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I'm fairly new to chess. I'm practicing against 1500~ rated opponents/engines on chess.com. My openings and middlegame seem to go well. After every game, the engine analysis says I'm always up +1 ~ +3 for the majority of the game. But at the end, I always seem to lose by a blunder. Every game is a "giveaway" according to the analysis engine.

It seems my trouble is actually converting positional advantages. Do you have any tips or areas I should study to avoid this? Is this a stamina issue, as in I start to lose concentration as the game goes on?

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Is this a stamina issue? (as in I start to lose concentration as the game goes on?)

No. If you are consistently reaching the endgame then it is a "lack of endgame knowledge" problem.

Do you know when KP v K is a win and when it is a draw? Do you know how to win the Capablanca pawn endgame as white? Do you know what you have to do as black to draw (if white goes wrong)?

[title "Capablanca Pawn Endgame"]
[fen "6k1/7p/8/8/8/8/6PP/6K1 w - - 0 1"]

In short, do you actually know how to win a won endgame when it isn't just trivial?

If you are not consistently reaching the endgame then you need to work on tactics.

Actually, you probably need to work on both endgames and tactics.

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  • Losing through blunders is very different from failing to win through poor technique. What role does the clock play in your problem? And what time control are you talking about?
    – Philip Roe
    Commented Nov 1, 2020 at 15:28
  • Thanks for your advice, will try to work on tactics and endgames. Do you recommend buying premium for Chess.com? It unlocks a bunch of tutorials and lessons. @PhilipRoe classic time constraints. I'm not short on time at all.
    – l3utterfly
    Commented Nov 2, 2020 at 3:00
  • I'd add that sometimes it's not "knowledge" but "technique" and strategy (think of more complicated examples like bishop+4 pawns vs kinght+3 pawns)
    – David
    Commented Nov 2, 2020 at 7:14
  • I still have difficulty imagining your problem. It seems that you are more likely to blunder on an open board. Is there anything specfic that you often fail to see? Pins or forks coming from a distance?
    – Philip Roe
    Commented Nov 3, 2020 at 17:49
  • @PhilipRoe yes, a few of my recent games: skewering my queen to my king, hanging a rook, just elementary mistakes. Looking at the engine analysis afterwards, I always feel like I should have seen that coming from a mile away.
    – l3utterfly
    Commented Nov 4, 2020 at 3:13

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