Unlock your Genius – November 2008 (Problems)

by dlwyatt, Ohio, Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 01:30 (5993 days ago) @ Tony Kosten

? I read a scientific paper that said that humans were unable to analyse the
? way Kotov described in his book! All this business of trees and branches is
? nonsense!

Well, I certainly hope there's something better than the way I play in competitive games. :) I just sort of intuitively see as many candidate moves and potential tactics as I can, right from the start, and just start playing through lines in my head. If I find something with a concrete advantage, most of the time, I just play it right away, without spending more time on that move. I am just as happy to cleanly win a minor piece as I am to win a queen, since it'll get me to the same place in the end almost every time.

The downside? I don't "see" everything, and sometimes overlook some doozies. Usually it happens when I'm so focused on my own tactics and attack, that I end up letting the other guy nail me with a perpetual check or worse. Tricky endgames like to bite me in the rear, too, if I miss a tempo-gaining trick for one side or the other.

The more structured analysis that I do with a pen and paper with lots of time (like for these puzzles) avoids those blunders, but I haven't figured out how to duplicate that in a real game.