Blunders are killing me

Main

Date: 22 Feb 2007 23:25:18
From: Neil
Subject: Blunders are killing me

My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
brain-dead one move blunders. Traditional wisdom seems to be that
tactics training is the answer. Well, I've done quite a bit using
software like CT-Arts and the Chess Tactics Server. Perhaps it has
helped a little but it doesn't feel like it. How many thousands of
problems do I need to do before I stop making one move blunders?

Does anyone have suggestions? Doing many more computer tactics
problems is not really an option since I suffer from a repeative
strain injury. Perhaps buying a tactics problem book would help. I
wonder if the problem is something fundamental in my thinking
process. When I read chess books I really have a problem
visualizing the variations without using a board. Also, the idea of
me ever playing blindfold chess seems absurd. I just can't imagine
remembering positions well enough to play more than a few moves.

Attached are a few of my recent games. Thanks in advance for any
advice or encouragement.

[Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2007.01.17"]
[Round ""]
[White "Me"]
[Black "Black"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "1260"]
[BlackElo "1520"]
[ECO "B07d"]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.a3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e5
9.Nf5 Nc6 10.b4 b6 11.Bb5 Bb7 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bd7 15.Qd3
Bf6 16.Qe4 g6 17.Nxd6 Qc7 18.Nc4 Bf5 19.Qe2 Rac8 20.Ne3 Bxc2 21.Nxc2 Qxc2
22.Qxc2 Rxc2 23.Be3 Rd8 24.Rad1 Ra2 25.Bc1 a5 26.bxa5 bxa5 27.f3?
{I wanted to prevent e4 and keep the black bishop bad.}
27...a4 28.Rfe1 Rc8 29.d6 Rcc2 30.Be3?
{I don't remember my thinking too well but I guess I thought the f2
square needed to be controlled.}
30...Rxg2+ 31.Kf1 Rxh2 32.Rc1 Rh1+ 33.Bg1 Rh3 34.Re2 Rxa3 35.Rc8+ Kg7 36.
Rd2 Raxf3+ 37.Kg2 Rhg3+ 38.Kh2 Rh3+ 39.Kg2 Rfg3+ 40.Kf2 Bh4 41.d7 Rd3+ 42.
Ke2 Rxd2+ 43.Kxd2 Bg5+ 44.Kc2 Rg3 45.Bb6 Rg2+ 46.Kb1 Rg1+?? 47.Ka2??
{Horrible.}
47...Rd1 -+ *

[Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2007.02.10"]
[Round ""]
[White "White"]
[Black "Me"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1526"]
[BlackElo "1294"]
[ECO "A00"]

1.e3 e5 2.d3 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 e4 7.Nfd2 O-O 8.c3 Bg4
??
{I had decided that it would be good if I could trade off my bad
bishop for his good one. Somehow I completely missed the fact that my
bishop was twice attacked and only once defended.}
9.Bxg4 1-0

[Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2007.02.17"]
[Round "-"]
[White "White"]
[Black "Me"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1675"]
[BlackElo "1307"]
[ECO "C22"]

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe4 d5 7.exd6+ Be6 8.
dxc7
{I was referring to an opening book up to this point (a practice that
is allowed on the site I was playing on but something that I don't
always do). I was pretty sure I was better even though I was down
material.}
8...Qxc7 9.Be2 Nxf2?
{A poor move since black doesn't really get enough of an attack.
Still, I thought it would be more fun to play a wild game and lose
rather than get slowly crushed by a much stronger player. I was
hoping that he would get overly ambitious.}
10.Kxf2 Qb6+ 11.Ke1 O-O-O 12.b3 Bb4+ 13.Bd2 f5??
{I seriously considered playing Rd4 but in the end, decided that f5
was better. I analyzed lots of variations but somehow I never
saw Qxe6.}
14.Qxe6+ 1-0

Date: 01 Mar 2007 08:46:43
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

On 1, 10:17 am, Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Feb 24, 11:44 am, Neil <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> I don't think I have a problem finding tactics when I'm in the
> >> mindset to look for them.
>
> > That is a curious statement.
>
> I should have been more clear. Most of the tactics problems I have
> seen scream out "attack the king, you will mate him". That makes
> them much easier to solve.
>
> > Tactics exist in nearly every position, and even if the position is
> > quiet, you must ALWAYS be vigilant and on the lookout for tactics.
> > This should not be a mindset thing for you. It is something that MUST
> > BE TURNED ON ALL THE TIME.
>
> I think that directly contradicts what Silman says in "Reassess Your
> Chess". However, your suggestion makes more sense to me and I will
> try to apply it. Thanks.
>
> Neil

I don't think it does. What he points out, logically, is that the
Rules of Combination have to be present before you should be looking
for a combination (Loose/undefended pieces, exposed king, stalemated
king, etc.). Tactics exist in nearly every position, some more
scarcely than others. But, no matter what, you should always be on the
lookout for Checks, Captures, Pins, Forks, Double attacks. Matter of
fact, doing that quick checklist for both sides on every move will
certain reduce your blunders I would hope.

You are right about tactics problems and the inherent flaw with them.
there is no-one at the board telling you "White to play and win"
during a game. What helps you there is the Rules of Combination and a
good application of Silman's Thinking Technique. That is 'playing'
chess.

'Studying' chess is more learning how to handle certain types of
positions and situations, like Isolated Queen Pawn, Rook Endings,
Fianchettoed king positions, open files with invasion points, Endgame
techniques, Strategic Thinking, stuff like that.

If you're dropping pieces, your problem is tactics. Nothing
positional, nothing strategic. And tactics is all about seeing
patterns over and over and recognizing them.

Date: 27 Feb 2007 06:29:18
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

On Feb 24, 6:30 pm, Neil Schemenauer <[email protected] > wrote:
> Ron <[email protected]> wrote:
> > This sounds like a common problem that I somebody (maybe Kotov in "Think
> > like a Grandmaster") talks about
>
> Yes, from "Think like a Grandmaster":
>
> "My goodness! Already 30 minutes gone on thinking whether to
> move the rook or the knight" If it goes on like this you'll
> really be in time trouble. And then suddenly you are struck by
> the happy idea -- why move rook or knight? "what about Bb1?"
> And without any more ado, without any analysis at all you move
> the bishop, just like that, with hardly any consideration at
> all.
>
> I didn't get too far into the book yet. I wonder if he has any good
> advice other than "don't do that". :-)
>
> Neil

TLAGM is so far above your level right now it isn't funny.

It's a waste of your time to read that book. And, the Soltis' book
'How to Choose A Chess Move' is far better and more practical,
especially for you.

Date: 27 Feb 2007 06:25:45
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

On Feb 24, 11:44 am, Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> >Have you read Silmans' Reassess Your Chess?

> Yes.

Have you applied what he teaches? What is your rating? Do you own the
Reassess Your Chess Workbook? How often do you play? How much time do
you study?

If you are dropping pieces in one-movers, then you need to re-read RYC
over again and concentrate on each lesson. Uncerstand that tactics are
EVERYWHERE and expect them in all positions, no matter how quiet.

Captures, Checks, Pins, Forks, Double Attacks.

You should examine EVERY one of those on each move FIRST, and get your
chess eye 'aware' of those moves, for BOTH sides of the board.

Date: 27 Feb 2007 06:21:50
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

On Feb 24, 11:44 am, Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> I don't think I have a problem finding tactics when I'm in the
> mindset to look for them.

That is a curious statement.

Tactics exist in nearly every position, and even if the position is
quiet, you must ALWAYS be vigilant and on the lookout for tactics.
This should not be a mindset thing for you. It is something that MUST
BE TURNED ON ALL THE TIME.

You cannot read in the dark.

You cannot play chess tactics-free.

It is the FIRST thing you do in any position is to examine the
tactical motifs that are present. This is the WHY in WHY you blunder.
You are not even looking for the tactics because you do not 'think'
they exist in taht position.

WRONG.

You cannot play chess tactics-free. It is simply impossible.

On every move, look for tactics. Be aware of all captures, checks,
pins, forks, and double attacks. Nearly ALL combinations involve a
double attack at some point. Be vigilant! Don't be lazy. Don't be
passive.

I cannot stress it enough.

Date: 01 Mar 2007 15:17:45
From: Neil
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

[email protected] <[email protected] > wrote:
> On Feb 24, 11:44 am, Neil <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I don't think I have a problem finding tactics when I'm in the
>> mindset to look for them.
>
> That is a curious statement.

I should have been more clear. Most of the tactics problems I have
seen scream out "attack the king, you will mate him". That makes
them much easier to solve.

> Tactics exist in nearly every position, and even if the position is
> quiet, you must ALWAYS be vigilant and on the lookout for tactics.
> This should not be a mindset thing for you. It is something that MUST
> BE TURNED ON ALL THE TIME.

I think that directly contradicts what Silman says in "Reassess Your
Chess". However, your suggestion makes more sense to me and I will
try to apply it. Thanks.

Neil

Date: 01 Mar 2007 19:23:28
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Tactics exist in nearly every position, and even if the position is
>> quiet, you must ALWAYS be vigilant and on the lookout for tactics.
>> This should not be a mindset thing for you. It is something that
>> MUST BE TURNED ON ALL THE TIME.
>
> I think that directly contradicts what Silman says in "Reassess Your
> Chess". However, your suggestion makes more sense to me and I will
> try to apply it. Thanks.

My guess is that you've misunderstood something that Silman wrote but
I've not read his book so I don't know for sure. The point is that
even a quiet position can yield tactics for your opponent if you do
something stupid. For example, in the position

r2q1rk1/1ppb1ppp/p2p4/8/2Q1P3/5N2/PPP2PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1

I can see no direct tactical opportunities for White. However, he
needs to be careful to avoid the skewer after 1... Bb5. Even if
nothing tactical is played on the board, there will almost certainly
be moves in the game that were justified by tactical reasoning: making
and avoiding threats.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Psychotic Portable Wine (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a vintage Beaujolais but you
can take it anywhere and it wants to
kill you!

Date: 25 Feb 2007 17:52:02
From: Ray Gordon, creator of the \pivot\
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
> brain-dead one move blunders. Traditional wisdom seems to be that
> tactics training is the answer. Well, I've done quite a bit using
> software like CT-Arts and the Chess Tactics Server. Perhaps it has
> helped a little but it doesn't feel like it. How many thousands of
> problems do I need to do before I stop making one move blunders?

Odds are you are playing weak openings that lead to positions where you
"blunder."

--
Ray Gordon, Author
Price And Probability
http://www.cybersheet.com/horsepix.html

Learn to make an accurate odds line for horses with just a DRF!

The Hoops And Horses Blog:
http://raygordon.blogs.com/

Date: 26 Feb 2007 12:29:34
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Ray Gordon, creator of the \"pivot\" <[email protected] > wrote:
>> My high blunder rate is really depressing me.
>
> Odds are you are playing weak openings that lead to positions where
> you "blunder."

Playing the hottest variation of the Sicilian Najdorf ain't gonna stop
him hanging pieces.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Accelerated Swiss Ghost (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a haunting spirit but it's made
in Switzerland and twice as fast!

Date: 25 Feb 2007 23:16:50
From: Neil
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Ray Gordon, blitz master <[email protected] > wrote:
> Odds are you are playing weak openings that lead to positions where you
> "blunder."

Bah ha ha. Is this the real Ray Gordon or a parody of him? It
really is hard to tell the difference.

Neil

Date: 23 Feb 2007 09:12:03
From:
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

I find that if I'm playing someone rated below me, I put extra
pressure on myself because I 'should' win.
If I'm playing someone rated above me, I'm mentally digging in for the
draw.

I saw a little bit of that in some of your writing.

These days, I don't ask my opponent their grade before playing. Its
working much better for me.
Its important to play in a way thats comfortable for you and don't
allow external factors to push you into positions you aren't happy
with.

Phil.

Date: 23 Feb 2007 16:58:54
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
> brain-dead one move blunders. Traditional wisdom seems to be that
> tactics training is the answer.

Tactics training is trying to run before you can walk. At the moment,
your main problems, as you say, are the brain-dead one-movers: you
hang pieces and don't notice when your opponent has hung pieces.

The cause of hanging your own pieces is carelessness; I'd wager that
the cause of the second is the assumption `My opponent's move must be
good or he wouldn't have played it.' All I can suggest is that you
take more time over your moves. Always ask yourself if your
opponent's move was safe or if he's just hung a piece. Always ask
yourself if the move you're considering hangs a piece. In time this
will become natural and won't need to be done explicitly.

Perhaps a good way to practice this would be to get a book of tactical
problems and, first, for every one, ask yourself which moves hang
pieces (both in the sense of moving a piece onto an under-protected
square or moving a piece to leave another piece under-protected).
That's just an idea that came into my head so I can't guarantee it'll
work! But it does have the advantage that, once you've sorted out
your piece safety problems, you can use the book for its intended
purpose.

I'm guessing that, since you mention being allowed to use opening
books, you're playing on a correspondence site. Here, time control
shouldn't be too much of an issue: you should always have at least
five or ten minutes to consider every move. If you don't have that
much time, you're playing too many games for your current ability. If
you're playing real-time games, try to play at longer time controls to
give yourself more time to think.

Your description of your frustration suggests that you care quite a
lot about the results of your games. But some of the blunders you
make suggest that you don't care all that much about the individual
moves. Is it because you're playing chess while you're tired or
distracted? I went through a period of playing blitz on the internet
when I was too bored and tired to be bothered doing anything else and
-- guess what? -- my rating plummeted. If you care about your chess,
you should only play when you're feeling mentally sharp.

> When I read chess books I really have a problem visualizing the
> variations without using a board. Also, the idea of me ever playing
> blindfold chess seems absurd. I just can't imagine remembering
> positions well enough to play more than a few moves.

Again, this is trying to run before you can walk. Visualizing
variations requires you to hold the position in your head for a few
moves; playing blindfold chess requires you to hold the position in
your head for a whole game. Your problem at the moment is that,
sometimes, you aren't even managing to hold the position in your head
for one move.

You're bright enough to be quite self-analytical about this and ask
the right kinds of questions. There's no reason you can't fix your
blunders by applying yourself to the games while you're playing them
and practising a bit, too. Of course, you'll never manage to
eliminate them totally -- nobody does -- but you should be able to
dramatically reduce the rate of blunders. Then you can start applying
yourself to the other weaknesses you've noticed in your chess, all the
while gradually improving.

I hope some of that was helpful.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Laptop Book (TM): it's like a romantic
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ novel that you can put on your lap!

Date: 24 Feb 2007 16:47:43
From: Neil
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

David Richerby <[email protected] > wrote:
> Is it because you're playing chess while you're tired or
> distracted?

I've got two young children. I'm always tired. ;-)

> I hope some of that was helpful.

Yes, thank you.

Neil

Date: 23 Feb 2007 06:30:46
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

On Feb 22, 6:25 pm, Neil <[email protected] > wrote:
> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
> brain-dead one move blunders. Traditional wisdom seems to be that
> tactics training is the answer. Well, I've done quite a bit using
> software like CT-Arts and the Chess Tactics Server. Perhaps it has
> helped a little but it doesn't feel like it. How many thousands of
> problems do I need to do before I stop making one move blunders?
>
> Does anyone have suggestions? Doing many more computer tactics
> problems is not really an option since I suffer from a repeative
> strain injury. Perhaps buying a tactics problem book would help. I
> wonder if the problem is something fundamental in my thinking
> process. When I read chess books I really have a problem
> visualizing the variations without using a board. Also, the idea of
> me ever playing blindfold chess seems absurd. I just can't imagine
> remembering positions well enough to play more than a few moves.
>
> Attached are a few of my recent games. Thanks in advance for any
> advice or encouragement.
>
> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.01.17"]
> [Round ""]
> [White "Me"]
> [Black "Black"]
> [Result "*"]
> [WhiteElo "1260"]
> [BlackElo "1520"]
> [ECO "B07d"]
>
> 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.a3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e5
> 9.Nf5 Nc6 10.b4 b6 11.Bb5 Bb7 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bd7 15.Qd3
> Bf6 16.Qe4 g6 17.Nxd6 Qc7 18.Nc4 Bf5 19.Qe2 Rac8 20.Ne3 Bxc2 21.Nxc2 Qxc2
> 22.Qxc2 Rxc2 23.Be3 Rd8 24.Rad1 Ra2 25.Bc1 a5 26.bxa5 bxa5 27.f3?
> {I wanted to prevent e4 and keep the black bishop bad.}
> 27...a4 28.Rfe1 Rc8 29.d6 Rcc2 30.Be3?
> {I don't remember my thinking too well but I guess I thought the f2
> square needed to be controlled.}
> 30...Rxg2+ 31.Kf1 Rxh2 32.Rc1 Rh1+ 33.Bg1 Rh3 34.Re2 Rxa3 35.Rc8+ Kg7 36.
> Rd2 Raxf3+ 37.Kg2 Rhg3+ 38.Kh2 Rh3+ 39.Kg2 Rfg3+ 40.Kf2 Bh4 41.d7 Rd3+ 42.
> Ke2 Rxd2+ 43.Kxd2 Bg5+ 44.Kc2 Rg3 45.Bb6 Rg2+ 46.Kb1 Rg1+?? 47.Ka2??
> {Horrible.}
> 47...Rd1 -+ *
>
> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.02.10"]
> [Round ""]
> [White "White"]
> [Black "Me"]
> [Result "1-0"]
> [WhiteElo "1526"]
> [BlackElo "1294"]
> [ECO "A00"]
>
> 1.e3 e5 2.d3 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 e4 7.Nfd2 O-O 8.c3 Bg4
> ??
> {I had decided that it would be good if I could trade off my bad
> bishop for his good one. Somehow I completely missed the fact that my
> bishop was twice attacked and only once defended.}
> 9.Bxg4 1-0
>
> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.02.17"]
> [Round "-"]
> [White "White"]
> [Black "Me"]
> [Result "1-0"]
> [WhiteElo "1675"]
> [BlackElo "1307"]
> [ECO "C22"]
>
> 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe4 d5 7.exd6+ Be6 8.
> dxc7
> {I was referring to an opening book up to this point (a practice that
> is allowed on the site I was playing on but something that I don't
> always do). I was pretty sure I was better even though I was down
> material.}
> 8...Qxc7 9.Be2 Nxf2?
> {A poor move since black doesn't really get enough of an attack.
> Still, I thought it would be more fun to play a wild game and lose
> rather than get slowly crushed by a much stronger player. I was
> hoping that he would get overly ambitious.}
> 10.Kxf2 Qb6+ 11.Ke1 O-O-O 12.b3 Bb4+ 13.Bd2 f5??
> {I seriously considered playing Rd4 but in the end, decided that f5
> was better. I analyzed lots of variations but somehow I never
> saw Qxe6.}
> 14.Qxe6+ 1-0

Hi Neil,

All good suggestions so far from the troops here.

Are you 'playing chess' or just going through the motions online while
you are watching TV or listening to Music or doing 'other' work?
Unless you are a good player (good being Cat A or better), it is
difficult to multi-task like that, and you should not.

A book that I find useful is "How to choose a chess move" by Soltis,
but your problem may be a conceptual one. Have you read Silmans'
Reassess Your Chess? Start with all the freebie online stuff; then
when you find out most of it is garbage (you will) move on to Silman's
books.

And - yes - to get good at tactics, you need to practice thousands and
thousands of positions. Tactics is all about pattern recognition and
you need to see those patterns repeateadly to ingrain them in your
chess mind. There are more tactics puzzles books out there than
nervous sheep in Scotland so you should have no problem finding them.
Peruse eBay and get them on the cheap. At your level, ANY book will
help, but one that I think will help you immensly is Seriawan's
Winning Tactics book. It outlines the basic tactics in chess and gives
you a good thought process on how to recognize them during your games.
It's written for you!

Good Luck, keep playing, and don't get discouraged.

Regards,
k

Date: 24 Feb 2007 16:44:40
From: Neil
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

[email protected] <[email protected] > wrote:
> A book that I find useful is "How to choose a chess move" by Soltis,
> but your problem may be a conceptual one. Have you read Silmans'
> Reassess Your Chess?

Yes.

> [...] one that I think will help you immensly is Seriawan's
> Winning Tactics book. It outlines the basic tactics in chess and
> gives you a good thought process on how to recognize them during
> your games. It's written for you!

I've heard other people recommend it too. I will see if I can find
it. I don't think I have a problem finding tactics when I'm in the
mindset to look for them. I think that's the weakness with training
on tactics problems. It would be much more realistic if 80% of the
best moves were quiet ones.

I actually wrote some software to generate problems based on this
idea. It would analyze a DB of games using a chess engine and look
for moves that resulted in a large (e.g. 1.5 point) score drop. The
solution to the problem would be a move that didn't result in the
score drop. Maybe I should dig it out again.

Thanks for your comments.

Neil

Date: 23 Feb 2007 09:35:17
From: Manuel Wehrmann
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Neil wrote:
> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to

Neil,
You don't play 'real chess' - You play 'hope chess',
as Dan Heisman says in 'Novice Nook'.

Read Heisman's very good articles for us patzers!
Start here ('The Most Common OTB Mistakes'):
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman70.pdf

Manuel Wehrmann, Germany

Date: 23 Feb 2007 11:22:44
From: Manuel Wehrmann
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Manuel Wehrmann wrote:
> Neil wrote:
>> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
>> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
>
>
> Neil,
> You don't play 'real chess' - You play 'hope chess',
> as Dan Heisman says in 'Novice Nook'.
>
> Read Heisman's very good articles for us patzers!
> Start here ('The Most Common OTB Mistakes'):
>

... and then read Dan Heisman's

THE 10 BIGGEST ROADBLOCKS TO IMPROVEMENT
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman23.pdf

MW

Date: 23 Feb 2007 11:27:21
From: Manuel Wehrmann
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Manuel Wehrmann wrote:
> ... and then read Dan Heisman's
>
> THE 10 BIGGEST ROADBLOCKS TO IMPROVEMENT
> http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman23.pdf
>

If the link doesn't work go to
www.chesscafe.com
>>> archives
>>> The Novice Nook
>>> The 10 biggest ...

MW

Date: 23 Feb 2007 03:32:19
From: moriarty
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

"Neil" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:yDpDh.1095812$5R2.804072@pd7urf3no...
> My high blunder rate is really depressing me. I have a hard time
> getting motivated to play games when I usually end up losing due to
> brain-dead one move blunders. Traditional wisdom seems to be that
> tactics training is the answer. Well, I've done quite a bit using
> software like CT-Arts and the Chess Tactics Server. Perhaps it has
> helped a little but it doesn't feel like it. How many thousands of
> problems do I need to do before I stop making one move blunders?
>
> Does anyone have suggestions? Doing many more computer tactics
> problems is not really an option since I suffer from a repeative
> strain injury. Perhaps buying a tactics problem book would help. I
> wonder if the problem is something fundamental in my thinking
> process. When I read chess books I really have a problem
> visualizing the variations without using a board. Also, the idea of
> me ever playing blindfold chess seems absurd. I just can't imagine
> remembering positions well enough to play more than a few moves.
>
> Attached are a few of my recent games. Thanks in advance for any
> advice or encouragement.

Whatever the value of tactical training, I don't think it has much to do
with blundering.

Are you attentive throughout the entire game, or does you kind wander
when it's not your move?
Do you become over-confident when playing lower-rated opponents, or
despair easily against stronger players?

Make a mental note of undefended pieces, pins, or one-move attacks on
your king or queen. These often lead to tactics when combined (one
element isn't enough, but two can lead to something).

Also, if you find yourself in lousy, defensive positions, you'll blunder
more often. Sooner or later, the pressure will get to you. Turn the
pressure on your opponent.

-T

Date: 23 Feb 2007 02:30:28
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Before we talk about specific games, maybe what you need to think about
is your mental process. Sometimes it helps to me very methodical about a
conscious process with respect to what you're doing. EG, say to youself,
"Okay, what is he attacking here?" Make a mental list - and actually say
it to yourself. "Okay, his queen is attacking my bishop which is
protected by the pawn."

Then, after you decide on your move, look at every possible downside of
your move. "That diagonal to my king is now open." or "My bishop is no
longer protected."

You'll feel stupid being this methodical about things, but after a while
it'll become second nature, and intuitive.

Now, a few specific comments:

>
> Attached are a few of my recent games. Thanks in advance for any
> advice or encouragement.
>
>
> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.01.17"]
> [Round ""]
> [White "Me"]
> [Black "Black"]
> [Result "*"]
> [WhiteElo "1260"]
> [BlackElo "1520"]
> [ECO "B07d"]
>
> 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.a3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e5
> 9.Nf5 Nc6 10.b4 b6 11.Bb5 Bb7 12.Bxc6

Why? I guess I could say the same thing about your queenside expansion,
as well.

First of all, this bishop belongs on c4, where it controls d5. Secondly,
why swap it for a N which isn't doing anything. Thirdly, your queen
bishop belongs on g5 (again, helping to control the key square d5).

You need to have a plan. You're fairly impatient, here. Don't exchange
just for the sake of exchanging.

> Bxc6 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bd7 15.Qd3
> Bf6 16.Qe4 g6 17.Nxd6 Qc7 18.Nc4 Bf5 19.Qe2 Rac8 20.Ne3 Bxc2 21.Nxc2

I'm not sure why you're exchanging here. You've lost the pawn. All
you're doing know is accellerating his rook's infiltration into your
position.

> Qxc2
> 22.Qxc2 Rxc2 23.Be3 Rd8 24.Rad1 Ra2 25.Bc1 a5 26.bxa5 bxa5 27.f3?
> {I wanted to prevent e4 and keep the black bishop bad.}
> 27...a4 28.Rfe1 Rc8 29.d6 Rcc2 30.Be3?
> {I don't remember my thinking too well but I guess I thought the f2
> square needed to be controlled.}
> 30...Rxg2+ 31.Kf1 Rxh2 32.Rc1 Rh1+ 33.Bg1 Rh3 34.Re2 Rxa3 35.Rc8+ Kg7 36.
> Rd2 Raxf3+ 37.Kg2 Rhg3+ 38.Kh2 Rh3+ 39.Kg2 Rfg3+ 40.Kf2 Bh4 41.d7 Rd3+ 42.
> Ke2 Rxd2+ 43.Kxd2 Bg5+ 44.Kc2 Rg3 45.Bb6 Rg2+ 46.Kb1 Rg1+?? 47.Ka2??
> {Horrible.}

Eh. This sort of thing is easy to miss. Yes, you should have caught it.
Once again, slowing down will help you. I suspect you simply didn't even
look that hard, because you were focused on something else. But being
methodical, asking yourself what all your choices are ... that'll help
here.

> 47...Rd1 -+ *
>
> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.02.10"]
> [Round ""]
> [White "White"]
> [Black "Me"]
> [Result "1-0"]
> [WhiteElo "1526"]
> [BlackElo "1294"]
> [ECO "A00"]
>
> 1.e3 e5 2.d3 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 e4 7.Nfd2 O-O 8.c3 Bg4
> ??
> {I had decided that it would be good if I could trade off my bad
> bishop for his good one. Somehow I completely missed the fact that my
> bishop was twice attacked and only once defended.}
> 9.Bxg4 1-0

Just out of curiosity, how long did you spend on that move?

> [Event ""]
> [Site ""]
> [Date "2007.02.17"]
> [Round "-"]
> [White "White"]
> [Black "Me"]
> [Result "1-0"]
> [WhiteElo "1675"]
> [BlackElo "1307"]
> [ECO "C22"]
>
> 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe4 d5 7.exd6+ Be6 8.
> dxc7
> {I was referring to an opening book up to this point (a practice that
> is allowed on the site I was playing on but something that I don't
> always do). I was pretty sure I was better even though I was down
> material.}
> 8...Qxc7 9.Be2 Nxf2?
> {A poor move since black doesn't really get enough of an attack.
> Still, I thought it would be more fun to play a wild game and lose
> rather than get slowly crushed by a much stronger player. I was
> hoping that he would get overly ambitious.}

In other words ... you were intimidated. Don't be intimidated. You have
a fantastic position here. And for crying out loud you're not playing
Gary Kasparov. He's a sub-1700 player.

Being aggressive is good. Being foolish is bad. Nf6, Bd6, and 0-0 give
you an excellent position with strong attacking chances against his
king. Castling queenside into a weakened position (thanks to your
missing c-pawn) ... not so exciting.

Instead of having a strong position where he's under lots of pressure,
by sacrificing unsoundly you put the pressure on you. And,
unsurprisingly, under pressure, you miss something simple.

Most blunders, in my opinion, happen when a player is under pressure.
Keep the pressure on him and let him blunder.

> 10.Kxf2 Qb6+ 11.Ke1 O-O-O 12.b3 Bb4+ 13.Bd2 f5??
> {I seriously considered playing Rd4 but in the end, decided that f5
> was better. I analyzed lots of variations but somehow I never
> saw Qxe6.}

Being methodical about your thinking process like I described above will
help. But also notice how you put yourself in a desperate situation. You
have to attack all-out or you'll love.

Generally that's a bad idea. His king is stuck in the center, sure, but
yours is also vulnerable - and having an exposed king is the sort of
thing that makes you hang pieces.

> 14.Qxe6+ 1-0

Date: 24 Feb 2007 16:34:37
From: Neil
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Ron <[email protected] > wrote:
>> 1.e3 e5 2.d3 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 e4 7.Nfd2 O-O 8.c3 Bg4
>> ??
>> {I had decided that it would be good if I could trade off my bad
>> bishop for his good one. Somehow I completely missed the fact that my
>> bishop was twice attacked and only once defended.}
>> 9.Bxg4 1-0
>
> Just out of curiosity, how long did you spend on that move?

Probably a minute or two looking for constructive moves. After I
didn't find anything else, I spent only a few seconds analyzing the
results of Bxg4.

Thank you for your comments.

Neil

Date: 24 Feb 2007 18:58:30
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

In article <xOZDh.1112411$1T2.391319@pd7urf2no >, Neil <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Probably a minute or two looking for constructive moves. After I
> didn't find anything else, I spent only a few seconds analyzing the
> results of Bxg4.

This sounds like a common problem that I somebody (maybe Kotov in "Think
like a Grandmaster") talks about - you spend a lot of time looking at
(or analyzing) one move, then it doesn't work so you see something else
and just play it.

Being aware of this problem can help you combat it.

> I've heard other people recommend it too. I will see if I can find
> it. I don't think I have a problem finding tactics when I'm in the
> mindset to look for them. I think that's the weakness with training
> on tactics problems. It would be much more realistic if 80% of the
> best moves were quiet ones.

Yes, it'd be more realistic. But I don't know if it'd help you improve
faster.

The point of tactics training is pattern recognition. The idea is, by
drilling (and drilling, and drilling) you start to instantly see certain
patterns as they appears.

The idea is to get yourself so that you see a tactic almost instantly
when you know it's there. Then, you'll be able to find them quickly even
when you don't. Or, more to the point, you'll know when to look for them
and when not to.

But the key building block of that is being able to solve available
tactics very quickly.

Date: 24 Feb 2007 23:30:08
From: Neil Schemenauer
Subject: Re: Blunders are killing me

Ron <[email protected] > wrote:
> This sounds like a common problem that I somebody (maybe Kotov in "Think
> like a Grandmaster") talks about

Yes, from "Think like a Grandmaster":

"My goodness! Already 30 minutes gone on thinking whether to
move the rook or the knight" If it goes on like this you'll
really be in time trouble. And then suddenly you are struck by
the happy idea -- why move rook or knight? "what about Bb1?"
And without any more ado, without any analysis at all you move
the bishop, just like that, with hardly any consideration at
all.

I didn't get too far into the book yet. I wonder if he has any good
advice other than "don't do that". :-)

Neil