You Don’t Lose Because of Blunders

1. The real cause of blunders

A blunder happens when your mind stops working correctly for a moment.
You might be tired, overconfident, or simply rushing.

But what causes that?
Usually, it’s a lack of structure in your thinking.
You make moves without checking the most dangerous replies.
You trust your first idea too quickly.
Strong players don’t blunder less because they are smarter — they blunder less because they think in a safe and organized way.

2. Masters think in patterns, not guesses

When a master looks at a position, they don’t search randomly.
They look for patterns they already know: weak squares, open files, good vs. bad bishops.
This helps them make logical decisions instead of emotional ones.
You can do the same.

Before every move, ask yourself:

• What is my opponent’s threat?
• What is the weakest point in their camp?
• Which piece can improve its position next?

3. Focus on consistency, not perfection

Chess is not about playing perfectly.
Even grandmasters blunder!
The difference is that they don’t collapse after a mistake.
They stay calm, defend, and keep fighting.
Many amateurs, on the other hand, lose focus immediately after one bad move.
They start playing fast, hoping for a miracle. That’s when the game truly slips away.
So, instead of trying to never blunder, train yourself to stay composed when it happens.
Learn to recover, find counterplay, and make your opponent’s job difficult.

4. The real secret to improvement

If you want to reduce blunders, don’t only work on tactics.
Work on your thought process and calculation.
Calculation is the real deal — it’s what separates players who only know chess “rules” from players who actually understand chess positions.
Many masters on YouTube or social media say things like “Don’t retreat your pieces” or “Never do this when that happens.”
Those phrases sound nice, but they are irrelevant in real games.
Chess doesn’t work with simple rules like “always” or “never.”
A move that breaks a rule can be brilliant in one position and terrible in another.
That’s why you should focus on calculation and pattern recognition.
The more you recognize typical ideas — sacrifices, defensive resources, pawn breaks — the less you need to rely on empty advice.
Rules are useful when you start, but real chess begins when you start thinking for yourself.

Let me know if you have any more question,
Thank you,
Loris