Is Your Calculation Precise Enough?

[@TikariChess]

Glad to hear you're recovering. Short videos, long videos - I'm here for them all!

[@tiny_frost8]

Perfect, perfect, perfect calculation exercise and explanation. I correctly evaluated the queen vs 2 rooks endgame. Missed Ke2 though, I think that's my problem, focusing on one major variation. Thanks coach. Really hoping you release another course.

[@adrianross7615]

This video was incredible at pointing out how inept I really am at calculation lmao but that is also probably the best kind of coaching

[@JanKowalski-je7qf]

2100 lichess here, I saw the line until Ke2 and correctly concluded it to be winning for white, I didn't see black's Bg4 with queen sac for rook and bish as a playable option. As soon as you played it out to 2 rooks vs queen endgame I knew it was somewhat better for white due to reasons you just said. Very instructive as usual :D

[@michaelf8221]

As always, focusing on breadth of calculation over depth of calculation proves crucial. I was happy to see Bxf2 Kf1 Qh1 Ke2. Missed Bxg4 and we'd be ok as black

[@OctavianIV]

Is my calculation good enough? Ah, no. Not in any conceivable way. Luckily, Andras has provided us with a another great video to improve this desultory state of affairs!

[@hata6290]

legendary video andras

[@battlescard213]

Thanks Coach! I’m always sweating you for evaluation and calculation videos. You brought the fire.🙂 Feels like a 2 for 1!! 1:49

[@vivekdahiya9297]

Those who paused, knew how much has to be calculated

[@christmackey]

That was a great video and position Coach.

[@buk0100]

There should be more videos about visualisation and evaluation of positions to spot certain tactics (here the hanging rook on e7). The problem often is, when to stop a "calculation" and how to evaluate the lines in comparison with other lines. So, all in all, what are the pitfalls during the calculating process? - very good videos, coach!

[@girator2010]

You're definitely a great coach and trainer. Always glad to see your work. Greetings from Spain, from a "chess-chico" 😂

[@itskmillz]

Kf1 is such an easy to overlook move. I would never even consider it! which is why I am a weak player, but very instructive to remember to look at all ideas in forcing lines!

[@garyinternet5436]

I looked at all kinds of moves when I first saw the position including ...Qb6+ but quickly saw that was not the way to go. When I finally landed on Be3+ I felt like a chess god. Like I was unstoppable. I then went into the realm of pure fantasy because the only line I looked was Rxe3, Qxe3+, Rf2, Be6. Amazing. Then I un-paused the video and realized that Rf2 can be played immediately in response to Be3+ and that instantly made a mockery of all the work that I was so proud of. Then when you went on to remind us all that after Bxf2+ the recapture Kxf2 is by no means compulsory, and instead White can play Kf1. After that you went on and discussed so much more than I wouldn't have found. I think if someone had said the moves out loud without moving the pieces I could have potentially visualized it all, but I wouldn't have found those moves on my own if I didn't have someone saying them for me. I would have been stuck forever at the point of believing that Kxf2 was compulsory. This 9 minute video shines a light on real chess improvement once again. I don't know if you'll be alerted to this comment Andras, but after watching your latest video that you uploaded yesterday which is titled "Calculation Technique Lecture - Turn Chaos to Clarity!" I unsubscribed from every other chess channel that I had previously been subscribed to because none of them are as candid as you are in trying to bring to people's attention what it is they actually need to work on to improve their chess playing ability. I would say that 99% of chess content online falls into the categories of chess news, chess coverage, chess drama, chess entertainment or chess marketing (some people still try and do the hard sell). Sure, you can feel like you're learning something when you watch a titled player hammering on less opponents in rapid and blitz and convince yourself that you would have also spotted that 5 move combination in 3 seconds and evaluated it as being safe to play and then played it within 10 seconds. I've done this and still do this occasionally and it feels awesome at the time, but then when I return to my own games I'm sweating just to get to move 20 with equal material and hopefully spot a tactical error made by my opponent. A very valuable part of this video is right at the end when you reiterate that the best way to practice this skill is not necessarily just puzzle solving, but simply to engage with any chess position from your own games or other people's games and approach it with the mindset of using calculation to try and actually figure out what the best move is.

[@joeldick6871]

What was the time control of this game? Because that calculation exercise is only possible (for club players) if you have at least half an hour to think about it.

[@RokenMe]

Are there a books u could tell us for getting better at calculation other than "improve ur calculation"? Thank u for' the video, i really like these "puzzles"

[@justsomeboyprobablydressed9579]

I think my brain is broken. I've been playing chess for decades, and I just cannot visualize. I can't calculate things this complicated because I cannot visualize the positions.

[@nickburggraaf3977]

Do you eat your daily mating puzzles for breakfast?

[@kaalad3666]

Great video! I need to stop being lazy with calculations. Can you show us some instances where two rooks are better than a queen and how we can play those positions (as the side with the rooks)?

[@401martin]

Wow, I have a loooooong way to go, and I'm not really sure how to improve efficiently since I can't visualize things in the first place. Just have to keep at it, I guess. I found Be3+ Rxe3 Qxe3+ (immediate threat on g7 defused, king moves away and Bxg4 saves the a8 rook, black seems okay). I found Be3+ Rf2 Bxf2+ Kxf2 but missed Qh4+ (because I couldn't see the knight is pinned) or any other reasonable follow-up. Very instructive position, though, nice video

[@robinesperoza]

Great video. I had a tournament this weekend and it was a calculation disaster, including a comical lemon! One problem that I had during my games was that I invested a lot of time into wrong variations. This also happened with this video. I investigated ..Bb7 (Rxg7, Bxd5, Rg6+ Qg7) It took me some time to realise that whites move Bxg7+ is not best, but that white could crush black instantly with Rxg7. (Mates galore). After I looked at Bd6+, but missed whites reply Kf1. I feel my calculation is mostly sloppy (depth) and focused on the wrong things (width). I've noticed that I do well with puzzles on lichess (2700+) but that they take me generally 20 minutes or so to solve. I was considering learning blindfold chess to increase visualisation, and only then returning to calculation. You reckon this is a terrible idea?

[@jaybird1806]

What is frustrating for me is that I immediately saw the line that those in the comments didn’t consider …Bxg4, but I quickly dismissed…Be3 as unplayable. I failed to see the forcing line for white of 2. Bxg7! and I don’t know how to break through this mental block. It seems like my chess takes a step forward then 2 steps back, as the last few games I played, I blunder my Queen or a piece or failed to see my opponent’s en prise Queen and I play some other complicated plan only to look up to realize I’m down material and in a horrible position. Coach, I know you’ve seen this a million times, what’s the resolution?

[@MistaMasta12]

Great video! I simultaneously saw everything you showed and still failed because I spent way too much time on Bh2+ before seeing it was simply hanging to Nxh2 😅 After that I got to the same final position and evaluation as you 😊

[@SuperOriginalRecipe]

1350 cc here failed at first hurdle

[@garri235]

I saw this Be3 Rf2 Bxf2 Kf1 and that Qh1+ is bad for black, but I don't see that after Be3 Rf2 Bxf2 Kf1 is c6 bad for Qf7 and Bxg4 is only move here for black... Anyway calculate these lines was possible but evaluate the position after Bxg4 is beyond my skill.