Answers.Body: <p>The common trap I used to fall into (and I am actually still falling into it) is to consider mostly <strong>your</strong> attacking possibilities, and not the opponent's one.</p>
  
  <p>It usually happens this way: "How my god, my pieces are beautifully coordinated, I can probably put my Knight to f5, and then with the support of the Queen, g7 will be very weak. This is going to be a good game..."
  And on the next move, your opponent checkmates you because you completely missed his bishop b7-Queen c6 configuration that was threatening a mate in 1.</p>
  
  <p>So the meta-rule for me is:
  - always think about the opponent's possibilities first. What is he threatening ? Do his pieces target some interesting squares ?
  - Then think about what could be done to stop these threats. Possibly you have even bigger a threat so it is not actually necessary to deal with it. But at least you know it now</p>
  
  <p>Then, when drilling down to the opponent's possibilities, it includes: is my King safe ? Are my pieces protected ? Is there a weak square he can reach ? Is there a forced series of moves that leaves him with the advantage ? Once you are sure that there is no problem left in your position, you can start thinking about your own attacking possibilities: is <strong>his</strong> King safe ? Are some of <strong>his</strong> pieces undefended etc.</p>
  
  <p>You can find more pieces of advice on my blog: <a href="http://chesstrainerapp.blogspot.fr/" rel="nofollow">http://chesstrainerapp.blogspot.fr/</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-23T22:44:46.237Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2013-12-23T22:44:46.237Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Simon Louchart
Answers.Body: <p>I usually consider the following things before making a move:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Which squares is this piece controlling <em>now</em> and which squares would it control from its new position? </li>
  <li>Which pieces is it defending <em>now</em> and which pieces would it defend from its new position?</li>
  <li>What are the various options for my opponent after I make this move?</li>
  <li>How does this move fit into a longer term plan, or to put it another way, what purpose do I want it to serve?</li>
  <li>How well is the piece protected in its new position? (Of course, this does not apply when I <em>want</em> to give up the piece.)</li>
  </ul>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-12-07T11:48:03.407Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-12-07T11:48:03.407Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Masked Man
Answers.Body: <p>It is usually easy to see the positive aspects of a move. It is because of them that you are considering it. What you have to force yourself to look for are its negative aspects. So...</p>
  
  <p>What aspects of my position are weakened by this move? What piece or square is left unprotected? What piece of mine is blocked? What piece of my opponent is opened up?
  What options have been lost?</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-05-19T15:59:09.580Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-05-19T15:59:09.580Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Philip Roe
Answers.Body: <p>My thought process is roughly as follows:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Decide which move best fits my "plan".</li>
  <li>After the move, is the moved piece vulnerable:
  <ul>
  <li>Is it hanging?</li>
  <li>Can it be attacked by a more minor piece?</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>After the move, does it leave any other piece vulnerable:
  <ul>
  <li>Does it leave another piece hanging because it is now discovered?</li>
  <li>Was my piece directly defending any other piece by guarding the square?</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>Can the opponent now check me?
  <ul>
  <li>If so, can she use it to skewer another piece?</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>What is the move the opponent is more likely to do now?
  <ul>
  <li>Does my move force the opponent?</li>
  <li>Does my move encourage the opponent to move a piece?</li>
  <li>Does my move create any obvious opportunities for the opponent?</li>
  </ul></li>
  </ul>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-24T10:28:18.070Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2013-12-24T10:28:18.070Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: SilverlightFox
Answers.Body: <p>Before playing a move, I like to think I pay attention to the following :</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p><strong>Is some piece of mine undefended ?</strong> If a few aren't, then I should bay a particular attention to them not being forkable, with anything (by a queen, mostly). If it is the case, I might decide playing something that safens this matter.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>Is my <em>king</em> safe enough ?</strong> All checks my opponent can administer should be benign.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>Is my move achieving something ?</strong> Better have a wrong plan than no plan at all.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>What move am I expecting my opponent to play ?</strong> A handful of possible moves is fine, as long as it's not “well, anything, basically”. Ideally, I see how neither of these moves are a problem to me.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>Tactics</strong> : Often enough, there is about one square of interest on which both players' pieces concentrate : is this square defended enough times, by the right pieces ? (i.e. defending with a rook and a queen a pawn that my opponent attacks with light pieces is not going to help) Is the checkmate I am defending from still not working ?</p></li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Of course, once I thought enough about all of these, I'd expect not to lose any game, but 4. and 5. still leave the door open to surprises if one doesn't read variations into enough depth, “how many is <em>enough</em> ?” still being an open question :·)</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-12-06T16:12:39.653Z
Answers.Text: Excellent points.
Answers.UserDisplayName: xaisoft
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-12-06T16:09:51.980Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-12-06T16:09:51.980Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Nikana Reklawyks
Body: <p>What questions do you ask yourself before making a move?</p>
  
  <p>Do you have a mental check-list that you go through before deciding on which move is the best move in the current position?</p>
  
  <p>The move does not have to be a candidate move because most beginners are not thinking in terms of candidate moves.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-12-11T19:06:26.373Z
Comments.Text: @GeorgeJempty - Well, yes and no. I thought this question was more geared towards the move not necessarily being a candidate move or someone who does not know what a candidate move is.  This question is a more general or broad question, whereas the other one, is specific.
Comments.UserDisplayName: xaisoft
Tags: <learning>
Title: What to consider before making a move?
ThreadText: # What to consider before making a move?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-06)
  
  What questions do you ask yourself before making a move?
  
  Do you have a mental check-list that you go through before deciding on which move is the best move in the current position?
  
  The move does not have to be a candidate move because most beginners are not thinking in terms of candidate moves.
  
  **Tags:** learning
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: @GeorgeJempty - Well, yes and no. I thought this question was more geared towards the move not necessarily being a candidate move or someone who does not know what a candidate move is.  This question is a more general or broad question, whereas the other one, is specific.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 5 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2012-12-06. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  Before playing a move, I like to think I pay attention to the following :
  
  * **Is some piece of mine undefended ?** If a few aren't, then I should bay a particular attention to them not being forkable, with anything (by a queen, mostly). If it is the case, I might decide playing something that safens this matter.
  * **Is my *king* safe enough ?** All checks my opponent can administer should be benign.
  * **Is my move achieving something ?** Better have a wrong plan than no plan at all.
  * **What move am I expecting my opponent to play ?** A handful of possible moves is fine, as long as it's not “well, anything, basically”. Ideally, I see how neither of these moves are a problem to me.
  * **Tactics** : Often enough, there is about one square of interest on which both players' pieces concentrate : is this square defended enough times, by the right pieces ? (i.e. defending with a rook and a queen a pawn that my opponent attacks with light pieces is not going to help) Is the checkmate I am defending from still not working ?
  
  Of course, once I thought enough about all of these, I'd expect not to lose any game, but 4. and 5. still leave the door open to surprises if one doesn't read variations into enough depth, “how many is *enough* ?” still being an open question :·)
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Excellent points.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2013-12-23. Score: 2
  
  The common trap I used to fall into (and I am actually still falling into it) is to consider mostly **your** attacking possibilities, and not the opponent's one.
  
  It usually happens this way: "How my god, my pieces are beautifully coordinated, I can probably put my Knight to f5, and then with the support of the Queen, g7 will be very weak. This is going to be a good game..."
  And on the next move, your opponent checkmates you because you completely missed his bishop b7-Queen c6 configuration that was threatening a mate in 1.
  
  So the meta-rule for me is:
  - always think about the opponent's possibilities first. What is he threatening ? Do his pieces target some interesting squares ?
  - Then think about what could be done to stop these threats. Possibly you have even bigger a threat so it is not actually necessary to deal with it. But at least you know it now
  
  Then, when drilling down to the opponent's possibilities, it includes: is my King safe ? Are my pieces protected ? Is there a weak square he can reach ? Is there a forced series of moves that leaves him with the advantage ? Once you are sure that there is no problem left in your position, you can start thinking about your own attacking possibilities: is **his** King safe ? Are some of **his** pieces undefended etc.
  
  You can find more pieces of advice on my blog: <http://chesstrainerapp.blogspot.fr/>
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2012-12-07. Score: 2
  
  I usually consider the following things before making a move:
  
  * Which squares is this piece controlling *now* and which squares would it control from its new position?
  * Which pieces is it defending *now* and which pieces would it defend from its new position?
  * What are the various options for my opponent after I make this move?
  * How does this move fit into a longer term plan, or to put it another way, what purpose do I want it to serve?
  * How well is the piece protected in its new position? (Of course, this does not apply when I *want* to give up the piece.)
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2018-05-19. Score: 1
  
  It is usually easy to see the positive aspects of a move. It is because of them that you are considering it. What you have to force yourself to look for are its negative aspects. So...
  
  What aspects of my position are weakened by this move? What piece or square is left unprotected? What piece of mine is blocked? What piece of my opponent is opened up?
  What options have been lost?
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2013-12-24. Score: 0
  
  My thought process is roughly as follows:
  
  * Decide which move best fits my "plan".
  * After the move, is the moved piece vulnerable:
    + Is it hanging?
    + Can it be attacked by a more minor piece?
  * After the move, does it leave any other piece vulnerable:
    + Does it leave another piece hanging because it is now discovered?
    + Was my piece directly defending any other piece by guarding the square?
  * Can the opponent now check me?
    + If so, can she use it to skewer another piece?
  * What is the move the opponent is more likely to do now?
    + Does my move force the opponent?
    + Does my move encourage the opponent to move a piece?
    + Does my move create any obvious opportunities for the opponent?
  
  
  ---
  
  