Why do kids blunder in chess?

DISCLAIMER: This blog is intended for kids and/or their parents.

Why do kids blunder in chess?

This may sound like a question with an obvious answer. The obvious answer being: because they’re kids and they’re inexperienced or new to the game of chess. Another obvious answer could be: because blunders are a natural part of playing chess, even for grandmasters.

By the way, if a grandmaster blunders it’s normally not really a blunder like ‘hanging-a-piece blunder’, it’s usually a small mistake or inaccuracy. But, at the grandmaster level, that’s all it takes to lose a game. So, if a grandmaster blunders- it’s rare. On average, a grandmaster averages between 0-1 blunders per game. These are ‘Classical’ games, not ‘Blitz’ or ‘Bullet’ games where blunders occur more frequently.

Kids obviously blunder much more often than experienced players. Here’s a rough estimate of the number of blunders kids average per game (Classical game), based on their rating:

Source: Chess.com and Lichess.org

The kids that I teach in elementary school, grades 1-6, are rated between 600-800 Elo- on average. Therefore, according to the table above, they’re going to make anywhere from 4-7 blunders (on average) per game. In my experience, they actually average around 3-4 blunders per game. That’s only because the blunders they do make are catastrophic and the game is normally over soon thereafter. Otherwise, they’d probably blunder more frequently, around 6 or more.

So, back to the original question: Why do kids blunder in chess? The most common reasons in my experience, teaching them, are:

1. They’re still learning basic patterns and tactics. They don’t see what more experienced players see.
2. They’re not focused. They’re easily distracted. If they are focused it’s usually too narrow focused. i.e. they’re not seeing or checking the whole/entire board.
3. They’re excited and rush. They rush and move way too fast. Often, they make the first move they see. They don’t consider other candidate moves. The average ‘Classical’ kid’s game (for the kids I teach) lasts only 20-25 minutes. If you don’t believe me, go to a local scholastic tournament that plays G25 (50 minute total time per game). 80-90% of the players will have completed their game after only 20-25 total minutes.
4. They like to attack only! Attacking is fun! But, this also leaves them vulnerable to their opponent’s attacks. Kids should learn to play defensively at times, not just offensively all the time.
5. They overlook their opponent’s threats. Kids often focus on their plan only and forget to check what the opponent can do.
6. Anxiety/nervousness. Some kids are anxious and nervous when they play. As a result, they rush or freeze and blunder.

What are the most popular/common blunder types for kids?

1. Hanging a piece (leaving a piece undefended and forgetting it’s attacked)
2. Missing simple captures (not seeing you can capture an opponent’s hanging piece)
3. Falling into basic forks or other unseen tactics
4. Getting back-rank checkmated (usually after castling where the rook is gone and the f, g and h file pawns are still in front of the King)
5. Miscounting trades (or miscalculating trades)
6. Ignoring King safety- where the King is open to checks and threats

To help minimize blunders ‘during’ a game, Kids should:

• Relax. Don’t rush. Classical chess games are not a race. The more kids play the less anxious/nervous they’ll be.
• Stay focused. Avoid distractions.
• Manage their time. Allow more time for critical positions.
• Use Checks, Captures and Threats (CCT). CCT is a tactical thinking method or thought process.

What is CCT? CCT stands for Checks, Captures, and Threats. It is a fundamental chess thought process used to identify tactical opportunities and avoid blunders. It's a systematic way of evaluating a position by looking for forcing moves (checks, captures, and threats).
Here’s how CCT works:

1. Check: Look for all possible checks you can give. Checks are forcing moves which make your opponent react/reply and possibly make a bad move and/or take them off their game plan.

Note: Don't just give a check for the sake of checking a king. There's an expression in chess that I believe the late great Bobby Fischer coined, and that is: Patzer sees a check, patzer gives a check. A patzer, for those of you that don't know, is a slang term used to describe someone who makes frequent blunders or plays poorly. It can be considered a derogatory term. If you give a check, make sure it's a move that forces your opponent into a bad position.

Here's an example of checking a king and forcing the king into a bad position. In this example, the black queen moves to h4 and gives a check (move 1). In order to avoid checkmate, the best move for the white king is to move to the d1 square (move 2). On the next move, the black knight moves to the f2 square and forks the white king, rook and queen (move 3). When the white king moves out of check, the white queen is captured.

2. Capture: Look for all pieces you can capture. Kids leave pieces ‘hanging’ all the time.
3. Threat: Look for moves that create threats (like attacking a piece, setting up a fork, a pin or threatening checkmate). Many threats go unnoticed in kid’s games.

The plan is to run through these 3 ideas systematically (in the order presented) when it's your move, especially in complex or tactical positions. It helps you spot forcing moves and avoid missing something sneaky. You can (and should) also apply CCT ideally right after your opponent’s move. e.g. can my opponent check my King on their next move? Can my opponent capture any of my pieces on their next move? Can my opponent create any threats (that I need to defend against) on their next move?

Do you need to apply CCT on ‘every’ move? For a beginner, I’d probably say it’s a good idea especially if you blunder a lot. But, what about someone like me that’s a more experienced player? No, I don’t think so. I think CCT is most effective during the Middle Game, when there’s a lot going on and the position is more tactical in nature. It’s also effective during a tense Endgame when I’m not quite so sure of the best move(s) to make. It’s especially effective during the Endgame where one non-optimal move (by either side) can lead to a win or loss.

Here’s a tense Endgame with white to play. Here’s the FEN if you want to cut/paste it into your board editor or import it: 2bq1rk1/p4p2/8/8/1PB5/8/P7/3Q1RK1 b - - 0 1 Material wise, the game is equal. Can you find the winning move for white? Use the CCT thought process to help find the winning move.

1. Check: Can white check black? It could with Qg4+, but it would be captured by the black knight. So, that’s not a good check. How about Bxf7+? Yes, that’s a viable candidate move. We’ll come back to this move later.
2. Captures: Can white capture any black pieces? Yes, the white queen could capture the black queen on d8. The white rook could capture the pawn on f7. The white bishop could capture the pawn on f7.
3. Threats: Can white threaten? Yes, white queen to b3 or white queen to h5, or white queen to d5. But, these threats aren’t immediate threats that require black’s immediate attention.

So, we’ve identified CCTs. Now what? Now, we look at all the candidate moves we identified in our CCT thought process and select the ‘best’ one. The one move that should be on the top of your candidate list is Bxf7+. Yes, the black rook could capture the white bishop after Bxf7+. But, in doing so, it leaves the black queen undefended and white’s queen will capture it. This is a tactic called ‘removing the defender’. The best reply for black after white captures the f7 pawn with the bishop is to move: Kg7. From there, white would move: Qa1+ and its mate in 10. I’ll let you set it up on a board editor and you can see how white mates black in 10 moves.

But wait, before I make the move Bxf7+ shouldn't I consider what move black would play on it's next move if I didn't play Bxf7+? Wouldn't that help reassure I'm making the 'best' move for white? Absolutely! If it was black to play, can you find the winning move for black? Let’s use the same CCT thought process we did for white.

1. Check: Can black check white? Yes it can with either: Qb6+ or Qg5+. It could with Qd4+ but that’s not a good move for obvious reasons.
2. Captures: The only capture for black would be Qxd1 (swapping/exchanging queens).
3. Threats: The only viable threat would be Be6, threatening to exchange bishops.

Of all the candidate moves, Qg5+ is the best. Why? It puts immediate pressure on the white king. The white king has to move because it can’t block or capture with any of its pieces. If black plays correctly, it will win the white queen within 6 moves. I’ll let you set it up on a board editor so you can see how it’s done.

Can you see that by white making the move Bxf7+, it's a forcing move that won't allow black to make its next best move Qg5+ and capture the white queen? Now, I'm reassured I'm making the 'best' move for white. Can you also see the importance of performing CCT from your opponent's perspective?

To help minimize blunders ‘after’ a game, Kids should:

• Practice regularly: The more kids practice and play, the more and faster they’ll learn.
• Solve puzzles: Solving tactics puzzles can improve pattern recognition.
• Review your games: You want to know where in the game you blundered and why you blundered. Did you blunder just after the Opening? Did you ‘hang’ a piece? Analyzing mistakes helps in understanding and avoiding them in the future. By the way, in order to review/analyze your games that you play Over-The-Board (OTB), you need to record your game on a score sheet using chess notation. Get in the habit of scoring/recording all of your OTB games.

Kids, like adults, don’t normally win games because they outplay their opponent with brilliant moves. They normally win because they err less. i.e. they have fewer inaccuracies, mistakes and blunders. If you get a chance, read my blog entitled: Err less and win more. https://lichess.org/@/mullerrj/blog/err-less-and-win-more/hxZoock7 Actually, in mostly all kids games, the kid who err's less wins.

In this blog, you’ll see that I came up with an error score formula (below). I’ve revised it since then. The number of inaccuracies, mistakes and blunders are obtained from the Lichess Computer Analysis. Average Centipawn Loss (ACPL) is also a metric provided by the Lichess Computer Analysis. When you input these numbers into the error score formula, you’ll get a decimal number. In every game you play, you’ll see that if your error score is less than your opponents, you won the game. What’s this prove? If you err less, you’ll win more.

By knowing why kids blunder, the common reasons for the blunders, and how to reduce/minimize the number of blunders, kids will win more games. When kids win more games, they’ll have more fun playing chess and play more often.