Want to increase your ELO? Ask me how...

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
lol, if one misses a mate in three, one is hardly looking at the position, positionally is one? for then we shall have misunderstood a key component of the position, that naturally being, king safety. oh why must i battle against ignorance my entire life? 😛

Because the greatest battles are the ones you have with yourself.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
what is it you don't understand about positional play, have a think about that for a moment or two, then you will understand what the intent of the post was about, rather than dismissing it because of your, well what can we say, perceptions?

I understand exactly what you meant. You however have failed to understand what myu posts intention was

Originally posted by erikido
I understand exactly what you meant. You however have failed to understand what myu posts intention was

here is your statement and i quote

"What does looking at the game positionally mean? I ignore my opponents threat of mate in 3 because my pawns are prettier?"

what are we to understand from such a statement? that thinking in positional terms means ignoring a basic positional concept such as king safety, i don't think so, therefore, perhaps you could explain, in a clear and unambiguous way, what you really did mean, rather than what you did not. Indeed how does one look at a game positionally?

This idea presented is good in that it gives you the necessary discipline to THINK before you ACT. I used to do that as well, made sure there was no way I could be wrong by doing all possible moves and extending them. Got me to 1750 on here. But it cost me. In OTB I am slow. You need to study the ideas rather than inefficiently look at every single possible move so you're good in time pressure. But the idea is effective.

I was the first one to act sceptically to the concept, so let me put it in perspective.

If your main area of interest is correspondence chess, by all means analyze while moving the pieces! In fact, use actual wood (it's pretty and you can put down positions much easier). If you use this site recreationally and your main focus is OTB play, than using the analyze bord feature CAN (it does not apply to everyone) hurt your calculation and visualization skills.

There is a difference between playing and analyzing a game. Every good chessplayer should analyze his games and shuffle the pieces around. I just think it is a bad habit (if you are mainly an OTB player) to do it DURING a game, because when you actually play OTB, you can't do this. My advice to OTB players is therefore to always simulate the conditions of OTB play while playing a game. Analyzing afterwards should be done by moving the pieces around, no harm is done there because the game was already played and you are exploring WHAT IF situations.

I myself play here purely recreationally and never take more than 1 minute per move. For me, it keeps me sharp tactically and it gives me the opportunity to try new openings. Without long calculation and thorough planning, I see how I intuitively handle the position. I therefore find it usefull to analyze my games afterwards, even if it is not my optimal play.

But my main focus is OTB play (I am a solid 1750 player OTB). Note that this is all just an advice from personal experiece, some people might benefit from using the analyze bord feature for OTB play but I didn't.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
You say 'crutch' like it's a bad thing. I see nothing wrong with a player using the analyze board to get in the habit of doing more actual analysis before moving. You must walk before you run.

tell you what take a pocket sized chess board to a tournament and try to analyze your game on the little board. Its a crutch and you know it. Its not allowed in normal play so it does help your game, but it wont necessarily help you improve your game. When you get into a complicated position where there are dozens of calculating lines then you find it is hard to look for good moves in your head. The analyze board will help you see some of them, but it wont help you improve when seeing complex positions. you just rely on that feature too much.

Originally posted by kmac27
tell you what take a pocket sized chess board to a tournament and try to analyze your game on the little board. Its a crutch and you know it. Its not allowed in normal play so it does help your game, but it wont necessarily help you improve your game. When you get into a complicated position where there are dozens of calculating lines then you find it is hard ...[text shortened]... it wont help you improve when seeing complex positions. you just rely on that feature too much.

I'm amused at the thought that OTB chess is somehow more 'normal' [serious, important as well?!] than other forms, like correspondence.

As for the rest, you seem to concede OP's point while trying to deny that you are doing so. You admit that the analysis board helps your game while denying that it improves your game [??] The stuff about complex positions is just goalpost shifting; again, OP mentioned that he is starting to look ahead more using analysis board. This means he is just starting to get in the habit of even looking further ahead at all. Good visualization of complex positions obviously comes after the development of basic visualization skill.

Yes, but if you rely on the analysis board only without FIRST analyzing the board yourself and looking at every possibility then you are CHEAITING YOURSELF of learning how to play better.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
I'm amused at the thought that OTB chess is somehow more 'normal' [serious, important as well?!] than other forms, like correspondence.

As for the rest, you seem to concede OP's point while trying to deny that you are doing so. You admit that the analysis board helps your game while denying that it improves your game [??] The stuff about complex posit ...[text shortened]... ion of complex positions obviously comes after the development of basic visualization skill.

As for OTB it is the hardest form of chess. You have time pressure, it is grueling on some tournaments 10 hours a day. As opposed to sitting on one move for a half hour on every important move of the game. You don't have that luxuary in a REAL, (OTB) game

Originally posted by kmac27
Yes, but if you rely on the analysis board only without FIRST analyzing the board yourself and looking at every possibility then you are CHEAITING YOURSELF of learning how to play better.

Nonsense.

Originally posted by kmac27
As for OTB it is the hardest form of chess. You have time pressure, it is grueling on some tournaments 10 hours a day. As opposed to sitting on one move for a half hour on every important move of the game. You don't have that luxuary in a REAL, (OTB) game

Correspondence chess has its own unique difficulties; against a strong CC player, the slightest error can be punished mercilessly by an opponent who has all the time in the world to sit and look further/more thoroughly ahead than is possible OTB, and keep notes, thus eliminating any chance that he will forget analysis, and look at the position over a few days to cut down on the chance of making an emotional decision.

The notion that somehow only OTB chess is "REAL" is silly.

REAL as in people don't use... databases, books computers, analysis boards and anything they can find other than their own minds and what looks best to THEM not someone elses idea's

Originally posted by kmac27
REAL as in people don't use... databases, books computers, analysis boards and anything they can find other than their own minds and what looks best to THEM not someone elses idea's

People do use these things. Before the game.

Besides, why do these things make the game more real? Who really uses their own ideas? Who doesn't build off the ideas from the greats of yesteryear?

Originally posted by kmac27
REAL as in people don't use... databases, books computers, analysis boards and anything they can find other than their own minds and what looks best to THEM not someone elses idea's

People tend to get good at chess by adopting other people's ideas. Tactical patterns, opening theory, endgame theory, etc. are all learned from games and books played and written by others. Good players tend to study the games of masters and get a feel for how they play, and glean ideas from their games.

Even a natural chess genius like Bobby Fischer still made sure to study and keep up with theory. This idea that somehow OTB players should play in a vacuum where their move choices are informed solely [or even primarily!] by their own original ideas, is out of touch with reality.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
People tend to get good at chess by adopting other people's ideas. Tactical patterns, opening theory, endgame theory, etc. are all learned from games and books played and written by others. Good players tend to study the games of masters and get a feel for how they play, and glean ideas from their games.

Even a natural chess genius like Bobby Fischer ...[text shortened]... informed solely [or even primarily!] by their own original ideas, is out of touch with reality.

That was not his point. The point was that it is his own brain doing the work/calculation etc. Sure, in an otb tournament you will prepare an opening. BUt, the other person can "take you out of book" and you still have to remember your preparation. That is all that was being suggested(as I understand it)