I think we all know what it feels like for a tactic to literally "pop" at you. It doesn't seem to require any thought at all, yet you "see" it. I can only imagine how GMs "see" the board.
Anyway, so I was thinking a little more about how my mind identifies such things. I've read a lot of books on the topic, and everyone has their own idea on the matter. I feel as though my mind typically sees what's possible and then works backwards.
Just wanted to know if this was the norm, or if perhaps others had a better way of identifying them. Exhaustive analysis would be another method, and that might work well enough for CC, but it seems developing your board vision is the best way to go.
Thoughts?
when you've done enough of them, any weakness giving rise to a tactic triggers you to look for one the instant it catches you eye. it may take some time to work out exactly how it's gonna work, or you may not even be able to work it out at all, but you see it's there pretty much instantly. -but if a weakness doesn't instantly trigger your 'reflex for tactical search', you very likely won't find it at all.
i totally agree, pattern recognition makes a tacticians life mcuh easier.
but you still need strong calculation skills to see if the tactic will work. pattern training can only take you so far. you must be able to see deep within the position working out every refutation and variation. if you are training to be a great tactician, playing bullet will not get you anywhere. same said for chess tactics server. unless your goal is to play better blitz or bullet this is a waste of time. you are better off solving one hard tactical problem a day. to achieve strong tactical skills its quality over quantity.
Originally posted by likeforestgood calculation skills don't get you anywhere. if you start calculating something like "hmm lets see how good move Kh1 is" in a position where you have forced mate, and after 2 minutes of calculating irrelevant variations you conclude that the Kh1 move is not very good, then you have just wasted your 2 minutes of your time.
sorry jusuh, good calculation skills are a must for an aspiring tactician. just because you saw that knight fork in your last bullet session on playchess does not make you one.
like wormwood said, you have to find an idea first.
and btw: I didn't say calculation skills have no role at all. I just don't think they are as important as pattern recognization skills.
Good points all. I rarely miss basic tactics anymore (since I started focusing in the past 35 games or so), and can easily spot at least the possibility of multi-move combinations based on some basic flaw in the opponent's position. If I do miss it, I usually catch it 0.0025 seconds after I hit "submit move." Funny how that works, isn't it?
Just trying to understand the psychology behind it. I don't think tactics drilling is very effective unless you can first understand how your mind identifies the tactics in the first place, because how can you then practice those tactics that you miss?
Originally posted by JusuhAgree completely. It's simply too much work to try and calculate every position. You have to have something to weed out the bad positions from the tree. From every possible position, it's pretty obvious that probably 95% of them or more don't offer any tactical advantage.
good calculation skills don't get you anywhere. if you start calculating something like "hmm lets see how good move Kh1 is" in a position where you have forced mate, and after 2 minutes of calculating irrelevant variations you conclude that the Kh1 move is not very good, then you have just wasted your 2 minutes of your time.
like wormwood said, you have to ...[text shortened]... e no role at all. I just don't think they are as important as pattern recognization skills.
pattern recognition is why i missed the knight fork at the club yesterday playing speed. calculation skills allow me to play the beautifull 6 move combination winning a pawn and and getting a great endgame last week. i am not denouncing pattern training. its all about your goals.
Originally posted by likeforestspotting tactics/ideas/combinations quickly can not hurt you, right?
same said for chess tactics server. to achieve strong tactical skills its quality over quantity.
I also wonder why so few people want to become good blitz players? its like a tabu or something. Personally I like being strong on any time control, from G/1m to G/2h.