What do you think before you move?

Thanks to chessiq for the idea.

In his blog, chessiq is listing out a 10 point plan. His committment to chess excellence. One of these points (#5) he lists the questions he will ansewer before making a move.

This realy makes me think, as this is exactly what I have been looking for in books etc... What questions should one ask? Is there a 'perfect list'? Also, perhaps there is an order in which to ask them.

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to see what others think before a move.

This is my list:

1. Is there a threat to my king?

2. What does this move accomplish for me?

3. How does this effect my other pieces?

4. What will my opponent do?

I think it is #4 that gets me in the most trouble. I seem to think that my opponent wil do what I expect him to do and, as a result, I miss things that maybe should have been obvious. 

-Eric

thought process during chess:

1. ha! this will get em!

2. no... wait that won't work

3. but this will!!

4. that didn't work as planned?.... 

4. that didn't work as planned?.... 

Thanks for that answer! I have just started reading "Play winning chess" by Mr.Silman and I think I will go through his whole series. It is not as stuffy a book as some can be!

Hopefully I can get to the PLAN stage shortly. I do come up with short term plans, but nothing overall yet. 

The fun is in the trying, however.

-Eric 

A lot of the times I find myself debating whether or not the opponent has figured out the attack I'm trying to set up therefore nullifying the attack as he/she will react accordingly or it will work successfully..

Another frequent one is weighing the benefit of going ahead with an exchange or not..

What am I thinking before I move?

This morning... nothing...

My line of thought, more or less, in order:

What is the positional situation on the board?
What is my opponent's immediate threat?
What is my opponent's long term plan? (I usually blank here)
What are my opponent's strengths and weaknesses?
What are my weaknesses?
Is my plan still coming along (my strengths)?
If not, what new plan should I come up with?

Finally: What is the move or what are the best series of moves in order to a) continue with my intended plan (attack), b) change my plan into a working plan (modulate), or c) avoid my opponent to fulfill its plans (defense)?

I have a very hard time making calculations though... 

4.huh???? How did he do that?????

Have you ever heard about Roberto Grau's recommendation for novice players? He stated that there are four kinds of moves:

1. Attacking
2. Defensive
3. Neutral or development
4. Errors

before i move i usually think three things:

1. "please don't see what i'm trying to do"

2. "do i really have time to be playing? i should be building more chess.com features"

3. "i need a coach :( " 

haha, number 2 is humorous Erik.

What about,"Hmm, where are all the cute chess girls?"