Missing opening move when solving

[texian]

most of you may probably know this, but i just discovered the grayed out vcr restart button on the far left actually works in problem solving mode and redisplays the opening move .. i've often found myself frustrated when i notice the opening move involves a capture which i missed and sometimes impacts the correct solution .. it happened again today, but i was a happy camper when i discovered i could replay the sequence without penalty .. i missed the problem anyway, but still smiling 

[andreacoda]

Didn't notice that, Texian - thanks for sharing!

[tama]

It isn't very important to see the move your opponent made because you are given a position were its your move to play. I don't see how your opponents last move means anything at all, as long as you realize or c hanging pieces and your opponents ideas.

[andreacoda]

I respectfully disagree…
Considering the positions are coming from real games, and if you want to do tactics in a “tournament like” context, knowing what your opponent did as last move is not necessarily inconsequential. If you want to treat them merely as “puzzles”, then I agree with you though.

[richard]

I agree with Andrea, seeing the last move adds a bit of realism that will hopefully allow the tactics training to map just that little bit more effectively to real games.  I think this is one area where online tactics training has advantages over doing puzzles from a book, where you are usually only given the static position without any context of what the opponent was doing.

Regards,
Richard.

[tama]

But you do know what your opponent is thinking even if you didn't see his last move! lol all your opponents ideas are not in the last move he played but in the position that is now.

[newlook]

The last move is often a distraction from the tactic -- which is the way it is in real games. If your opponents could see the tactic coming, they would have played something else! However, the distractions are good to have in the problems, exactly because you are getting practice at looking beyond them.

[tama]

I never once looked at the piece that was moved any different then the other pieces, and honestly that's how you should think OTB, because if you didn't predict most of your opponents moves then your playing luck chess. But its impossible or unlikely to see all of them in advance the move he last made means little its not the piece that he moved but the position that your left with. The only time the piece that he moved really becomes a factor it in short time control games were you make fast moves referring to your opponents last move, this is another reason blitz and bullet is bad for your game. If people don't get it after reading this lol then you still lack experience.

[tomohawk]

I never once looked at the piece that was moved any different then the other pieces, and honestly that's how you should think OTB, because if you didn't predict most of your opponents moves then your playing luck chess. But its impossible or unlikely to see all of them in advance the move he last made means little its not the piece that he moved but the position that your left with. The only time the piece that he moved really becomes a factor it in short time control games were you make fast moves referring to your opponents last move, this is another reason blitz and bullet is bad for your game. If people don't get it after reading this lol then you still lack experience.

No offense, but perhaps it is you who lacks experience. Your opponent's most recent move(s) are obviously a very important clue as to what he thinks of his position, what he is planning to do, etc. Chess is not a game played in a vacuum. Understanding your opponent is not strictly necessary, but is certainly very helpful when making decisions, imo.

[tama]

Again you opponents last piece move doesn't tell you anything at all its the position that reveals his ideas. Not the move!. Your saying that your opponent reveals his intentions when making the move because he could of went with a different plan, that's true but its not one piece that reveals his intentions its the position that reveals his intentions. The move he made can be seen in advance because the position reveals ideas that he can go with. Positions have ideas in them its not like ideas can be randomly produced.

[drahacikfm]

Tama, yes the position can be solved only by looking at the position.  All the ideas are there and you do not need to know the opponent's last move.  That is all true.

But the way problems are generated on CT is that the opponent's last move is always a mistake.  It caused a big jump in the computer evaluation in your favor.  So by looking at that last move, and trying to figure out why it is a mistake, you can often solve the problem much faster than if that move was not shown to you.

Of course in a real game you don't know if your opponent's move was a mistake or not.  So there is an argument to be made that the opponent's last move should not be shown.  But I think overall it is good to show it, because it makes you feel more like you are in a real game instead of just solving diagrams in a book.

[tama]

Yes your right, but i never said it was bad to show the move on CT.

Also when solving problems your first thought is to look at your opponents mistake from his last move?
Usually for me the first 5 sec i get used to the position then i look for ideas, i never once asked my self what mistake did my opponent make, i just notice weaknesses in his position or tactics in the air and exploit them. But i some problems the tactic was hanging in the air for longer then your opponents last move because some times my opponents last move is some meaningless pawn push like h6 or a1 lol doesn't say much.   

[tomohawk]

Again you opponents last piece move doesn't tell you anything at all its the position that reveals his ideas. Not the move!. Your saying that your opponent reveals his intentions when making the move because he could of went with a different plan, that's true but its not one piece that reveals his intentions its the position that reveals his intentions. The move he made can be seen in advance because the position reveals ideas that he can go with. Positions have ideas in them its not like ideas can be randomly produced.

A player has only limited time during a tournament game to solve problems. If my opponent's last move is something innocuous (say a move like Kc1-b1) then I will tend not to spend much time considering my reply, or have it already prepared, thereby saving my time for more important moves. If, however, my opponent's last move is a surprise to me, or if it is a move that may be preparing a threat (say my opponent just played Ra1-a3 and it looks probable that he is intending a move like Ra3-g3/h3 with a subsequent K-side attack, then I will have to spend more time evaluating the impact of his idea. I find it surprising that my view should be even the least bit controversial, to be honest.

[drahacikfm]

Also when solving problems your first thought is to look at your opponents mistake from his last move?

No, that's not my first thought when solving a problem.  First I count up the material, then I look at my basic tactical ideas such as are there any hanging pieces, any checks, any pins, any mate threats, any exchanges, etc.  If I don't see a solution quickly, then I think about the last move by the opponent, and why it is a mistake.

In a tournament game, the first thing I do after my opponent moves is to try to figure out what he is thinking.  Why did he make that move?  Does he now have any tactical threats?  Does that move show what his strategic plan is?  What is his idea?  If you always knew everything your opponent is thinking, you would probably never lose a game, except when you make a tactical blunder.