♟ What do you think comes first in chess?

Most players answer:

Calculation. Genera imagen que acompane esta idea

They believe the secret to finding a good move is calculating many variations and eliminating the bad ones.

Something like this:

Calculate → Analyze → Evaluate

But…

I believe it’s exactly the opposite.

Because…

How can you calculate correctly if you don’t even understand the position?

Before looking for moves, I always ask:

✅ Whose king is safer?

✅ Which pieces are active?

✅ Who has the better pawn structure?

✅ Which squares are weak or strong?

Only then do I start looking for ideas.

And only after that…

I calculate.

The better you understand a position…

The less you need to calculate.

⸻

💬 Question

If you had 5 minutes for one position…

Would you spend them: