that is bad (or "hopeful") chess!" | |
"*Playing chess is primarily a series of puzzles, move after move, where you have to take your time and solve the puzzle: 'What is the best move?'" | |
"The primary goal of most moves is to make the best move you can find, given the time constraints." | |
"The final, main part of a good thought process is proving that the move you think you are going to make results in a better position (assuming opponent's best play) than any other candidate move does!" | |
"Write your move down before you make it and then take a fresh look around to look for the most obvious errors." This is called a Sanity Check. | |
Pace yourself to use almost all your time every game." - this is an underrated and VERY IMPORTANT skill! | |
A major time management goal is to identify critical moves and allocate more time to these. | |
It only takes one bad move to lose a game. So be careful on every move! | |
One move is only better than another if, considering your opponent's best replies, it leads to a position that is better than the position to which the other move leads. | |
Never play a bad move fast! (Unless you are in time trouble) | |
In general, the more tactical the position, the more critical it is, the more precise analysis is required, and slow play is required. Alternately, the less tactics in a position, the less critical it likely is, the more general principles can be used, and you can play relatively quickly. | |
***NEW*** *"They just don't get it" - What I say about players who do all kinds of studying but still play way too fast without learning to differentiate between candidate moves. | |
Your judgment won't improve in 10 minutes but your analysis should, so save your time for critical/tactical moves. |
Friday, 22 July 2011
GENERAL/THOUGHT PROCESS:
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