Calculation in Chess
A Beginner’s Guide to Thinking Ahead · by Yatish Chandra Shukla
Learn to play the moves in your head before you play them on the board. Each lesson starts with one simple idea, shows it through examples, and ends with exercises you solve on a live board.
Lessons
-
1
What Is Calculation? — Moving the pieces in your headOpen →
What calculation means in chess, the three questions to ask before every move, how to tell if a piece is really free, and how to check every reply. With 7 examples and 20 exercises.
-
2
Checks, Captures, Threats — What to look at firstOpen →
Why forcing moves make calculation easier; the CCT scan: checks, then captures, then threats; how to write a candidate list and test every move on it; why you must run the same scan for your opponent. With 7 examples and 30 exercises.
-
3
Seeing Through Your Opponent’s EyesOpen →
How to read the message in your opponent's last move; the four things every move can change on the board; the "pass" trick for finding hidden threats; how to choose a move that answers the threat and keeps your plans. With 8 examples and 30 exercises.
-
4
Counting ExchangesOpen →
How to count a chain of captures to the end; why the order of captures matters; defenders that do not really defend: pinned and overloaded pieces; how an in-between move can change the whole count. With 12 examples and 30 exercises.
-
5
Forcing Moves and Short SequencesOpen →
How to link forcing moves into a sequence; why a line made only of forcing moves is easy to calculate; three classic ideas: decoy, deflection and removing the guard; how to stop and judge the position at the end of a line. With 10 examples and 30 exercises.
-
6
Seeing the Final Position ClearlyOpen →
Why pieces seem to "stay behind" on their old squares; simple exercises to build a clear picture of the board; how to check the position at the end of a line, square by square; puzzles where the winning move appears only after moves you play in your head. With 10 examples and 30 exercises.
-
7
Mating Patterns and CalculationOpen →
Six mating patterns every player should know by heart; how a known pattern shortens your calculation; how to spot the signs that a mate may be near; mates in one, two and three moves. With 10 examples and 30 exercises.
-
8
Calculating in Defence — Finding the only moveOpen →
Why defence needs more calculation than attack; a four-step method for positions where you are under threat; how to compare defences and choose the one that really works; the counter-attack: when the best defence is a threat of your own. With 14 examples and 40 exercises.
-
9
Pawn Races and Counting in the EndgameOpen →
Why endgame calculation is mostly counting; the rule of the square: can the king catch the pawn?; how to count a pawn race correctly; the opposition and the pawn breakthrough. With 12 examples and 40 exercises.
-
10
The Blunder Check — Ten seconds before every moveOpen →
Why even strong players blunder — and when; a ten-second routine to run before every move; the most common kinds of blunder, and how to catch them; how to use the blunder check without running out of time. With 10 examples and 30 exercises.
-
11
Test Yourself: 300 Mixed PuzzlesOpen →
How to use the puzzles for training, not just for fun; puzzles arranged in four levels, from easy to hard. 300 positions to solve on the board.
-
12
Solutions to the Mixed PuzzlesInside Lesson 11
On this website every puzzle in Lesson 11 has its solution built in: solve it on the board or press “Show solution”.
-
13
Appendix: Pawn Endings WorkbookOpen →
King and pawn endings where every tempo counts; when to play for a win and when to save the game; using the rule of the square and the opposition from Lesson 9. 60 positions to solve on the board.