As we approach the upcoming tournaments beginning next week, this article on the 4-step thinking process published on ichess.net may be useful for many players as they prepare to compete in the coming weeks.

Your opponent has just hit their clock and now it’s your turn to move. Out of all the possible options on the board, how do you decide which move to play? Some people may automatically play whatever move first catches their eye. Others may gaze towards the opponent’s King and try to find a way to attack it.

Many will not know what they should do at all! Is there much thought put behind their move selections? How can we improve our thinking process and find out how to find the best move on the board?

Let me introduce you to the “4-Step Thinking Process.” This thinking process consists of four groups of questions you want to ask yourself when it is your move:

What is my opponent’s plan?
What forcing moves (checks, captures, major threats) are available for my opponent here?
What is my plan?
What move will I play?
Read more here…