Thinking process
A thinking process is a consistent order of questions you follow on each move, from assessing the position and opponent's threats to choosing candidates and checking your choice, so decisions are less random.
Also called: thought process
A thinking process is simply a repeatable way of deciding. Without one, moves come from impulse, and quality varies from move to move. With one, even a tired player has a floor.
A workable version runs in a few steps. First, look at what the opponent just did and what it threatens. Second, assess the position: material, king safety, active and passive pieces, pawn structure. Third, choose a few candidate moves, forcing ones first. Fourth, calculate the critical lines. Fifth, run a last blunder check before playing.
Players often stumble by skipping the first step, answering their own plan instead of the opponent's idea. Others spend all their effort on step four and none on the assessment, calculating deeply in a position they have misread. The process should also flex: in a quiet position the plan matters more, while in a sharp one calculation does.
The practical habit is to keep the routine small enough to use every move, then review games for the step you skipped before each mistake. Over time, the questions become part of how you see the board, and the extra seconds buy fewer blunders.
It sits close to Blunder check habit. A blunder check habit is a short, fixed routine run before every move, asking what the opponent threatens and whether the intended move leaves anything undefended, to catch one-move oversights.
A neighboring idea is Time management. Time management in chess is the skill of spending clock time where it matters most, thinking longer in critical positions and moving quickly in routine ones, so that you never face a decisive position with seconds left.
Training ideas such as "Thinking process" work best with a plan built for you, and the first lesson with George Li produces one from your own games.
Related terms
Candidate moves are the small set of plausible moves you shortlist in a position before analyzing any of them in depth, so that your thinking is organized and no strong option is overlooked.
A blunder check habit is a short, fixed routine run before every move, asking what the opponent threatens and whether the intended move leaves anything undefended, to catch one-move oversights.
Calculation is the skill of mentally working out concrete sequences of moves and replies, one line at a time, to judge what a position really offers before committing to a move.
A strategic plan is a coherent long-term idea for improving a position, usually chosen from its pawn structure, weaknesses and piece placement, that guides a sequence of moves toward a concrete goal such as a break, an attack or a favorable endgame.
Time management in chess is the skill of spending clock time where it matters most, thinking longer in critical positions and moving quickly in routine ones, so that you never face a decisive position with seconds left.
Chess psychology covers the mental side of the game, including focus, confidence, nerves, emotion after mistakes and the habits of mind that help a player perform close to their true strength.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.