How many moves ahead?

Originally posted by PK
I was wondering just how many moves ahead does the average player think?
To make it easier to answer you would have to clarify the type of game ie: 1 on 1 over the table
online blitz chess, 5 or 10 minute game
correspondance chess

ALso i guess it depends on the phase of the game ie: opening (playing set play), the middle and end games.

My answer to this ...[text shortened]... ves ahead?
5-10minute blitz: about 2-3 if i'm lucky
correspondance: about 10 to 15 sometimes.

Originally posted by Sicilian Smaug
10-15 moves ahead?? This is what your mind manages? I dont believe you.

Originally posted by NicotineMan
Somebody asked Richard Reti, father of modern chess openings, (see Reti opening from MCO) the same question. How many moves ahead a GM thinks?

Great Reti said ''One move''

And I think he has a good point. This might be true for the avarage players too as the guy before me just stated.

But for me, As I am a SDEOGM (Super-Duper-Extra-Ordinar ...[text shortened]... re able to make your best move on the board, it aint matter how many moves ahead anybody thinks.

Ok here it is, thinking one move will mean you fall for attractive looking moves that lose to 3-4 move tactics.

Trying to think 10-15 ply ahead every move may cause you to lose as in all likelyhood you've made at least one mistake (to have correctly looked 15 ply ahead you must find the best continuation 15 times in a row, especially the opponent's moves). Anyway in many positions it isn't needed.

Some moves I only look at the position resulting from my move, these moves are mainly in the opening or deep in an endgame. An example would be looking at whether to move a bishop to c4 or b5. Both allow me to castle but which will be the better square for the bishop in the long run. This can't be calculated, it's basically intuition. Of course I check that I'm not stepping into a tactic.
Some positions require a lot of raw calculation some lines of which may reach 20 ply (this is rare however and often involves forced recaptures and checks).
These two extremes are the minority of moves, the majority lie somewhere in the middle.

Originally posted by Regicidal
Great Reti is a liar.

Thought and Choice in Chess by deGroot, written, I think, in the 1930’s addressed this question. DeGroot (a Dutch psychologist) showed positions to player’s from world champion level (Euwe, Flohr) down to average players and recorded their thoughts. According to his experiments, Grandmasters looked at, if memory serves, usually 3-5 moves, and not more moves than that ahead. The weaker the player, the more moves they looked at and the further they tried to see. They usually ended up totally befuddled. Grandmasters, on the other hand, homed in on the essentials of the position almost immediately and calculated accurately.

Do what I do.

Originally posted by NicotineMan
But for me, As I am a SDEOGM (Super-Duper-Extra-Ordinary-Grand-Mama), I see tight to the end 🙂 Just kidding. Who cares anyway? If you can just guess your opponent's best move and are able to make your best move on the board, it aint matter how many moves ahead anybody thinks.

Originally posted by Sicilian Smaug
How the hell does he get 2 recs for saying that???? I know this rec craving is going out of control and really it doesnt matter .. but come on! For starters 15 moves/plys ahead??? lol , i manage 5 moves on occasions ,i think ,not altogether sure if i cover all possibilities. and 15 plys if i can see check, his king must move there, check, he goes there, etc.. but NO, He is not Kasporov, which fools recced him for this bs? Come on own up!

I believe Reti said something like not calculating deeper than 2-3 moves most of the game, and going deep only when the situation calls for it.

Originally posted by Sicilian Smaug
rec's??? Nice English , hope your joking, but 2 recs for saying this?? Come on i know im being bitten by the rec, rec's bug!? But please!!!