Chess players, how much creativity do you need in chess?

When you find a good move, continue to look for a better one. Openings have been studied and cataloged extensively. There's not a whole lot to be added to opening studies, unless you really go very, very deep into an opening, in which case you're probably in the middlegame anyway. Probably the most creative things in chess take place in the middlegame. And real creativity often requires seeing a few more moves ahead, and not throwing out a move you're considering because it initially seems to be bad. Sometimes a seemingly bad move can create a series of forced moves that swing the game in your favor. The most famous example was in the 1912 game (Stefan Levitsky vs Frank Marshall)... Marshall's 23. ... Qg3 is still considered by many to be the greatest move ever made on a chessboard. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1094915 99.99999% of all the people in the world who play chess would have looked at ... Qg3 and dismissed it immediately. (No one would do that today in this exact situation, because everyone now knows about it. But Marshall FOUND it). So when you evaluate a position while searching for a move, be creative. See if you can find your own Qg3. Endgames can also require a bit of creativity... especially if you're in a B vs N endgame, or if there's a big difference in pawn structures for each player (maybe one player has pawns on one side of the board while the other has pawns on both sides). Sometimes it takes a bit of creativity to create a passed pawn, which can then be Queened. Sometimes you have to be creative with pieces by finding the right squares to place them on in order to achieve all of our objectives (e.g guarding key squares while defending a key square or piece at the same time).. But I think it comes down to what Lakers said: "When you find a good move, look for a better one"

Most good perspectives have been offered above me, so I'll take you this direction. Over a period of nearly 40 years many great Grandmaster were asked the question: "What do you think is the most essential quality to possess for achieving highly in chess?" The majority (surprisingly) said "Imagination". It seems the ability to expand the imagination to a level that can visualize many moves ahead, and their variations, is the ideal to be coveted. To develop this skill, I recommend you dabble in blindfold chess with friends. You'll need a control person to move the pieces for you if you both play. Otherwise, you merely turn your back to the board and call out your moves to your opponent, and he calls his response. And one other thing. I've been playing chess for over 50 years, both friendly and tournament, and one observation has proven correct again, and again. This: watch two players eyes as they play. Invariably the one who spends more time looking at his OPPONENTS pieces and positions, will usually win. Most of the time you can spot the winner in advance using this method. Look at it this way. You should know exactly where your own pieces are all the time. But what about his? What are his perspectives? What weaknesses can he see from there in my position, etc? You don't need to look into a mirror to scratch your nose...you don't need to look at your pieces to know where they are either. When you lose a game, be certain to review how it came about. You should never lose to the same method repeatedly. Put aside your pride and ask your opponent to show you that beautiful combination, trap or pitfall he used against you. And then be a sponge. Absorb every nuance (not memorize, but absorb and examine) of the game as it advances and as you play it over later. Don't labor under the misconception that someday you'll master the game...no one has and no one ever will. The possible variations are far too vast. Every World Champion has been humbled by an unforeseen move more than once. In the early 1960's a mathematician, aided by a computer, estimated...using the then world's population...that if every man, woman and child on earth played chess at the rate of one move per minute, that it would take (I can't recall the first two digits) ??,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that's 18 zeros!) MILLIONS of years to exhaust every move! As for the very heart of your question: open your imagination and don't be afraid to try what you see there! There will always be another game. Post Script: Try

As far as the level of creativity needed, I don't think it would be classified as creativity, perhaps the ability to plan and visualize future plans and options, it is certainly a mental work out. But I wouldn't classify it as "creative" it is more of a calculative and visualizing process. how do I play? I like to play ruthlessly, and push my opponent to the point of no options. I constantly restrict my opponents options by enhancing my position as much as possible, and I play classically to the center by occupying it with pieces. I enjoy wild attacks, but my favorite games are closed, and I try to achieve closed games if possible, because I excel in making positional changes and enhancements that will lead to a powerful end game.

You can still be very good up to about club level just by eliminating mistakes. But to go any higher you need creativity. And the more you have, the better a player you can be.

alot and, intelligence

i would imagine its like anything else. the more you play the more you learn and the more methods you develop.

Learning to think outside the box is part of chess.Learning to "not" think like a robot is a part of learning chess as a person,and it can be done.Study Tal's games,and google "matrix chess" and "bernard parham".

since the moves never change, you can throw in a little style and trashtalk (if the other guy doesnt mind)...i like saying "cheeeeeeeehhhhk" when mate is coming soon