Chess Counting Mastery: Resources to Sharpen Your Tactical Vision

Elevate Your Chess:
 Counting & Calculation (Resources)

"Pins and forks...usually occur a few times a game. Counting takes place whenever possible exchanges exist – almost every move after the early opening." - Heisman Novice Nook

Unlock the Power of Chess Counting!

 As Heisman suggests, counting material and evaluating exchanges are fundamental skills for chess improvement. This comprehensive guide equips you with a variety of resources to master this crucial aspect of chess:

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Counting and Calculation Chess Videos

Unlock the secrets to evaluating positions and making strong moves with video lessons from top instructors.

IM Alex Astaneh

• Why counting Material is important for Chess Beginners | Chess Fundamentals | - 8 Min - IM Astaneh - sharing with you the fundamental chess skill counting. Based on practical examples you will learn how counting works and how to determine whether any sequence of exchanges leads to a gain or loss of material on any square.
• Chess Vision and Calculation Training 1 | Alex Astaneh - 12 Min
• Chess Vision and Calculation Training 2 | -8 min

IM Kostya Kavutskiy

Kostya’s Blueprint: is a comprehensive guide to improving chess calculation skills.

• Kostya's Blueprint: Calculation - 36 Min 

• Kostya's Blueprint: Analytical Skill - 24 Min

• Kostya's Blueprint: Wisdom - 32 Min

• Kostya's Blueprint: Visualization - 28 Min

• Kostya's Blueprint: Evaluation - 32 Min

The SuperGM Skill Set - Chess Calculation with GM Sam Shankland - 27 Min - Improve your calculation, sacrifices, positional play, strategy, pattern recognition, and more... with coaching from one of the top players in the world today.

Counting in Chess - 17 Min - IM Erik Kislik -  how to count the material while working your way through complicated variations w/ 2 example game Variations.

Chess Math? | Learning to Count! | ChessKid - 9 Min -  FM Mike Klein explains the key chess concept of counting how many pieces attack and defend your target. Learn how to make one of the most important decisions in chess by simply adding things up. Trading and Counting | Beginner Breakdown - 60 Min - St.Louis CC - a beginner chess class on trading pieces and counting their worth. When is it a good time to trade and when is it best to leave the material on the board?

NM Dan Heismith

• The Counting Tactic - Back to Basics - 27 Min - An introductory video on the tactic "Counting". NM Dan Heisman describes how tactics are determined by analysis, and that a forced maneuver that wins material or checkmates is a tactic. The video then gives several basic examples of one-square Counting before progressing to multi-square tactics and more difficult Counting issues such as desperado pieces.

• The Common, Important, and Not-So-Easy Tactic Counting - 29 Min NM Dan Heismith - NM Dan Heisman discusses 3 methods to keep track ("count") material during a sequence of exchanges:

How To Calculate In Chess - 32 Min IM Rozman (Gotham) - comprehensive guide on how to improve your chess calculation skills, tailored for players of all levels. It begins with fundamental concepts for beginners and progresses to advanced techniques for more experienced players.

How to Master Chess CALCULATION 💯 Best Techniques - 28 Min - provides a comprehensive guide on mastering chess calculation, detailing techniques used by top masters and methods to improve and train calculation skills. It emphasizes the importance of thinking ahead, considering candidate moves, and anticipating the opponent’s responses. The video includes examples from actual games to illustrate key concepts like the order of moves, emergency exits in complex positions, and the importance of evaluation in choosing the best line of play.

Counting trick in pawn endgames [Starter chess lesson] - 7 Min - Most king and pawn endgames are very tricky, but sometimes when there is a single long line of play, you can save energy by skipping the visualization and just counting the moves that it takes to execute the plans -- with the caveat that you should look out for opportunities to use checks to steal free moves.

Precise Chess Calculation Secrets 🕵️ with GM Bryan Smith! [Master Method] - 32 Min - can you learn to calculate long variations accurately? And how do GMs calculate them so easily 🥇?That’s the topic for this chapter from GM Bryan Smith’s “4 Pillars of Chess Strength”. Stop Counting 'Attackers' vs 'Defenders'! - 18 Min - IM Andreas Toth - In the world of chess education, it's easy to get caught up in the traditional approach of counting attackers versus defenders on the board. However, Coach Andras challenges the norm and provides an instructive chess lesson that will transform your chess strategy. Discover why you should rethink the way you evaluate positions and understand that chess improvement goes beyond mere numbers. Video Below