Andrew Martin Chess Academy

[publius2]

Has anyone encountered the problem of moving on impulse without fully considering the position and (especially) the opponent's plans? I "know better" but in the adrenaline-fueled atmosphere of the competition, I find my view of the board and the possibilities narrows and I end up making a couple of thoughtless moves that ruin positions. If anyone has any corrective ideas, please, feel free...

[Laramonet]

Hi Publius,
There is a piece of old advice that runs "when you see a good move, sit on your hands". I do remember years ago physically following this advice ! Maybe it's necessary just to emphasize the need for a sober assessment before you rush into things.
I think Dan Heisman talks about Real Chess, which paraphrasing is finding 3 or 4 candidate moves and analysing to choose the right one. This involves anticipating the 3 or 4 most likely ansers from your opponent and having a reply ready to each of them. If you can do this, which can't be done jumping at a move, then you're playing Real Chess !
Good luck !

[publius2]

Laramonet, your reply got me to thinking about a parallel to my chess issue. One of the prominent psychology theorists maintains that, when we are emotionally responding to a given situation, it is vital to create a "buffer" of time between our emotional reaction and any action we choose to take. This affords us a chance to get through the initial adrenaline "rush" and to regain logic and thought processes. I think that "sitting one your hands" is saying the same thing. Thank you for your reply.

[Marth]

Note that our attack must be sound for this idea to work.

In some cases, though RARE ones, moving by impulse might be the best thing to do. This happens rarely though. When we're attacking, sometimes we "see" a defensive idea that "stops" our plans. This defensive move might objectively worsen their position, but our attack seems to have hit a brick wall after this move.

This move might be only a couple of moves away, and by not "seeing" it beforehand we get an advantage. The advantage is that we see it for the first time played on the board and not in our heads, and that we can indeed "solve" the problem. If we see it beforehand (in our heads) we seem to not be able to solve the problems that the defender places before us and end up losing the game.

We just have to figure out when those "moments" are. This is easier said than done. For the most part, I agree that creating an emotional barrier is vital to playing well no matter the playing strength of your opponent or you.