Questions tagged [blunder]
A blunder is a move that is a mistake that leads to losing material (e.g. a pawn or a piece) more or less without any compensation.
92 questions
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Frequent beginner's opening mistakes - which is the worst?
A few experiments with LiChess Stockfish. Some frequently occuring bad moves by beginners. Change in the evaluation is given.
1.f3§ -0.8
1.a3 or h3: -0.2
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 -0.5
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bd6 -0.6
1.e4 ...
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Why not let players occasionally take back moves or try different variations in serious classical games?
Sorry if it sounds sacrilegious, you all probably know which move I'm talking about. (Edit: for future readers, it's the latest mate-in-2 blunder by the current World Champion Ding against Magnus ...
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For a beginner focused on reducing blunders, should I study positional theory or tactics more?
I've been playing chess for about a month, learning strategies and principles along the way. Initially, reviewing my games to identify frequent mistakes helped me progress from a complete novice to ...
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Has anyone looked at the percent of brilliant, best, book, etc moves in chess.com by rating?
After a game, chess.com lists moves as "brilliant", "best" etc down to "blunder". I'm wondering about the % of each for random selections of players at different levels ...
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Why was this move a miss?
Was reviewing a recent game and the chess.com engine told me that this move was a miss, and that instead I should have played Kf8. I really don't understand the logic behind this. Is there some sort ...
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Why does Stockfish only gives -28 to a game with only a W pawn and a B rook remaining, while it should be resolved in perfect play?
In this position (W resigned) with only a pawn and a rook remaining Stockfish should have resolved the game and say "Mate in xx" (with perfect play).
However Stockfish is said to have ...
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Why is move 12 a blunder for both sides?
I have trouble understanding why move 12 for both sides was such a blunder? Evaluation went roughly from -1 to -6 and back to -1.3. The engine suggests 12... Ne4. I understand that e4 is a good ...
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Where to find the game "Brauner-Sollig Hildesheim 2001"
In a lesson from learningchess.net they presented this game. The blunder is so big that I wanted to check more about this game, but I cannot find anything online.
Brauner-Sollig Hildesheim 2001
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Blunders that they didn't realise for some time
Any high-level GM games where somebody makes a big blunder but was in blissful ignorance about how bad the move was until several moves after the blunder?
EDIT thanks to comment: classical time format,...
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How can I deal with low confidence and 'chess esteem' while I am learning to play, even when I repeat mistakes?
I posted a popular question a couple of days ago, and it brought up another topic that is worthy of a question.
For reference, I've been playing 6–7 weeks, and my chess.com rating is a laughable ~300. ...
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As a novice, how can I improve at defending my pieces other than what I'm already doing?
I’m struggling with chess after about six weeks of proper learning, i.e. strategy other than how the pieces move. I get this is a short time.
I’m working hard to try and learn, and joined a chess club ...
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How often do super GMs blunder mate in 1?
Yesterday (5th April 2023) Nakamura blundered a pretty mate in 1 against Caruana in the Chessable Masters:
[Title "Caruana - Nakamura, Chessable Masters 2023"]
[fen "Rb6/5kp1/8/1r1P3P/...
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What are the most popular blunders in the opening stage?
According to the data base at lichess, after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. a3 Ngxe5, 8. axb4?? has been played 27,409 times (including played by a player with a ...
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Why is Bxf2+ a blunder in the Traxler Counterattack,?
I'm asking more about why a specific move is called a blunder. If you're playing as black, and white uses the Fried Liver attack, when you use the Bishop and do Bxf2+, Stockfish on Chess.com says that'...
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Blunders due to position change
I sometimes commit strange and embarrassing blunders when I fail to notice that my opponent's move has changed the nature of the position. For example, recently I was playing White with the following ...
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Analyse a blunder
Black (me) to move.
I took the knight at f3 with my knight at e1. However, Lichess analysis shows that this move is a blunder, and suggests to take the bishop at g2 instead.
IMO, I am winning no ...
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Why is it a blunder to capture this pawn even if its defender is pinned?
[FEN "1r1q1rk1/p4pp1/3p1b1p/2pQ4/4P3/P1P2P2/1P2B1PP/1K1R3R b - - 0 20"]
[Title "The Position"]
1... Bxc3??
In this position, I believed that the best move for Black is Bxc3. It’s ...
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Opening positions where declining a gambit is a blunder
Are there any gambit lines in which declining the gambit is a blunder or at least can be considered a misplay?
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Is it possible for White to win in this rook and knight endgame?
In a game I recently played, I was playing White and I blundered quite a bit to reach this position.
[FEN "8/R1N4p/2k5/1pn1K3/8/3r4/P4r2/8 w - - 0 1"]
Is it possible for White to win at ...
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Has a "resignation blunder" ever been refused?
I was reading the question Has there been any blunders in resignation? and it occurred to me that a particularly good sportsman might refuse to accept an opponent's resignation if they knew the ...
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Have there been any blunders in resignation?
We know that despite what is shown in the movies and such, most chess games don't end by a "checkmate" move and oftentimes one side realizes that they are losing and resigns before the end. ...
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Why does chess.com consider this promotion a blunder?
I've just played a game on Chess.com, and I'm surprised that the engine considers a promotion that I made a huge blunder. Like, my position was rated -62.8 (basically a won game), and after I promoted ...
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What is the most number of blunders in a 2100+ game?
Obviously any move (starting at a given position) may be a blunder, see Kh3 Ra4 Nf5 - Kh1 Rf2 where both sides may miss a mate in one until kingdom come. It might be amusing to watch two engines ...
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Tempting bad moves
The following is, unfortunately, a very common experience'o'mine:
Chess book. Grandmaster game. Diagram.
I (after 1 microsecond): Play Nxe6, willya?
scrolldown, author: "Nxe6 was the decisive ...
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Why did Lichess annotate this as a blunder?
Lichess analysis annotated 4. Nf3?? as a blunder preferring (4. Nc3) (see on Lichess). I am trying to understand the ideas that make this a blunder. At depth 23 with Stockfish 13+ NNEU, both were ...
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How do Stockfish levels work?
I read on some Lichess forum that Stockfish levels use limited computation time and search depth for lower levels. However, it seems like Stockfish also every so often inputs mistakes and blunders, ...
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Why is g3 a bad move here?
Why is the last move by white, g3 on the board below, considered a bad move? It was in a game that I played recently and my idea was to protect the bishop in f4 and give the other bishop more space to ...
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Reasons for losing
Wouldn't be surprise if this is a duplicate (related even more related), but:
Obviously there are two main ways to lose a game: Blundering it away in a single move or be slowly crushed by a better ...
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Why is this move into a simple forced mate annotated dubious and not a blunder?
In a recent game against a weak computer opponent on lichess, I (white) was in the following position:
[FEN "Q4k1r/p1Nbbppp/1pn1p3/8/5B2/5N2/P1K1nPPP/R6R b - - 0 1"]
The AI played the move ...
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Why is Bf8 a blunder in this position?
Here is an analysis of a game I played recently in Chess.com app. I won this match in move 19 as the opponent resigned.
Please see the image attached for the position. On move 16, after White ...
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I am trying to understand chess moves
Hi I am trying to learn chess, and when I review my moves, I just don't understand how Nd4 is a good move and how nh4 is a blunder.
Thanks.
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Why is 1.e4 e5 2.d4 Qh4 a blunder?
In Lichess, this sequence is rated as a blunder. However, black can take the pawn afterwards without white being able to prevent it (3.Nf3 Qxe4), so it seems like a good move to me.
Furthermore, if ...
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Why doesn't Black play Bd4?
This puzzle on chesstempo caught my eye (we play as White):
[FEN "4q1k/p4pb/r4npp/4P/n2B/5NNP/5PP/Q4RK b - - 0 1"]
1. Nd7
The move I made was e6, and it was the right one. Yet, the Black's ...
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Having knightmares, what to do?
I just hate when my opponent has the knights because most of my blunders happen due to them. I generally like endgames where my opponent doesn't have the knight. I also hate when the Knight enters my ...
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Why is my theoretical knowledge is not coming to any use?
For the last few months, I have been reading "How To Reassess Your Chess (I expected at least this book to work), "Simple Chess," "The Art Of Attack," some ending book, "...
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Why is b3 a blunder?
[FEN "r2q2nr/p3kppp/3bp3/2p2b2/Bn1P4/1P2PN2/4NPPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 0 13"]
I dont see whats wrong in b3 I am making some space to bring black bishop into game attacking nb4
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What should the practical meaning of "blunder" be? [closed]
There have been questions about the reliability of computer evaluation, and famous cases in which computers miss-evaluate positions have been given. What I want to ask is more related to the practical ...
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Why is Qf5-c2+ a blunder?
Wikipedia defines a blunder as follows:
In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness.
Here when ...
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What's the best alternative to the 'scoresheet' blunder checking strategy?
In Simon Webb's brilliant book, Chess for Tigers, he advises that a player write their move on their scoresheet before playing it. Then, right before you play your move, you check it one more time to ...
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Blundering phase
I have played more online Blitz recently and it was quite some fun, until I encountered what I would call the "blundering phase". Every once in a while, my chess ability takes quite a hit when I ...
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Which steps were blunders and inconsistencies?
This is the pgn of the game. The engine said that white made a blunder and some inconsistencies. But I can't spot them. Can you help me to find them?
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 f5 4. Nc3 f4 5....
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Why is 16. d5 a blunder in this position?
In this position I'm White and I have just played 16. d5. Stockfish labels the move as a blunder. I do understand I had better moves than this, and it's not the move I would play if I were to get this ...
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Going from a winning position to losing one [closed]
I often go from winning positions to losing positions. What could I do to stop doing this?
For an example, take a look at this games of in which I played as Black.
[FEN ""]
1. e4 {0} 1... e5 {4} 2....
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After a blunder, is it better to resign or keep playing?
I often wonder if it is better to resign or keep playing at a disadvantage after making an obvious blunder (for instance, leaving a piece hanging, only to realize too late that you made the mistake).
...
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Improving the observation skill & making less blunders
I've noticed that the most common reason for me to lose a game is not lack of knowledge but failure to observe whats happening on the board. This is specially true for rapid games but it happens in ...
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Is this really played by 2200+ players?
I came across the following game and was surprised to find that it was played between players with 2200+ ratings:
How do players of level 2200+ lack the very basics of opening principles to play a ...
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Potential exchange sacrifice in a King's Indian Defence middlegame
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. b4 Nf6 ...
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Ways to notice opponent's threats during one's own move
I am currently playing in a tournament and my last game was a total disaster. Without going into details, I missed a two-move threat my opponent had in the position (I'd expect a ~1600 Elo rated ...
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Poor gambit for white
I was white and played this against a 1589 rated player on Lichess.
The gambit happens at move 10 and it is characterized as a blunder by stockfish analysis. However, black does some inaccuracies and ...
