Temposchlucker

 Some pieces are B.A.D. (Barely Adequate Defended). When a piece has zero defenders and zero attackers, we call that piece unprotected. When you add an attacker, that piece is hanging. LPDO, remember? When a piece has one defender and one attacker, it is effectively unprotected as well. When you add an attacker, that piece is hanging. When a piece has three defenders and three attackers, that piece is unprotected as well. When you add an attacker, that piece is hanging. Which piece of the the three examples offers the greatest chances for a tactical combination? The piece with the most defenders, of course. Since not only the piece itself is vulnerable, but the defenders, which are immobilized due to their defensive function, are vulnerable as well. If you manage to eliminate just one defender with tempo, the defended piece is in trouble. So develop an eye for the most defended unprotected piece. That is the rationale behind overprotection. The defenders are no longer immobile, and...

 You don't need just to see the auras of the pieces, you must learn to see their future auras too. Some puzzles are more suitable for this than others. I assume that these type of problems is a good start: White to move. Mate in 3 4Q3/8/2p5/2kr4/K3R3/3r4/2p5/8 w - - 0 1

Proof of concept  Chess improvement is always very unpredictable. I started the preparation for the oncoming tournaments with a complete new openings repertoire, and via endgames I ended up with aural visualization, which is the main part of my training now. It feels as if it is working. So what's the plan? The tournaments will be decisive. If they show that aural visualization is the missing link in tactical improvement, I can base my plans on that. If it is not working, well, then it's back to the drawing board. Endgame training Endgame training will be a substantial part of my training the coming year. Even though it will only gain me 70 points or so, it is necessary to embed it in my games. It makes a whole lot of difference when you can decide at any moment in your game, now I'm going to liquidate into an endgame. Your options will double. Vukovic Studying "The art of attack" of Vukovic deeply, has been on my bucket list for a long time. Especially the precon...

 My tactical training in the past has gained me about 250 rating points during its heydays. I often wrote that the core of this effort was reached within about 6 weeks. Although it took a year or two before it was reflected into my OTB rating. I mentioned this fact often in the past, and I have been in search for a way to copy this result ever since. Without any avail, alas. I remember well what I was doing during this period of six weeks of growth in tactical insight. I was working on mates in one and two in papa Polgars brick "chess training in 5333+1 positions". I wasn't even repeating the problems, the repetition came from the similarities between positions. Even during working on Polgars brick, I felt the effect of the training slowly fading away. I thought that the answer lay in doing more problems, hence being exposed to more patterns. Later I met the Knights Errant, and I was introduced to repetition and speed. Some new areas of chess were entered, for instance th...

 I found the following layers of calculation: The lowest level of calculation are the pieces. Which is pure geometry. One piece can make a total difference. Apparently, my over the top tactical training regimen has provided me with piece patterns aplenty. The next level of patterns are the aura of the pieces. I exercise with mate patterns, so the aura's of the pieces manifest themselves as "the box" in which we want to kill the hostile king. The following level of abstraction is the way your pieces cooperate. One could say "technique". Pry the castle open. Prevent the king from skedaddling away into the blue. Chase the king into the box. Squeeze the box and kill the king. The next level is adding logic. When a piece is B.A.D. (Barely Adequate Defended), look for attacking its defenders. That kind of stuff. CM Chua uses the term "reciprocal thinking". In stead of stopping when a variation seems to lead to a dead end, you ask yourself "...

Endgame study  41% of the games end with an endgame. If half of the endgames can have a better result, by means of studying endgames, then 20 % of the games will end with half a point extra. Draws will be wins and lost games will be draws. That equals to 10% of the games will be won extra. I don't know how 10% extra wins results in extra rating points, maybe a mathematician can tell us that. Wild guess: 70 extra rating points. Mating patterns I'm doing a course at Chessable about mating patterns I knew all 30 patterns already, and go trough the course for the first time real fast. An IM who does the same course, told that he didn't know 10 of the 30 patterns. The good news is, that after a very long break from serious tactical training, I still know the patterns. The bad news is, that apparently you don't need those patterns to become an International Master. Positional patterns There are tactical patterns and positional patterns. When I followed 100 blitz games of GM H...