Supercharging Your Chess Improvement: Calculation is the Key!

“A strong memory, concentration, imagination, and a strong will is required to become a great chess player”. Former World Champion Bobby Fischer.

"Chess is a very easy game, all you have to do is calculate accurately and you'll be okay." -- GM Alexander Beliavsky.

"I suppose there's not a more useful tool in chess than to be able to calculate well." -- GM Axel Smith, in his highly acclaimed work: Pump Up Your Rating.

"Chess is really 99% calculation!" -- GM Andy Soltis

"What good are your general ideas if your concrete implementation of those ideas are flawed? If your calculation is superior to your opponents you'll prevail more often then not." -- NM Edward W. Clarke.

Chances are that you've studied the classics, the strategic must-know masterpieces of chess. You can build up your position for 52 moves like Capablanca and when you make a small error with the concrete execution you blow away the win.

How can you improve your calculation? Regardless if you use Chess.com tactics trainer, books or a mix, the key is maintaining a consistent regimen.

For the online tactics servers one of my favorite is Chess.com's tactics servers because of the diversity of positions. (There's even compositions) I've done 3800+ tactics and reside in the rating range of 3000-3200. 

Study recommendations: Forcing Chess Moves by Charles Hertan, Jacob Aagaard's Calculation: Grandmaster Preperation, and also Aagaard's Grandmaster Preparation: Endgame Play is great for training your endgames while working on calculation. Please see my early posts to find reviews for these books.

I've decided to write a part 2 on The Grandmaster Mindset, which I read on the interactive e-reading platform, Forward Chess. Here's part One.

If you manage to solve at least 4 out of the 5 positions below (on the first try), you are probably at least 2000 strength.