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Training Game #15 with New Thought Process

ChessAnalysisStrategyChess bot
When I first began using felew699's thought process, Super Eval, I saw a dramatic increase in accuracy. This excited me very much as I had been striving to improve. However, there are a few issues I have had with it.

Issues:

Super Eval is a very slow and methodical thought process, because it is being used against computers. felew699 often plays correspondence, which means he can spend time over the course of a few days playing a single game. For me, I simply just don't want to do this. While I could do this and would absolutely find that my performance would improve, my main reason for starting this journey was to break out of the plateau that I have been stuck on for almost 8 months now. Seeing that I can play really good games when I spend over two hours on a game is great, but it won't help me all that much in regular games I would play.

felew699 has stated that Super Eval is an art. I have never been good at drawing. I can mimic and recreate, but I will not be able to achieve my goals if I'm struggling with the fundamental process of thinking. The 2500 chess bot has managed to beat me 3 times and draw me once. I wondered if I could develop my own thought process and try to beat it then. So I did.


First, i will show the game and some highlights of that game, then I will share my thought process.

https://lichess.org/JxXz6Wfr#0

In the post game analysis, I had an accuracy of 84%, with 3 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, and 2 blunders. Since this is my first time using my new thought process, and I found that I would resort to just using intuition out of habit, I will judge myself a little less harshly.

On move 13, the computer had just played Qb4, which is it's first big mistake, I decide to play Qc1, threatening a nasty attack of the h6 pawn with my bishop and protecting my pawn on b2. This is an inaccuracy. Instead, I should have played f4, with the idea of opening up my rook towards the king, and attacking blacks center control.

On move 16, I played Re1 to stop the threat of Ne2+. This is inaccurate because I should have played Qd1, which I considered. What does Qd1 do, you might ask. I believe the purpose may have been to stop Nh5 after 3 moves, which I never even considered as an option for black. Really difficult to see.

On move 23, I made my first blunder. I played Kf1 to get out of the threat of a discovered check from the computer. But this allows f5, which I saw and was nervous about, but I didn't see much else besides the best move Qe3. I simply miscounted the material count after Nc2 and a queen trade so I discarded it and went for the much worse Kf1. I have to work on my calculation.

On move 28, I make my other blunder of the game with Bg3, allowing the computer to stack rooks on the f file. The best move, Bxd4, was never considered as this is one of the moments in the game where I forgot to slow down and my intuition took over. Fortunately, the computer blundered right after that and I was able to take back control with a completely winning position.


What is my new Thought Process?

"A bad plan is better than none at all" - Frank Marshall

I suck at making plans. So to improve this facet, my thought process will be based around small 2-4 move plans that can improve my position slowly. This should hopefully help me become better and better at making simple effective plans in the middle of games, both against computers and humans.
Here is a further breakdown of the thought process during the three stages of the game:

In the opening: Focus and play what you know. Follow basic opening principles and lookout for tactics.

In the middlegame:
Every move: Look for tactics and look for what you opponent is threatening. Do a blunder check before you move.
Every 2-4 moves: Analyze the positions features like pawns and certain squares and weaknesses. Think about what the opponent might want over the next few moves and how it might affect you. Do a quick evaluation based on king safety, material, and activity. Based on what you find, do your best to come up with 2-3 plans and look for the best one. Do a blunder check and play.

In the endgame: Use endgame principals and play slowly, just like you would in the opening.

This thought process should be able to do what I want it to do, while still being strong enough to use against computers (just with some extra caution).


Where Do You Come In?

Simple. I also suck at names. I don't think I can just continue calling it "New Thought Process", so I will ask those who do read this post to put some ideas for the name of it in the comments. I would greatly appreciate it.


If you are interested in the idea of training to fight against the computer, consider joining The Club of Believers. As I have been posting these games, more people have joined, which is absolutely amazing. The more likely it is that we will uncover new ways to fight back against the computers.

If you find this content interesting, consider giving my post a like so more people can read and enjoy.

Thank you for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day!