I'm no expert but I find that it's unneccessary to check every piece on every move. At any one time there are only a few pieces to be concerned with, usually those that have just moved and any pieces that are freed up by the move.
There's always exceptions but generally I try and look a few moves ahead from the pieces I judge to be a danger or those I am attacking.
PS - I didn't know about the analysis board - great tip!
I learned chess as a child from my father. We used to play and he'd whup my butt on a regular basis. As I grew older I was interested in chess and enjoyed movies and books on the subject (Searching for Bobby Fischer, Queens Gambit, etc). I'd come back to the game from time to time, only to get frustrated and give it up.
My main frustration stems from the fact that I can't see 1, 2, 3 or 10 moves ahead like most of the chess players I know.
When I look at the board I can see the pieces, I can go through them one at a time and think "Ok this pawn attacks here and here and this bishop supports this pieces" but that takes a LONG time and a lot of concentration. To be honest by the time I've looked at the last piece on the board to see what it can do on THIS move I've forgotton about the first 5 pieces I've reviewed.
It can take me 10 minutes of looking at a board just to go over all of the possible moves on the current turn and there are so many variables! I can't keep track of them all, let alone track projected moves based on adjustments to these variables for this or that move I might make or the multiple responses my opponent can make.
I am truly amazed by a player's ability to track all of the variables and develop plans and lines of attack, something that has always escaped me.
Now it's possible that some people would claim I'm not smart enough to play chess. I'd argue that one as I have a good iq and work as a programmer and am quite successful. Additionally I'm an avid gamer who normally has a very quick ramp up when it comes to learning and becoming proficient at new games.
Perhaps there is another way to see a chess game rather than going over every piece on every move to see what it may or may not do. Perhaps I just need to cram and play a ton to develop some sort of 'chess-o-vision'.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be most appreciated as I do enjoy this game and would like to develop to the point where I don't feel like I suck royally on a regular basis.
Peace,
B