nanijoe is still pretty much technically correct (the best kind of correct). It's just that when chess players talk about plotting "n moves ahead", they mean so

nanijoe is still pretty much technically correct (the best kind of correct). It's just that when chess players talk about plotting "n moves ahead", they mean something different than a programmer talking about a program computing "n moves ahead". Top chess players evaluate a handful of possible lines of play very very deeply. But it's impossible for the human mind to evaluate every response and counter-response to any reasonable depth, which is why computer players dominate so much in tricky tactical positions.