Why do we make blunders?

In this post, I'll reveal the secret to systematically improving your tactics and reducing your blunders as a by-product of your efforts.

This morning, I got a message from James, one of my students.

He sent me this: 

Just had a nice little breakthrough. Instead of just writing down immediately all the possible stuff. I sat and looked at the position...

James's mind is pretty sharp, and he thinks pretty fast.

But sometimes, this causes him trouble. He sees a good move, starts calculating it, and plays it right away.

Leading him to make blunders or miss clear opportunities (sounds familiar?)

I am happy to see that today he had a breakthrough, which I will explain in a second why that is important.

But first, I'll reveal why most people make silly mistakes despite solving many puzzles.

It is logical to assume that the more puzzles, the easier it will be to find tactics on the board or spot your opponent's tactical threats so you can prevent them.

Thing is, most chess players still miss easy forks, pins, double checks, etc.

Why? Because they've become good puzzle solvers but haven't developed their tactical awareness yet.

Tactical awareness is recognizing tactics to take advantage of the position at the right moment. It's all about paying attention to the position and its subtleties. 

The process of improving your tactical awareness is the same process of reducing your blunders.

Most people make blunders because they are not paying enough attention to the position and its subtleties.

James' breakthrough is important because he is starting to train his mind to be more "patient."

He used to write down his solutions immediately, but today, he decided to slow down and understand the position first.

The first step to developing awareness is understanding the position.

You need to slow down and see what's happening first.

The other day, I did a training for my students about improving their awareness while they are doing puzzles.

If you want me to send it to you, comment "tactics" below, and I'll send the training to your inbox for free.

I hope this helps.

See you on the winning side.

Coach Diego.