The "Oops!" Theory - 3 Rules to Curb Your Blundering Habits
I was never more humored yet horrified the first time I let my beginner chess class try playing “chess oops.”
The game, “chess oops,” is regular chess except for when one side blunders a free piece. With each blunder discovered, the benefiting side would claim, “oops!,” take the free piece, and also get to place one of their lost pieces or pawns back on the board. That first day, a chorus of delighted “OOPS!!” rang through the whole cafeteria as pieces were captured unblinkingly. The pain of losing a piece is magnified, but the search for hanging (free) pieces becomes a focused habit that offers relief from a previous misstep.
I am sure all of you have felt the pain of a blunder, and it is often the ghastliest of them that we remember the longest. Therefore, it is critical that you keep your blunders to a minimum. Therefore, let’s look at three of best blunder avoiding solutions top players live by.
Avoid Blundering Rule #1: Be Curious!
You have heard the maxim again and again: “always ask, ‘what is the threat?’” Maybe you learned it as, “what are they attacking?” Yet, time and time again you forget to ask these questions and the blunders flow thick and fast. But do not worry, you are not the only one who blunders. I blunder, and yes, even world champions blunder! Here, black’s first move is pawn to e4. The world champion Anatoly Karpov forgot to wonder!
Instead of asking long questions, let us focus on the chess attitude to, “be curious!” The point behind “being curious” instead of asking the questions is to change the way you approach every position. Every position, every move requires your full attention! If you are curious about your opponent’s moves, you will always wonder why they made that move.
It is true!! Curiosity leads to fewer decision-making errors - according to the Harvard Business Review. Through research, this article points to just how much curiosity than forcing manipulative actions such as asking the threats.
Just remember – do not get satisfied with the first thing you see, try to understand if there are secondary or tertiary ideas behind every move. Do not spend forever; but, consider your pieces in approximation to theirs. Is there anything going on between them that you should be careful about. Be curious!!
Avoid Blundering Rule #2: Calculate One Move Deeper
Many “oops!” moments I saw in the classroom came from either the classic “too many attackers, too few defenders” or the “it is not defended, but it is not attacked” situations. Both situations often fall victim to an opponent who can calculate one move deeper!
The kids who never calculated deeply always had so much joy in their eyes when their baby bishop, which was defended by their queen, gets swallowed up by a powerful enemy rook. Snap goes the rook, then in a second snap, their glee turns into agony while yet another “oops!” is heard in the classroom. The youths in these positions all fell victim to a two-move deep calculation when they only calculated one move deep. The second move the triumphant side would play would be to bring a second rook or a queen from behind their rook to gobble up the unsuspecting queen, and through “oops” they would return their rook to it’s starting position.
Now you might be good at seeing what is attacking and defending what, but never forget that any undefended piece could be gone in an instant. Our favorite blundering world champion, Karpov again, in this next example, thought his undefended rook was safe from attack. But he forgot to calculate one move deeper!
Oops!! Nice fork there from Larry. Whenever you make a move to capture a piece look one move deeper and see what would you opponent do next? If there is an undefended piece, look one move deeper and see if the opposition can forcefully attack it through a fork, pin, skewer, etc.! Such depth will save you heartbreak time and time again.
Avoid Blundering Rule #3: Do not Become Your own Traitor
Safe position. Safe move. Yet “oops!” How can the first two ever equal the second? A common way many people blunder is through this most devious equation. When you become you own traitor and betray yourself, good things generally do not happen to you. Take this position from the game Kasparov-Kramnik. Black’s first move is played in defense to checkmate, brings the queen back to defend the king, and only leaves the bishop hanging, which is unforkable, unpinnable, unanythingbadable, yet this move lost the game. Do you see how?
Had Kramnik asked if his move let his opponent get in any shots against him, even though there were none before, he could have avoided this nasty fate. Do not let your moves betray you!
Playing “oops!” is a great way to train yourself to avoid blundering. Find a friend, establish the rules, and let the blundering commence! Soon enough you will begin to see your own patterns and correct for them. By the end of a few games, I can almost guarantee you will be blundering less often, if only to avoid the pain of hearing fifty children singing “oops” over you.
Hope this helps!
Jonathan Rasberry
President of RasberryChess
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