You’re playing a game. The position is complicated. You’ve calculated a few lines, but you’re unsure. You don’t know if you’re better or worse. You don’t know what your opponent is planning.
So you freeze.
You feel the pressure of the clock, the fear of a mistake, the weight of uncertainty.
You don’t want to guess, but you also don’t know what to do.
Sounds familiar? For many chess improvers, this is one of the most stressful parts of the game:
Having to make a decision with incomplete information.
And it happens all the time.
So the real question is:
Are you training this part of the game?
Most Players Don’t Actually Train Decision-Making
When you look at how most people study chess, they focus on:
- Solving tactical puzzles
- Watching videos
- Playing games
- Maybe reviewing a few moves with an engine
What’s missing?
The habit of making decisions when they don’t feel sure.
This is especially true when it comes to solving tactics.
In puzzles, you always know there’s a solution. You know the position is tactical. You know if you search long enough, you’ll find something—or you’ll eventually check the answer.
That’s not how chess works. In a game, you have no such certainty.
You don’t know what’s out there. But you still have to decide.
In Real Games, There’s No Answer Key
You don’t know if a tactic exists. You don’t know if you’re better, worse, or equal. You don’t know if a move is good or bad until it’s too late.
This is why so many players feel anxious during games.
They’re not bad decision-makers. They’ve just never trained the skill of deciding under pressure.
They’ve trained themselves to search for certainty. And when it doesn’t show up, they panic—or freeze.
A Simple Fix: Practice Committing to Your Moves
Here’s a small change that transforms your training:
When you solve a tactical puzzle, write down your move before checking the answer.
Here’s the process I recommend:
- Set a time cap: 2–5 minutes for easier puzzles, up to 10 minutes for tougher ones.
- Calculate like you would in a game.
- At the end of your time, ask yourself: “If this were a tournament game, what would I play?”
- Write down your final decision.
- Only then, check the solution or use the engine.
Even if you’re wrong, it’s a win, because you’ve trained the muscle that matters most:
Making a confident decision without perfect knowledge.
You’ll also be surprised how often your “wrong” move is still completely reasonable.
You may miss a tactic, but you won’t be lost. And you’ll have strengthened your practical intuition.
Even Better: Train With Real Uncertainty
Inside The Simplified Chess Improvement System, I go one step further.
I call it Step 4 of my tactics method.
These are positions where you don’t even know if there’s a tactic.
You might need to:
- Find a sharp calculation
- Defend a tough position
- Make a quiet developing move
- Spot a strategic idea
Sometimes there’s a clear solution. Sometimes there’s not.
And that’s the point.
This is what real chess feels like. You get a position, you aren’t sure of the exact evaluation, and you have to make the best decision you can.
This training is the closest thing you’ll get to simulating over-the-board thinking. And students who use it report a huge shift in confidence during their games.
Because when you’ve practiced deciding under uncertainty, you stop fearing those moments. You’ve already faced them and gotten stronger each time.
Keep improving,
GM Noël Studer
PS: This article was initially sent out to my Newsletter list. If you want to get chess improvement advice for free in your inbox, join 17,000+ chess improvers by signing up for Friday Grandmaster Insights here.
Whenever you’re ready, here is how I can help you:
- Want to know How to train chess well? Check out The Simplified Chess Improvement System. This course taught 800+ students the How of Chess Training. Create your high-quality chess plan and learn how to study each part of Chess, from tactics to openings & endgames. Click here to learn more.
- Rated below 1200 Chess.com? Need to refresh your fundamentals? Check out my course, Beginner Chess Mastery. You’ll learn all the fundamentals, from strategy to how to get the most out of your pieces, tactics, and endgames. You even get a full opening repertoire for free. Click here to learn more.
