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In order to improve their performance at chess, some people study endgames. Other people study the openings. Others pour over grandmaster games. All of these are good, and all will improve your game and rating. But nothing will help if you drop a piece during tournament play, or allow the tables to turn because of an overlooked check. This can happen even to anyone, even talented players , but there are ways to prevent them from happening to you. It takes mental discipline, but you should have a checklist of important things to do before considering what move to make, and another one for after you’ve decided, before touching the piece. I call the first of these the primary checklist, and the second the execution checklist. A checklist is a list of things you do the same way every time. Because it’s always the same, they become easier to remember with practice. At first it can seem like a lot of work, but it gets easier with time. Some items can be done very quickly, and other things take longer. But do them all and se the difference it makes to your games. The primary checklist I use contains nine steps. As you go through this checklist and answer the questions one by one, try not to think about your next move. These questions are to make you aware of the situation on the board. Once you have complete information, then you can decide what to move. To do that beforehand would be to leave yourself partially blind. 1) First and foremost, ask yourself “Why did my opponent make his last move.” This is much more important than trying to think far ahead. In the openings, sometimes a sufficient answer for is “Because it’s a book move.” At other times, the answer might be easy, if your opponent was forced to respond to your check or move an attacked piece. But don’t stop there. Even in the simplest cases, ask yourself why your opponent placed the piece just where he did, instead of some other square. If you can understand your opponent’s plans, you can anticipate and counter them in your own plans. And if you don’t understand your opponents move, try to find out after the game. Maybe he made a mistake or wasn’t playing well. But you should have your own opinion. You should never even think about your own moves until you’ve asked yourself this question. Especially if their move surprised you, give extra effort to questioning why. Then, once you have answered it, go on. 2) Does your opponent have any immediate checks? Hopefully, in most cases your king is well protected and the answer is a quick “no.” If you often answer yes to this, you might need to change your style of play. And don’t stop looking for checks after you find one. Examine each of your opponent’s pieces for their ability to give check. Don’t worry about what to do about it at this point. Just make yourself aware of the situation. This is something you don’t want to be surprised about, especially if the check gives a discovered attack. Many a won game has been lost because a simple check was overlooked. 3) What are the immediate captures your opponent is capable of? That is, which of your pieces are under immediate attack? For the pieces under attack, how many times are they attacked? Again, this isn’t the time to decide if they need to be defended—that will come later. You should look at each one of your pieces to evaluate their vulnerability. And that vulnerability might be fine for now. As long as you’re aware of it, you can put it’s importance into perspective. 4) Is the center under your control, contested, or does it belong to the opponent? Sometimes this can be answered by counting up each piece of yours that attacks each central square, and subtracting each of your opponent’s pieces that attack each central square. That’s a crude and superficial way to answer the question. But this article isn’t about how to evaluate that question, just be sure it’s on your primary checklist. If a mating attack is anticipated or underway, ask this question about the squares around the enemy king. 5) Do you have any very weak squares? That is, are there any squares on the board that none of your pieces attack? If those squares are close to your king, they make easy access for an enemy attack, and could be big problems. If those squares are in an area of the board you need to control, it could let the opponent counter your attack. If several weak squares are close to each other, their weakness multiplies. 6) Is your king adequately mobile? If your king is crowded in and has no legal moves, or only legal moves along one straight line, then checkmate becomes a greater possibility. And the same applies to the enemy king. In situations like that, you should be looking hard for ways to make checkmate happen. 7) Can you give any checks? Look at each of your pieces and ask if they can be used to give a check. But keep in mind that just because you can give a check, doesn’t mean that you should. More often than not, unless a check is part of a prepared and planned attack, it can often be the wrong move. I’ve seen a lot of good games ruined because a player gave a check and forced the opponent to improve their position. But because checks are compelling, especially if the king’s mobility is limited, they need to be considered in your planning. 8) Identify the captures you can make. Even if you’ve been focused on one particular piece for the last few moves, don’t forget to look at how the situation has changed and what new opportunities are present. What are your hottest immediate targets? Don’t stop after you find one. After all, maybe you can make an attacking move that hits more than one. Those are often winning moves, and it’s a shame to overlook one because you didn’t see the possibility. 9) Where are the opponent’s weak squares? Look at the board, especially around the other king, and see if there are any squares that would allow you to infiltrate. What are your hottest immediate targets? 10) In the openings, you might also want to ask yourself if your development is proceeding at a good pace. Especially in beginners, sometimes whole sides of the board are forgotten about while the already developed pieces get to have all the fun. Unfortunately, when those undeveloped pieces are needed, it might be too late. There could be other items you find it worthwhile to put onto your primary checklist. Depending on your personal style of play or stage of development, you might want to add items to this list. And don’t be intimidated by it. With practice, it’ll become a habit you can do almost automatically. Now that you’ve gone through the checklist and you’re armed with this essential information, you can think about the other principles of good strategic and tactical play. Do your pieces coordinate well? How’s your use of space? How’s your pawn structure? Are there tactics to consider? However you do it, do what you do to decide the best move. Then, after you’ve made your decision, but before you touch the piece, imagine the board in that changed position, and apply the following execution checklist. 1) Are you leaving a piece undefended that you can’t afford to lose? In other words, did you forget something and hang a piece? Usually this happens because the piece you moved was defending the piece that’s hanging, but sometimes the move might have exposed the piece to a discovered attack. It pays to check before you’ve committed yourself. 2) Are you exposed to any checks now? Most checks you should have identified by your primary checklist, but things have changed, and you want to be sure. 3) Do you own the square you’ll be moving to? That is, do you have more pieces defending it that the opponent has attacking it? Remember that the piece occupying the square no longer attacks that square. You don’t need to answer this question with a yes—after all, you might be making a sacrifice, or the opponent’s move order might not allow any captures (a knight attacked by two rooks is safe even if it’s only protected by one pawn). The point of the checklist is to make you aware. It doesn’t do your thinking for you. 4) Are you sure you really want to make that move? If you can’t say yes, then keep looking for a better move. But if you’re sure, do it and be confident you haven’t overlooked anything out of carelessness. If you have the discipline to do this before every move, you’ll make far fewer mistakes. That will take your game to a new level. All it takes is practice.
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