Make a "tactics check" routine part of your thinking to avoid blunders. At first you need to do it consciously but than it becomes an automatic habit. It consists of two parts:
1. Anticipate moves (this is something which you can do mainly while your opponent is thinking): Look at each piece and check which squares it can reach within two moves. Just let the pieces quickly move around the board in your mind: By doing this you will have the patterns in mind which can create a tactic in the position.
2. After a move of your opponent and before you make a move check what has or would change. That follows a simple three step logic:
a) What is not controlled any more? If a piece moves it gives up the control of squares e.g. after the move Qe5 of your opponent in the game you mentioned the queen gives up the control of the back rank and f7 (both not relevant in this position but you should just quickly notice it) and the diagonal e8-a4 (relevant because it gave your knight the square c6).
b) Which squares are now controlled by the piece that moved and those which were blocked by it before? On the new square the piece that moved looks now at new squares: The Qe5 looks at the two diagonals which cross at e5. On one of them is the undefended Nd4 (alarm) and on the other your king (big alarm) which is in high danger because the queen is supported by the bishop (which is top of mind for you because you did the routine in step 1: Where can the bishop go to in two moves).
c) Is the piece that moved in danger on the new square or did it put other pieces which are now not defended in danger? On the new square if may also have some weaknesses because it can be attacked. After Qe5 your brain should immediatelly see which pieces can attack the queen on e5: The pawn on f2 can do it and both knights on c6, c4 and f3. Nc4 makes no sense but Nc6 comes to mind and Nf3 noticing that it can be taken by the pawn on e4 but this opens up the line and you get your piece back.
After going through the steps a to c you would know that you need to take care to prevent Qh2+ and you have to protect the knight on d4. Your main candidate moves would therefore be Nd4-f3 and Nd2-f3. At first sight it may seem better to use the knight on d2 because the one on d4 has a nice position in the middle of the board and Nd2-f3 opens up the way for your bishop on c1 (and you have a development problem with inactive pieces on c1 and a1). But: In a second thought you will realize that after putting knight on f3 the black queen will just go back to d6 where it unpins the pawn which attacks the knight on f3 and maintain the Qh2+ threat so that you cannot move your knight on f3 away: You will loose it.
That will automatically lead to the thought: Ok, if I loose it anyway how can I get the most out of it.
- After Nd2-f3 Qd6 22. Le3 exf3 23. Nxf3 you got one pawn and developed your queenside
- After Nd4-f3 Qd6 22. Nxe4 dxe4 23. Qxe4 you got two pawns but no development of the Bc1 and therefore the Ra1 but a road for the Bc1 is now available and development of your queenside will be easy so that would be the slightly better choice.
What else can you do to avoid blunders? Develop tactical altert awareness for typical motives like undefended back rank, pieces which are undefended, pinned pieces, pieces which are arranged in a way which allows them to be forked by a knight etc.. Just train it by looking at a position and list the "alert factors". A book with simple tactics exercises like John Nunns "Learn chess tactics" can help. The purpose would not be to learn to do complex calculations, but to spot basic patterns like forks, skewers etc. quickly therefore simple examples are sufficient.
Let's take as example the game you mentioned after move 6. 0-0. What should be on the tactical alert list: Mainly undefended pieces: Your pawn on e4 and the bishop on b5. Your opponents pawn on e5 which is attacked twice and only defended once. Your pawn on d4 should also get some attention because it is attacked by so many pieces. Other factors like king safety are currently not relevant.
Your opponents move was now the blunder d6. If we run that move through our three checklist elements we will see:
a) What is not controlled any more? c6 and e6 are not controlled any more by the pawn. e6 is not relevant, but that c6 is not controlled any more means that the diagonal to your bishop is now open: The knight is pinned (tactical alert ! ) and vulnerable and you have a pawn to attack it which leads to a first candidate move pawn from d4 to d5.
b) Which squares are now controlled by the piece that moved and those which were blocked by it before? c5 and e5 are now controlled by the pawn. e5 sounds relevant because now the pawn on e5 is defended twice but we have already seen that one of the defenders is pinned. This leads to a second candidate move: Taking on e5.
c) Is the piece that moved in danger on the new square or did it put other pieces which are now not defended in danger? No, the pawn on d6 is not in danger but we have seen that it undefended its knight against the white bishop and pawn by creating a pin.
Can black defend against the candidate move d5? If there wouldn't be the bishop on b6 black would have a6 and b5 chasing away the pinning bishop but all he can do here is grab some pawns e.g. Nxe4 (if your tactical alert is developed it would immediate spot that than two pieces look at f2 but that is right now harmless) and loose a piece: Game over.
Sorry, that got a little bit long ...
1. Anticipate moves (this is something which you can do mainly while your opponent is thinking): Look at each piece and check which squares it can reach within two moves. Just let the pieces quickly move around the board in your mind: By doing this you will have the patterns in mind which can create a tactic in the position.
2. After a move of your opponent and before you make a move check what has or would change. That follows a simple three step logic:
a) What is not controlled any more? If a piece moves it gives up the control of squares e.g. after the move Qe5 of your opponent in the game you mentioned the queen gives up the control of the back rank and f7 (both not relevant in this position but you should just quickly notice it) and the diagonal e8-a4 (relevant because it gave your knight the square c6).
b) Which squares are now controlled by the piece that moved and those which were blocked by it before? On the new square the piece that moved looks now at new squares: The Qe5 looks at the two diagonals which cross at e5. On one of them is the undefended Nd4 (alarm) and on the other your king (big alarm) which is in high danger because the queen is supported by the bishop (which is top of mind for you because you did the routine in step 1: Where can the bishop go to in two moves).
c) Is the piece that moved in danger on the new square or did it put other pieces which are now not defended in danger? On the new square if may also have some weaknesses because it can be attacked. After Qe5 your brain should immediatelly see which pieces can attack the queen on e5: The pawn on f2 can do it and both knights on c6, c4 and f3. Nc4 makes no sense but Nc6 comes to mind and Nf3 noticing that it can be taken by the pawn on e4 but this opens up the line and you get your piece back.
After going through the steps a to c you would know that you need to take care to prevent Qh2+ and you have to protect the knight on d4. Your main candidate moves would therefore be Nd4-f3 and Nd2-f3. At first sight it may seem better to use the knight on d2 because the one on d4 has a nice position in the middle of the board and Nd2-f3 opens up the way for your bishop on c1 (and you have a development problem with inactive pieces on c1 and a1). But: In a second thought you will realize that after putting knight on f3 the black queen will just go back to d6 where it unpins the pawn which attacks the knight on f3 and maintain the Qh2+ threat so that you cannot move your knight on f3 away: You will loose it.
That will automatically lead to the thought: Ok, if I loose it anyway how can I get the most out of it.
- After Nd2-f3 Qd6 22. Le3 exf3 23. Nxf3 you got one pawn and developed your queenside
- After Nd4-f3 Qd6 22. Nxe4 dxe4 23. Qxe4 you got two pawns but no development of the Bc1 and therefore the Ra1 but a road for the Bc1 is now available and development of your queenside will be easy so that would be the slightly better choice.
What else can you do to avoid blunders? Develop tactical altert awareness for typical motives like undefended back rank, pieces which are undefended, pinned pieces, pieces which are arranged in a way which allows them to be forked by a knight etc.. Just train it by looking at a position and list the "alert factors". A book with simple tactics exercises like John Nunns "Learn chess tactics" can help. The purpose would not be to learn to do complex calculations, but to spot basic patterns like forks, skewers etc. quickly therefore simple examples are sufficient.
Let's take as example the game you mentioned after move 6. 0-0. What should be on the tactical alert list: Mainly undefended pieces: Your pawn on e4 and the bishop on b5. Your opponents pawn on e5 which is attacked twice and only defended once. Your pawn on d4 should also get some attention because it is attacked by so many pieces. Other factors like king safety are currently not relevant.
Your opponents move was now the blunder d6. If we run that move through our three checklist elements we will see:
a) What is not controlled any more? c6 and e6 are not controlled any more by the pawn. e6 is not relevant, but that c6 is not controlled any more means that the diagonal to your bishop is now open: The knight is pinned (tactical alert ! ) and vulnerable and you have a pawn to attack it which leads to a first candidate move pawn from d4 to d5.
b) Which squares are now controlled by the piece that moved and those which were blocked by it before? c5 and e5 are now controlled by the pawn. e5 sounds relevant because now the pawn on e5 is defended twice but we have already seen that one of the defenders is pinned. This leads to a second candidate move: Taking on e5.
c) Is the piece that moved in danger on the new square or did it put other pieces which are now not defended in danger? No, the pawn on d6 is not in danger but we have seen that it undefended its knight against the white bishop and pawn by creating a pin.
Can black defend against the candidate move d5? If there wouldn't be the bishop on b6 black would have a6 and b5 chasing away the pinning bishop but all he can do here is grab some pawns e.g. Nxe4 (if your tactical alert is developed it would immediate spot that than two pieces look at f2 but that is right now harmless) and loose a piece: Game over.
Sorry, that got a little bit long ...
Dude, you were too aggressive that's why you blundered.
You didn't even look at what he was attempting to do.
You just saw the fork and moved without considering the mate.
That's a serious blunder due to negligence, not due to skill.
You didn't even look at what he was attempting to do.
You just saw the fork and moved without considering the mate.
That's a serious blunder due to negligence, not due to skill.
You are right Eireahmhon ... but the question is: Which thinking habit is needed to avoid such negligence?
That would be a kind of short and systematic checklist ... which I also need to follow more seriously :-(
That would be a kind of short and systematic checklist ... which I also need to follow more seriously :-(
Great comments. I would ask yourself what type of mistakes you make when you lose a game. Also how do you win your games? This will help narrow what you need to focus on. Such as, did you blunder a piece, find a tactic, lose in the opening etc.
@Eireahmhon said in #13:
> That's a serious blunder due to negligence, not due to skill.
I'm not trying to sound like I'm a sore loser who doesn't accept the fact that it's my fault I didn't see #2 or that I'm just blaming the blunder on my own skill level. I didn't say it was a Stockfish level move from my opponent that I missed. I simply asked for help on not making ANY blunder in a winning position, and nobody else was rubbing it (the fact that it was a stupid blunder) in.
> That's a serious blunder due to negligence, not due to skill.
I'm not trying to sound like I'm a sore loser who doesn't accept the fact that it's my fault I didn't see #2 or that I'm just blaming the blunder on my own skill level. I didn't say it was a Stockfish level move from my opponent that I missed. I simply asked for help on not making ANY blunder in a winning position, and nobody else was rubbing it (the fact that it was a stupid blunder) in.
my tip is just don't get complacent
You can get rid of yawns in chess by carefully planning and calculating your moves. Here are some tips that can help you reduce the number of yawns:
1. Learn the game on time. Limit the turn time for yourself and your opponent to prevent long thinking and wasting time.
2. Study the main openings and their variants. The ability to play the opening with the right moves will help you avoid yawns.
3. Learn to attack and defend. The ability to attack an opponent and defend against his attacks will help you avoid yawns and win games.
4. Study the endgames. The ability to play endgames will help you avoid yawns and win games when only the king and pawns or the king and rook remain.
5. Practice
1. Learn the game on time. Limit the turn time for yourself and your opponent to prevent long thinking and wasting time.
2. Study the main openings and their variants. The ability to play the opening with the right moves will help you avoid yawns.
3. Learn to attack and defend. The ability to attack an opponent and defend against his attacks will help you avoid yawns and win games.
4. Study the endgames. The ability to play endgames will help you avoid yawns and win games when only the king and pawns or the king and rook remain.
5. Practice
@Hunter5200 said in #16:
> I'm not trying to sound like I'm a sore loser who doesn't accept the fact that it's my fault I didn't see #2 or that I'm just blaming the blunder on my own skill level. I didn't say it was a Stockfish level move from my opponent that I missed. I simply asked for help on not making ANY blunder in a winning position, and nobody else was rubbing it (the fact that it was a stupid blunder) in.
The answer to your question seems obvious. First of all, everyone blunders. There is no such thing as avoiding ANY and all blunders in a winning position. That doesn't happen. But obviously you can avoid blunders if you spend time thinking before you move.
1. You were destroying your opponent.
2. You saw a fork.
3. You spent three seconds evaluating the position, then moved into the fork without considering his attack.
You didn't take time to evaluate your position. You were overconfident, filled with hubris and arrogance, and therefore you became too aggressive.
And that's how he beat you. I don't understand why that isn't clear. It seems obvious, right? It happens to everyone. The lesson learned here is that no matter how strong your position might be, you have to keep an eye on your opponent.
> I'm not trying to sound like I'm a sore loser who doesn't accept the fact that it's my fault I didn't see #2 or that I'm just blaming the blunder on my own skill level. I didn't say it was a Stockfish level move from my opponent that I missed. I simply asked for help on not making ANY blunder in a winning position, and nobody else was rubbing it (the fact that it was a stupid blunder) in.
The answer to your question seems obvious. First of all, everyone blunders. There is no such thing as avoiding ANY and all blunders in a winning position. That doesn't happen. But obviously you can avoid blunders if you spend time thinking before you move.
1. You were destroying your opponent.
2. You saw a fork.
3. You spent three seconds evaluating the position, then moved into the fork without considering his attack.
You didn't take time to evaluate your position. You were overconfident, filled with hubris and arrogance, and therefore you became too aggressive.
And that's how he beat you. I don't understand why that isn't clear. It seems obvious, right? It happens to everyone. The lesson learned here is that no matter how strong your position might be, you have to keep an eye on your opponent.
This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.