Thought Process

I was inspired to write this after reading Fussy Lizard's post in which he asked a question about thought process. An OTB thinking process is something I have struggled with a lot. At first I tried elaborate thought processes, but like Fussy Lizard I'd always revert back to my old ways after a few moves. After analyzing my tournament games, one thing I've noticed is that I will tend to miss things if I'm distracted by an idea that I did see. Two quick examples:

My opponent (Black) just played ...g7-g6. I thought, "He wants to retreat his bishop back to g7 because Ng4 will threaten to capture it or divert it from the a1-h8 diagonal." And I stopped thinking about his move, and missed a game-winning tactic. Can you find it? Solution

My opponent (White) has apparently just hung a knight on c7. Suspecting a trap, I calculated what would happen if I took the knight, and saw that I could defend against his "threat". And I stopped thinking about it and took the knight. He then showed me the "other" threat that caused me to resign immediately. Do you see how he can win if I take the knight? Solution

In both cases my mind latched onto something and I dismissed further investigation. In the first example, had anyone said, "White has a game-winning tactic here," I could have found it. In the second example had anyone said, "Does White have any other threats?" I could have found it.

Noticing this pattern led me to a simple idea: Always ask, "What else?"

In the first example, "What else has changed because of my opponent's move?" Well, ...g7-g6 removes a defender of the f6-bishop. Is there any way I can exploit this? It's already protected once by the e8-knight. Oh look, Ncd5 attacks the f6-bishop twice and also attacks the queen. Let's calculate some variations.

In the second example, "What else (i.e., forcing moves) can my opponent play?" It has to be forcing since he's sacrificed a piece.

What else... what else... what else...

So I try to keep things simple. My thought process outline goes something like this (always asking what else!):

1) Understand my opponent's move. Understand his idea(s) and what all has changed by the move.

2) Any tactics?

3) Make a strategic plan

4) After deciding on a move, do a final blunder-check.

I'm leaving a lot out here, stuff I already naturally do. But this is the structure I try to impose when I feel I need to. I leave a lot of room in the thought process to go with an idea and see where it takes me. Sometimes I find the right wave and everything flows naturally, and no intentional thought process is needed. So the other area of focus for me is physical conditioning, which includes being able to relax and slow down (while still remaining focused). This seems to help me find those nice waves more often.