General process: If no immediate threat:

1. Positional evaluation
       
1. Positional evaluation
       

2. Determine checks, threats, and captures

       
2. Determine a plan and create a to do list
       

3. Calculate the immediate checks, threats, captures

       
3. Determine candidate moves
       

4. Determine candidate moves

       
4. Calculate, visualize, and assess
       

5. Calculate, visualize, and assess

       
5. Blunder check
       

6. Blunder check
       
6. Move
       

7. Move
       
 Positional Evaluation
1. Look at material and consider the following:
        Look at tactical considerations:
passed pawns                   forks                                     
pawn islands                      skewers                              
connected pawns            battery
pawn majorities                zwischenzug                     
isolated pawns                  double check                     
doubled pawns discovered attack
backward pawns               Overloaded pieces          
escape squares              pins                                       
control of files/ranks/diagonals guarded pieces
central control                   deflection                          
king safety                           interference                      
outposts double attacks
initiative                              windmill                              
development                     decoy                                    
roles of all pieces blockade
x-ray                                      
Look for threats: discovered checks           
Tactics/forcing moves sacrifices
If the threat is major, go on to calculation
Threatening moves that survive the initial list will go to
the candidate move list
Ask yourself  CANDIDATE MOVES
How have things changed with your opponent’s last move?
What is the stage of the game?
What should I strive to do in this position?
Have I completed development?
Can I conduct an attack?
Where are my opponent’s weaknesses?
How can I organize my pieces to attack those weaknesses?
Can I make immediate threats that will force my opponent into playing defensive moves?
What is my opponent trying to achieve? What are their threats and how serious are they?
 
 
These questions gather information that you will use to identify candidate moves.

The quality of this information will depend on your knowledge of chess strategy.
 
Determine a plan and create a to do list
Plans are strategic considerations (based on positional evaluation) that are used to generate candidate moves.
Do not play moves without conducting an analysis first.
 
1. Make specific plans and think of moves to achieve them (candidate moves). (If they make threats, place more
       

importance on them)
2. If there are no serious threats, implement a plan (e.g. improve mobility, prevent castling, trade pieces, etc.)
       

3. Every 3-10 moves (depending) make a list of things you want to accomplish. Create a list at critical moments, when
       

the characteristics of the position change or may soon change, or when you have completed a task on your list
4. If the resulting position is not possible, come up with new moves to reach your desired position
       
Determine candidate moves
Follow a certain thinking process, and do not analyze moves randomly.
Rely on knowledge and intuition to decide which moves (and responses) are worth deeper investigation.
Finding a suitable plan gives you the key to identify candidate moves (otherwise your candidate moves will be
guesswork).
 
1. After having calculated checks, threats, and captures, begin looking for candidate moves. Candidate moves should be
       

in line with your strategic objectives, while still guarding against checks, threats, and captures.
2. Prioritize candidate moves (biggest threats first)
       

3. Analyze each one, beginning with the most likely candidate, while ruling out clearly bad ones
       

Consider attacking moves and forward moves first.

Candidate moves should improve the overall quality of your position and, ideally, restrict your opponent’s
options.
4. Calculate until the forcing moves quieten down
       

If your opponent has even one reply which you cannot meet, you will most likely have to abandon that candidate
move
5. Conduct a more thorough check of each move you have not ruled out. Stop at each move down the line and look for
       

surprise tactics, etc. Identify new candidate moves that may have been missed.
Calculate, visualize, and assess
 
Good calculation comes from finding logical candidate moves
 
1. Decide whether the position actually required calculating variations
       

2. Select several possible moves (candidates), and begin calculating the most likely one
       

3. Visualize after each reply down the line, while watching for unexpected in-between moves
       

4. If they have a good reply to your moves, ask “what can I do to limit their reply?”
       

5. Continue visualizing candidate moves and their responses and in-between moves to get a better overall
       

picture (always consider your plan and strategy when calculating. Ask “how will my goals be affected by my
moves?”
 
Blunder check
Look around to guard against traps, blunders, obvious captures, tactics etc. before making your move.