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西洋棋

Ways of figuring things out

First way

Choose a side and an opponent

• Am I white or black?
• Who am I in the position?
• Who do I want to win?
• Who am I rooting for?
• Who will I be playing?

Algebra: Relative evaluation

Decisive moment - center

• What is the reference position that I should try to understand in every way?
• The starting position. But also tabiyas - key positions in the opening. And also key endgames.
• What is the reference position that I am trying to improve?
• What is the position that I should try to understand as well as possible, where I should think, where I should spend my time?
• What is a stable position where it doesn't matter too much whose move it is?
• How stable is the situation? Does it matter much whose move it is?
• Orient oneself in the position. Overview the position. How many pieces are there on the board? How stable is the position?
• To what extent is this a familiar position?
• What stage of the game is it?
• Practice tactics - a puzzle.

Balance

• Threats vs. defenses

Sets

• Combinations of threats

List

• Prioritizing threats by severity and urgency

Analysis: One-sided possibilities

Induction

• What are all the possible moves that could be played?
• If I could play move after move, one after another, what could I play?

Possible moves

• What moves are possible in the current position?
• What are routes that could be taken by a piece
• Could I win if I made moves and my opponent didn't?

Maximum, Minimum

• What position is checkmate?
• Is it possible to checkmate the king?
• What position is a dead draw?

Sufficient for victory

• What would be a sufficient advantage to assure victory?
• What is a winning position?

Advantage

• Who has the better position?
• Evaluate who has the advantage.
• Which side has the advantage?
• How big is that advantage?
• Judge the situation objectively

Three-cycle

Prepare or learn new ideas

Practice against an opponent

Review the game

Central way

• What are my objectives?

Logic

What are the static and dynamic aspects of the situation.

• What is the initiative?

What are the relevant parts of the board.

Think backwards.

Tactics

Context

• What is a beautiful move?
• What is a move that makes sense of the particularities of the situation?
• What is a move that establishes a new pattern?

What stabilizes or upsets the situation.

Would I prefer my opponent to move?

Initiative

• Consider whose move is it.
• How can one play actively so as to diminish the opponent's possibilities.
• What is the move that creates the most opportunities and presents the most challenges?

Attack

• How many pieces can attack and defend?
• Is there a piece that is out of commission?
• How well are the pieces placed?

Is it possible to exchange a worse placed piece for a better placed piece?

Long term

• What does the pawn structure tell us about the long term possibilities of a position?
• What are moves that can have significance in the long term?

Change the structure

• Is it possible to open or close various files and diagonals?
• What pawn breaks or pawn moves would open or close files or diagonals?

Evaluation

• Use an assignment of pieces to points and count who has more material.

Study the games of the greatest players.

• What are the plans that they make?

What tactics can be applied?

• Fork. Attack two pieces at once.
• Pin. Force a weaker piece to stay in front of a stronger one.
• Outnumbering. More attackers than defenders.

How to coordinate the pieces?

Opponent's point of view

• What is the opponent's best move?
• What are possible objectives?
• What is a plan that would achieve some of the objectives?

System - given a plan

What is a plan that would improve the situation?

• What would complicate the situation?
• How can I counterattack?
• What would prevent counterattack?
• What would shut down my opponent?

How stable is the situation?

Forced moves

• Is it possible to check the king?
• Is it possible for them to check my king?
• Is it possible to defend the king, for example, by castling?

Are all the pieces developed so that they contribute to the game?

Who controls the center?

Who controls what files and diagonals?

Is it possible to improve the position of a piece?

Are the pieces well coordinated?

Is it clear how to win the endgame?

Is this opening position well understood?

Immediate threats

• Is there a piece that needs to be defended?

Is it helpful or not to exchange pieces?

What is or could be threatened?

Can a weaker piece be exchanged for a stronger piece?

Can a piece be sacrificed for the initiative?

Initiative (kinetic energy) and material (potential energy).

What is the best move?

Whose position is better or preferable?

Think from your opponent's point of view.

What are my opponent's threats or tricks?

Should I continue with my plan?

Is there an intermediate move that I could squeeze in?

Is there a preparatory move that I could play?

Is there an additional advantage that I could get?

Will my opponent foresee my move?

Can I conceal my intentions?

What are my opponent's intentions? What is their plan?

Thinking about initiative-stability requires no chessboards; the geography requires one chessboard; thinking backwards requires two chessboards; and considering the value of a piece requires three chessboards. Thus the piece, as a variable, with information coming from four levels, is able to represent the four geometries, their four levels.