Compare Candidate Moves: The Cure for Inaccuracies

When your move was fine but not the best, this is the habit to build.

Inaccuracies don't lose the game on their own, but they add up. Five small slips can turn a winning position into a level one, and they pull your score down even in games you win. They nearly all have the same cause: you played the first decent move that came to mind.

The habit: find two, then choose

1. Find your first idea, as you always do.
2. Before you play it, find a second move that is completely different: a different piece, a different part of the board.
3. Compare them: which one improves your position more, and which one leaves your opponent fewer good replies?

The second idea is often better than the first, because by then you have looked at the whole board instead of the first thing that caught your eye.

What makes a move better

• It improves your least active piece.
• It controls the center or important squares.
• It takes away your opponent's best plan.
• It doesn't create a new weakness, like a loose pawn or an open line to your king.

Use the review: on each inaccuracy, switch the board to Better. Ask yourself whether that move was one of your candidates. If it never crossed your mind, that's the kind of move to look for next time.

"When you see a good move, look for a better one."

— Emanuel Lasker