You sense the game is nearing a close.
You're on a big attack, your pieces swarming, your opponent's defenses cracking. But it isn't clear.
There has to be something here! You settle in to calculate. Try to look deep into the position and find the path to checkmate.
There's one move that looks good to start: I can go there!
Ok, what's next?
After I go there, then they'll probably go there.
Oh, then I can go there! Nice! That looks promising.
After that, they can go there. Hmmm.
Or they can go there..
Or.. there..
Or… umm… there…
Or…. Oh no.
That's a lot of options.
Is your brain exhausted just thinking about it? Mine certainly is.
Branching calculations are among the hardest parts of Chess for our brains.
They get us confused, overwhelmed, frustrated, mixed up, anxious.
Many players check out at this moment. Their brains throw up the white flag of surrender, give up thinking entirely, and just play the first thing that comes to their mind. "I'll work it out later."
Then, often, disaster strikes. We miss something. We blunder.
Thankfully, our adult brains are awesome. And there's a way we can help them to handle these situations.
But first we have to define and understand the problem.
When we break it down, we find there are three key mental challenges during a branching calculation.
First, there's the sheer amount of information we need to hold in our working memory at once.
A single calculation is hard enough, let alone a branching one! Our seven slots overload fast, and we can quickly find ourselves freezing, forgetting, or freewheeling.
Second, the lines start to bleed into each other in our minds.
Our minds become a jumble of Chess notation, mental arrows, or the word "there" over and over. It gets harder and harder to remember which things happened in which line. "Did Black play Nd5 in this line or the other one?"
Third, it's difficult to keep our brain focused on any one branch.
The same resource that governs our working memory also governs our self-control, and it's maxed out right now!
So, though we should be thinking about one branch, our brain keeps dragging our attention over to this other one. We find ourselves calculating and recalculating the same branches over and over.
We can tackle all three of these issues together with the one technique. I call it the Labeling Method.
The goal of the Labeling Method is to give a structure to your calculations. This will allow your brain to deal with your calculations in an orderly way, and help you to direct as much of your working memory as possible to each branch in turn.
So you're at a tournament, sitting at the board, calculating a line. A few ply in, you realize that your calculation is branching.
Here's what to do in that moment.
1. Get clear on the position before the branching starts
One of the trickiest parts of branches is returning back to the position before the branches happened. So take a moment to take in the details of that position before you embark any further.
Notice the piece locations, dynamics, plans for each side. Get it comfortable and clear in your mind. The clearer this position is, the easier you'll find the next steps.
2. Give each branch a non-Chess label.
Identify the possible branches and give each one a label. The labels should be something obvious, meaningful, and easy to remember.
Do NOT use Chess notation or Chess terms as your labels. There'll be enough Chess stuff flying around in your head and you don't want your labels to add to the noise. They should be distinct and clear. Like beacons for your memory.
Directions make excellent labels. For example, if your opponent's e8 King could move to d8 or f8, you can label those branches "left" and "right", or "east" and "west".
3. Pick one labeled branch and focus on it until you make a decision.
Decide which branch you'll investigate first and focus all of your attention on that branch alone. Forget, for the moment, the other branches even exist.
Calculate until you make a decision. Is that branch good for you? Bad for you?
Once you've made your decision about a branch – and here's the most important bit – choose to trust that decision.
Doubting and rechecking your calculations will just stress your working memory further. If you don't choose to trust the decision you make about each branch, this method will not help you. Trust yourself.
4. Remember your decision, but let the other details slip away.
The only thing you need to remember about each branch is your decision. The rest you can work out again later if you need to.
That's why it's important to trust your decisions. If you trust them, your brain will be able to let go of the rest of the details. If you don't, some part of your brain will try to hold on to everything, clogging your working memory.
And you need as much space as possible in working memory to tackle the next branch.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until satisfied.
By the end of your calculation, you'll have a mental list of labels and their associated decisions.
Something like: "Up, checkmate", "Right, win a Queen", "Left, overwhelming advantage"
Assess that list, then pick your move.
(Extra tip: You can also label sub-branches. Sometimes our branches branch. It may help to label those sub-branches too, approach them the same way.)
Got it? Ok, your turn. Let's give the method a go. Take your time, work through the steps. Answer at the bottom.
(I've intentionally picked a difficult puzzle so you have enough challenge to try out the method. If the puzzle is too difficult for you, that's ok. Just focus on the method itself.)
White to play and win.
(Credit for this puzzle goes to Cyrus Lakdawala and his excellent book "Rewire Your Chess Brain")
How'd you go? Did you find it easier to navigate the branches after you labeled them? Did you feel less overwhelmed and confused?
I hope so. But it's ok if you didn't. Our adult brains are all different, and respond to different things. The key is always to find what works for you and your unique brain.
If you did find it useful, I encourage you to explore further. Try it out when doing other puzzles, when calculating in games. Practice it.
If you want this technique – or any Chess technique really – to work for you when it matters, you need to build it into a habit.
The same mental resource that governs our working memory also governs our self-control. That's why we often forget our newer training or ideas under pressure; they require self control to use!
We can't rely on self-control to help us make good decisions when our working memory is overwhelmed.
Habitual behaviors are the only thing we can rely on under pressure because they don't require self-control.
To paraphrase the ancient Greeks, we don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our habits.
So when you find a Chess technique that works for you, practice it.
Put the time in. Make it automatic.
Because then you'll have it when it counts.
Here's to the journey,
Aiden
P.S.
The answer to the puzzle: 1. Rfg6+! Kf8 2. Rh8+ Ke7 3. Rh7+ Kf8 4. Rf7+ Ke8 5. Rg8#
