Chess Principles: Understanding Moves and Threats

In this episode, I'm joined by the legendary chess coach Andras Toth for a deep dive into improving your chess thinking process. We discuss the key questions you should ask during a game to sharpen your decision-making. Andras and I cover essential topics like identifying threats, calculation techniques, and positional decisions. This episode is especially valuable for beginner and casual players who are still developing their thought processes in chess. These essential questions serve as a guide, helping you navigate the complexities of our royal game. With consistent practice, these questions will become second nature, allowing you to focus more on your game without needing to consciously recall them (thus leading to lower cognitive load). Chess, with its immense complexity and infinite possibilities, resists being fully captured by any single algorithm or set of rules. While chess questions and principles provide valuable frameworks for guiding our decisions, they should be seen as tools for enhancing our thinking rather than definitive solutions.

These questions encourage us to explore different strategies, recognize patterns, and develop a deeper understanding of the game while aiding practical decision-making. Depending on your weaknesses and playing style, some questions may be more relevant for you than others.

03:15 What would they play if I did not make a move right now? 13:11 Does my move allow a devastating check? 17:43 Does my move create a loose piece? 21:12 What is the drawback of my opponent's last move? 25:10 Did I reassess for better moves at each step of my calculated line? 30:59 What ELSE can I do? 34:00 Does it REALLY work? 40:23 What move is in line with my strategic goal? 43:45 Am I wasting time on irrelevant calculations? 46:10 Do I really need to defend that pawn? 51:31 Do I need to take any risks here? 56:19 What is my opponent’s plan? 01:01:18 Can I transition into a winning endgame? 01:10:18 Can I exchange on my own terms? 01:12:42 What is my worst-placed piece? 01:13:51 Where are the weaknesses? 01:16:38 Does this pawn move improve my pieces or my opponent's?