Throwaway!
We've all done it. We were totally winning, and we blew it. If you are reading this blog, the odds are heavily against your being a GM. If you are, tell me in the comments 
. But this unfortunate phenomenon isn't limited to untitled players. Grandmasters do it too! In this blog, we'll look at two cases of GM blunders, and discuss how to avoid them in your games. Let's get started.
This looks like a draw, right? What should you do here? Anything but this.
Do you know who played this game? Bobby Fischer, one of the greatest players in history. If Bobby does it, what chance do we have? Let's move forward.
This is from a recent Super-GM tournament. The black player was winning but played this blunder of Nd4. Find the win. The game is in the comments.
So, how do we avoid this? I'll give 3 tips.
- If you're totally winning, you can sacrifice a bit. It's better to win and be up two points than to lose and be up nine.
- Play 'old man chess', as Mike Klein says. Trade, trade, trade some more. Simplify to a winning endgame.
- Don't be too fancy. You'll learn this the hard way. Twice, I was playing against a weak opponent. I saw an opportunity to play smothered mate. While trying to set that up, I hung mate. They didn't see it though.
Thanks for reading this!
Luke
