How to stop hanging pieces

A hanging piece is a piece you can take, or that your opponent can take, with nothing recapturing. Most games under 1400 are decided by one of these, not by a twelve-move combination.

Before you touch a piece, ask two questions. What did their last move stop defending? What will my move stop defending? If either answer is a piece, look at that piece before you look at your plan.

Count the attackers and defenders on the piece you want to move, and on the piece you want to capture. If the counts are equal and the piece is worth more than what is attacking it, it is not hanging. If you cannot say the count out loud, you are guessing.

Train this with a small set, not a library. Take twenty positions where the only task is to find the unprotected piece. Stop when you miss one, reset, and do the same twenty again. Speed comes after the misses disappear.

In your own games, mark every move where a piece was left loose. Do not analyze the whole game. The next session is only those positions, played until the capture is the first move you see.