Humans zero-in on information in fringe consciousness
The fringes of consciousness provide marginal awareness of "background" information—for example the experience of the front of a house is fringed by an awareness of the back of the house.
William James, as articulated by Hubert Dreyfus (1972).
In chess:
"
cues from all over the board, while remaining on the fringes of consciousness, draw attention to certain sectors by making them appear promising, danagerous or simply worth looking into." Dreyfus (1972, p.104).
Note: In applying James's theory of the fringe to chess, Dreyfus is drawing on the work of Michael Polyani (1962).