Making Blunders

If you ever feel like you blunder away way too many games, never forget that even at the higher levels, it still happens.

How to Avoid Blunders GM Jan Markos: ('Under the Surface' is his most recent book which was very well received)
Chessbase (I think available to everyone)

https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-winning-academy-15-how-to-avoid-blunders-part-1
https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-winning-academy-16-how-to-avoid-blunders-2

He provides the details with game examples for an 8 point anti-blunder check list.
This is a brief summary of the first 4 in my own words. See the end of Part II for the complete summary by the author

1. Before calculation, check for unprotected pieces.
2. Check ALL forcing moves with care.
3. Check exchanges as they can be dangerous.
4. Be disciplined and always check every move even simple direct ones with the list before moving .

@SaltWaterRabbit that's right, but in that position, there simply wasn't time to do all that stuff without leaving a detrimental amount for endgame conversion.

I carefully told my daughter to do all those checks to avoid blunders and she asked me how I expected her to have the time. To be honest, I struggled for an answer.....

Sorry guys, I was totally singing out of tune and should have mentioned irrelevant molasses-slow OTB of course.

Context: I was preparing to play a competitive OTB 90m+30sec increment game against the best player in our club that night. I strongly believe reducing low 5-6 ply type blunders is a sure way to win more OTB games. Last night in my OTB game, I managed a tactical perpetual check in a dire position partly because I noticed Rd8 was unprotected and made it so I could play Qg5 with a tempo hit on the rook Rd8.

Even in slow OTB, you focus on the changes (you do NOT go through all the steps but use common sense) and it gets to be an unconscious x-ray thing that you do quickly. Agreed as the allotted time gets less, you modify your process. (No wonder why I am so ultra rotten at Bullet!) In Blitz, maybe just look at changes in unprotected pieces, check and a few forcing moves.

From my online Blitz or rapid games, I still note that I lose 95%+ of games where I have more blunders than my opponent. (Same for you guys?) I often lose on time a lot if I play 5-0 Blitz - you need to generate most moves in 3 seconds or less and often just play a deliberate low risk move.
Ok, I will try not to use an snooze-fest OTB perspective when people are talking about 5-0 or worse lightning pace!
PS: I appreciate the gentle sarcasm.

People need to accept that we make blunders, we are not the engines,of course we should be always carefull.But you can't prevent any human being of blundering

blunders can lead to interesting situations. I often am surprised at the resources i find after making a blunder. Suddenly in the desperation i take more time and find ways to make it difficult for my opponent, or at least complicated enough that their chance of blundering increases.

By the way, for those of you playing classically over the board. I'd appreciate some advice on how to pace things. I will play in my first OTB tournament on the weekend: it's 90min+30sec with 30 additional minutes after move 40. Should i try to keep a certain average time per move? E.g. say, 2 minutes per move: so after move 40 I used 80 minutes of my initial 90 and get an additional 30 (plus the increment time of 40 x 30sec = 20min, meaning i'd have 10min + 30min + 20min = 60min after move 40.

I don't mean i would try to take 2min on every move. I mean i'd try to stick to that average. E.g. If, on move 30, I 've used up my initial 90min and have only the awarded increment time of 15min remaining, i should probably try to play a little faster on average.

Ofcourse, this all presupposes i even last that long, which given my rate of blunder isn't at all assured.

@ChessMathNerd said in #3:

without leaving a detrimental amount for endgame conversion.

Ha Ha! With 10-0, you would maybe need to adjust things to just an awareness of changes in say loose pieces, checks and a few captures and king safety. Look MOM, 0 blunders but SON that is a brutal early middlegame TIME LOSS! But I followed the 8 steps...
Nice game! I love KID. You generated 60 mostly good moves in a complex game. You expect some noise in the quality of the moves.

I note 5 blunders for you versus 3 for your opponent. You did have several big chances to win for sure.
With 46) Rxf3 Qe4, nice pin and attack on Qc2 but you left two pieces unprotected: Ne5 and Ra8 which is a tactical risk. Yes, either Nf5 or even Rc8 getting the rook into the game would probably seal a win assuming enough time. You just missed the 47) Qc7 a check. Do you leave more pieces unprotected especially 2 or more than your opponents or a selected player a class better?
In the endgame, you ended up with about 16 seconds versus 50 which I think is a tough ask to hold even with pre-moves. In the end, your opponent had 32 seconds left. Cheers.

@EmaciatedSpaniard said in #8:

play in my first OTB tournament on the weekend

1. First, if you only play online and rarely play with 3-D pieces, you may find the pieces distracting. Some people do.

2. You aim to play a reasonable move in a reasonable time (your 1-2 min per move is ideal). You have more time than you think plus the 30 second increment. Time usage depends on the type of position and what you know about it. Use YOUR time even if your opponent plays really fast, Avoid using 15 minutes for the whole game and losing badly. The clock is your friend.

3. From the opening, you just want a playable position.
   Some people take at least 10 or 15 seconds for every move. It gives time to check and not do something rash. If you do 1-2 minutes per move for the first 15 moves that is fine. You could spend a bit more on some moves in the middlegame as it can be more complicated.

4. Move Generation: What move did your opponent play and why - sometimes just random. What has changed?
   Are any pieces unprotected or attacked? Do you have any checks? Your opening priority is mostly to develop pieces and castle to safety. What can you attack.

5. Choose a move. What can your opponent do anything against it? Can the opponent take something? Move and Press the clock.

6. Expect to make mistakes and maybe some blunders but stay calm, take a little time and park the blunder/ mistake in the Past and now concentrate fully on the Present to calm yourself and the the Future. You are now ready to fight on. You are Tough!.

For example, in my most recent OTB game: Wh Me (This may or may NOT be helpful!! Tries to give an idea of the struggle / ebb and flow of the game, emotions that help and the ones that hurt you and the mistakes etc. that are part of the game.)
Played averaged between 1.3 and 2.3 minutes per move in the 15 moves of the game.

A) Moves 1-15 Wh 30 min Bl 30 min White mostly had an advantage of more than a pawn for about 5 moves but did a mistake on move 13.

B) Moves 16-30 Wh 35 min Bl 25 min Black has a big advantage of -1.2 to -1.8 pawn for 5 moves. I am close to losing and cannot afford a blunder or even a mistake. I am really struggling to survive and parry all the threats. I use a lot of energy.

C) Moves 31-45 Wh 20 min Bl 25 min Black gives up most of his advantage and the position is closer to even. Black blunders on both moves 38 and 39 (over-estimates his position) but I am so relieved not to lose that I do NOT see that I am winning and so I sacrifice and force a Q perpetual check draw in a +8 position (emotions and tilted evaluation).
I had White and in the end had 6 minutes left and my opponent had 15 but I used about 8 min deciding to take the sure draw based on non-objective faulty calculation of the actual best move. But my energy is so low.