I can't "calculate"

I've been playing chess for a few years. Been 1692 at my peak. And I never developed the ability to calculate.

If I look at a chess position and then close my eyes, I can't see it in my mind, and I couldn't tell you where the pieces were.

Likewise, I can't visualize the position 2-3 moves ahead. The knight moves there and then the bishop moves here and wait I lost track I can't see anything.

Is there a way to fix that or is my brain not wired for chess?

If you close your eyes, do you see complete black? Can you visualize figures and images in your head? If not, you might want to do some research on aphantasia.

you need more experience...........as you want to improve that aspect of your chess game, your brain will work on it unconsciously !  even when you sleep............

No, I am capable of imagination, but I guess less than other people?

Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental images in one's mind. Most people can actually see things with their eyes closed as if they are open but a small percentage cant. I doubt your problem has something to do with your ability in Chess. Calculating with your eyes closed is only really useful in blindfolded Chess so it doesn't matter that much.

As if they were open? No, I certainly don't see things as clearly with my eyes closed as with them open. I'm pretty sure that's normal.
Calculating several moves ahead is definitely useful outside of blindfolded chess.
In fact, in many master games you can find 7+ move tactical combinations that won the game.

Okay I’ve thought about this for the past 20 minutes and am ready to give a response.

In school there was a guy who enjoys playing music: guitar, piano, singing, you name it. He has an exceptional ability for memorization. He can rattle off everything he remembers instantly and won’t stop. One thing stands out to me, rhythm. As he says everything by heart you can hear a rhythm in his voice, which makes sense, because he is a musician.

Now flip the page to me. I can’t memorize like that. People in my class can cram the morning before an exam and remember everything perfectly, I just don’t have the ability. But I can memorize, in a different way. You see, I have a photographic memory, but in a different way, I need to first hear the information and then I can transfer it visually. When writing exams, I can perfectly picture my notes or information I read from research. I can see it in my mind, completely.

The reason I told you this is to show that people are different and learn in different ways. Our brains retain and remember things differently, and we all have different methods. What I’m saying is to find how your brain works, understand it and then use it to your advantage.

Here are some steps you can take to improve:

1) Stay healthy and fit
What time do you play games? Try playing when you are most alert and active. Eat all your meals and get regular exercise. Drink plenty of water and avoid processed foods. These things will contribute to oxygen sent to your brain which will help you to think clearly.

2) Use what you have
If you are playing on a laptop or computer you can use arrows to draw on the board to help you calculate. Use them if you can. Try writing down the moves on some paper if it helps. I would recommend viewing Daniel Naroditsky’s videos on YouTube. You are at the intermediate level, so you are beyond basic chess strategy. His videos will help you to understand a chess player’s thought process and improve your board vision and calculation skills.

3) Keep trying, don’t give up!
The more you try the better you will get. Keep practicing and keep trying!

Lol same, if i close my eyes i can't visualize the board either....

I have a bad memory too, but i am calculating by looking at the board, i draw arrows...do more puzzles more and more... i am good at calculating, not like a pro but...kind of good, specially i sac many pieces and many times it has worked, 

Do puzzles...
Look at the board and then calculate...
3-5 move depth is enough until you become better at calculations..

plus even i am confused how Gms play blind chess by closing thier eyes.. anyway you don't have to close your eyes....

One more tip for visualization.....
I heard an advice from a GM, his advice is learn language of chess and practice it..( Bf4....Nxg7)

Try these and see

Well I think you might be underestimating how much work it takes gamer girl.  To do real calculation takes many years of practice, and heavy studying.  In fact to reach your rating at your age is pretty impressive, so it should be encouraging for you.

Few GM can close their eyes and remember the positions of every exact piece on the board.  What they do remember is the general position, especially which pieces can be improved or used for tactics.

I think doing more puzzles would help improve your calculation skills.  That's what they're good for, pattern recognition and calculation.  Keep it up

Lol, what are you saying i analysed some crazy lines of Danish gambit in my dream while sleeping. I think you should solve puzzles try to visualise ahead if you play moves by intuition then you are not training your brain to visualise and calculate.

Calculating has a lot to do with how used you are to certain patterns. GMs calculate several moves ahead in forced lines. If it's a complex position with many lines with many variables they will calculate 2 or 3 moves ahead. But they also take into consideration many chess concepts and the assessment of the positions it can lead to. But one thing at a time:

For example. You can probably calculate this till checkmate, no?

See? You just calculated 6 moves ahead. It's a matter of training. Obviously this is a bit simplified but just to illustrate the point.

Using the musician example above. I am not professional but have been playing my whole life, especially guitar, and simple songs with simple chords I have played my whole life I can visualize the shape of the chords and the sounds in my mind if I want to, but if it's a more difficult song, with several notes and a complex harmony I am not able to do that. Advanced trained musicians should be able to. Similarly if I see someone playing a simple song with 3-4 chords in it I can probably learn just by looking at it. But again if they start playing Mozart or something like that in front of me I will obviously not be able to do so. Although that I wouldn't be able even with the scoresheet in front of me lol but you get the point

I don't have a good memory as well, but opening lines that I have played many times I can kind of see, although a little foggy and unclear, where the pieces are if it's a simple position. But I have trouble visualizing the squares whether they are light or dark, among other things... I think I could improve if I had the name of the squares at the tip of my tongue, which I don't yet... who knows maybe someday.... But you probably can picture the scholar's mate happening in your mind, even if it's a little blurry you can kind of visualize the queen and bishop aiming at f7 and then checkmating, right? That's sort of  how it starts and with practice you just keep on developing the ability.

As far as masters playing blindfold and instantly memorizing positions when they look at one, it has also a lot to do with training and pattern recognition. They could not do so when they were 1500. There are trainings for that, although from what I've seen and heard, most GMs never really practiced and it just came to them organically with practice. There's a nat geo documentary with Susan Polgar on youtube that explains this very well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wzs33wvr9E 

The whole documentary is very interesting and I recommend watching it whole but the part regarding blindfold starts at 16 minutes (or 19 minutes if you don't want the slightly exaggerated build up to it)

Doing a lot of mate in 2 puzzles , then mate in 3, then mate in 4 and so on is a good way to improve your calculations. But don't guess the move just because it looks natural. Try and visualize the whole sequence before making the move. If your brain doesn't start hurting after a while you're not doing it right. When playing (longer time formats, not blitz) there will be opportunities to practice and sometimes you will get it right and sometimes you will blunder. I mean GMs still do. For example, you calculate a 3 move sequence but you forget that when you moved your knight on the second move of that sequence you forgot it was actually blocking your opponents rook and now you allowed your opponents rook to capture your rook with check. These kind of things happen a lot, when you move a piece and forgot that by doing so you stopped covering a certain square. The only way around it is more practice, discipline and repetition.

But as I said, chess is not just about calculating. It has a lot to do with understanding the concepts and assessment of positions (is my king safe enough? Is that bishop of his doing anything? If I trade this pieces is that endgame potentially winning for me? etc etc) so that you can calculate properly. But you have to start somewhere, and those forced mate in puzzles is in my opinion a good way to start. But you have to develop every other aspect of your chess with it, otherwise your progress will be hindered.

Yeah Morfizera basically said what I wanted to but much better. That’s as good as it gets for advice.

So my suggestion is to try this in steps.

Part 1 The empty board, part 2 the board with the initial set up (either from white or black perspective) (I visualise the chess diagram that the online sites use as opposed to a real board, make a choice between the two) part 3 select a master game in an opening you play and begin to memorise the moves. One pair at a time. Each time you read the moves close your eyes and visualise the pieces moving like they do on the board. Part 4 after every pair lool away and recite from the begining imagining every move in sequence. This is how you build the muscle. Part 5vGo back over the game in your memory and start thinging positionally about what each move changes about the position Part 6 Now try it the same opening with a different master game for the other pieces as the view point all the way to part 5. Finally part 7 do it the same thing in each opening you play. Part 7 is important because you need to be able to impint different game patterns to build this muscle.

Sorry for the typos. It is the misplacing of fingers on the phone keyboard not the spelling.

I can’t even visualize the board with no pieces moved is this normal.

For an NM I think it's not normal

I don’t think he’s a real NM

I can't work out how you reached 1692 without being able to predict 2 or 3 moves ahead. Perhaps we have different concepts of visualisation, but if you know a move is the best move from a position you haven't seen before then I think you are visualising a number of moves ahead. The idea of a photographic memory is a myth and I don't think anyone calculates by conjuring a crystal clear image.