Nice read, thank you, Nick. Found your insights quite helpful for chess improvement, especially in preparation for chess events. However 😉 it should be "Black plays e5!" instead of d5! in the sentence: "It has more activity on d3 but will fall prey to a common trap after Black plays d5! gaining a tempo on the Bishop on f4 and then forking the Bishop and the Knight."
I've looked at your fateful game on Lichess. Painful blunder, indeed. Chess is blunderfest for sure. 😜
It happened to me many times, way too many. Losing the game in the opening by blundering checkmate in-one (!) was the worst blunder I ever made in a classical OTB game. It happened in the middle of a strong, invitation only, round-robin tournament. My opponent happily took a gift and went to win the event, just half a point ahead of me, because I bounced strongly after the disaster. I hate losing in chess. 😈
In the past you mentioned using a real board & piece set while playing online. Perhaps the blunder you refer to occurred in transferring the moves to the board late in the game ?
I did use a board. Sadly no, the blunder was in my head! I thought the re-capture was forced for some reason and just forgot about the Qxc1+ move. Bummer
Great idea. When I write these (as with everything I write) it comes out all at once in one or two sittings. Editing for content, style, and accuracy is something I'm working at. It's been a thing since Middle School. :)
This was my favorite of your posts Nick! I actually hadn't seen Silman's categorization if blunders, its quite helpful.
Thanks Ben! Hopefully I'm improving as a writer as well.
For sure, its easier to improve at writing than chess!
Nice read, thank you, Nick. Found your insights quite helpful for chess improvement, especially in preparation for chess events. However 😉 it should be "Black plays e5!" instead of d5! in the sentence: "It has more activity on d3 but will fall prey to a common trap after Black plays d5! gaining a tempo on the Bishop on f4 and then forking the Bishop and the Knight."
I've looked at your fateful game on Lichess. Painful blunder, indeed. Chess is blunderfest for sure. 😜
It happened to me many times, way too many. Losing the game in the opening by blundering checkmate in-one (!) was the worst blunder I ever made in a classical OTB game. It happened in the middle of a strong, invitation only, round-robin tournament. My opponent happily took a gift and went to win the event, just half a point ahead of me, because I bounced strongly after the disaster. I hate losing in chess. 😈
It happened again! I get turned around sometimes on the chessboard when looking from Black's perspective... details are important. Thanks!
Chess at times is emotionally brutal. And this is true for Elite players as well as Class Level people. Sort of like working in a bomb squad.
Yes... it is. Rough game sometimes
Great post, Nick.
Thanks!
Hope it helps you like it's helped me!
In the past you mentioned using a real board & piece set while playing online. Perhaps the blunder you refer to occurred in transferring the moves to the board late in the game ?
I did use a board. Sadly no, the blunder was in my head! I thought the re-capture was forced for some reason and just forgot about the Qxc1+ move. Bummer
Great ideas and post
This was a great post. Do you use Grammarly? If not, try it. It's free.
Great idea. When I write these (as with everything I write) it comes out all at once in one or two sittings. Editing for content, style, and accuracy is something I'm working at. It's been a thing since Middle School. :)
Once again, I'm going to put your ideas into practice. Especially the chocolate.