Chess Calculation Made Easy - It Doesn't Have To Be Hard!

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Calculation is one of the most important skills in chess, and it is relevant almost in all moments in a game. Thus, improving your calculation skills offers tremendous potential to grow your chess strength.

One common issue I witness as a coach is that people tend to play the first move that looks good, without calculating any particular line. This course will fix this issue; for all puzzles, you must see your follow-up before executing your first move.

The main goal is to learn the correct thought process in a simpler setting. Once you have the right technique, your calculation can go deeper and faster.

As a cognitive scientist, I worked hard on the instructional design of this course. I created a chapter on positional mini-plans to support beginner players by giving instruction on the most common positional themes. Those instructional variations will be immediately followed by a puzzle that tests the same ability in a different position. Thus, the student should perceive the analogy between two positions for the right solution. This will test whether true understanding has taken place: whether the student can 'transfer' their newly learned knowledge to other contexts that show deeper similarities.

I divided the final test chapters into two parts: with or without scaffold. The one with scaffold supports the players with small prompts while they are trying to solve the puzzle. The prompt will serve as a scaffold for the students who need them. Once they absorb the lessons, they can go ahead and tackle the final test chapters without scaffolds. Scaffolds and prompts are very effective techniques in educational psychology, and the idea is to support the student while they gradually gain independence - like using a 4-wheel bicycle while you just learning how to ride a bike.

The puzzles in the final test chapters comprise 4 different difficulty levels. The student can thus stay on the puzzles that offer desirable difficulty - not too easy, not too difficult. Once they grow stronger, they can later tackle the more difficult puzzles. Improvement happens when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zones, and I am sure the students will find great benefit in this course if they give their best.