Mastering Chess Puzzles

I think the article contains good advice for solving tactics puzzles that are meant to be about calculation.

I still like training exercises such as puzzle racer because those can help you to become more familiar with tactical patterns and improve the speed of candidate move generation for forcing moves. It's true they invite shallow thinking, but if the thinking becomes too shallow it will even begin to show in the score of these puzzles.

Doing them for calculation training would be harmful for sure though.

I agree with your article especially working the problem from the beginning to the end before moving. It's not training if you don't practice like a game.

However, I'd offer one addendum. I learned from GM Denes Boros to, "first look for your opponents threats". Obviously, winning the house doesn't matter if you get mated afterwards. But more importantly, in a real game your opponent has ideas too. Developing the ability to see and counter their ideas, while moving forward with your ideas, again, is more like a real game.

Additionally, I'd say that games like puzzle racer and/or any timed speed puzzle solving is similar to taking a test in school. You get a score and you feel a certain way based on the "grade". It is not learning and is exactly what the article is cautioning against. If you want to learn patterns do something not timed like puzzle streak where the difficulty slowly increases per correct puzzle and resets on each run.

Good advices! For tactics in real game my method is: first find a safe and correct move very fast. Then start searching for tactics with deeper calculation. If you can't find anything in a certain amount of time, just make the safe move you found early. In case you find a good tactics, use more time for double-checking. Then execute the move and finish the game.