7 Incredible Blunders That Grandmasters Made Last Year

Why do grandmasters make blunders? Because they are human, just like the rest of us. In 2025, several blunders were very shocking. Do you remember these?

• Five-Time World Chess Champion Blunders
• Forced Checkmate Missed
• Game-Ending Blunder
• Resignation In Winning Position
• Fist-Slamming, Table-Jarring Blunder
• Mate-In-One Blunder
• World Championship Blunder

Five-Time World Chess Champion Blunders

On day eight of Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2025 in December, GM Viswanathan Anand made a game-losing blunder in his game with GM Alireza Firouzja. After Anand’s 48th move, Qb1, Firouzja would have been able to promote his b-pawn for a winning advantage if the game had continued.

Forced Checkmate Missed

In March in St. Louis, WGM Thalia Cervantes missed a forced checkmate in her game with IM Carissa Yip, the three-time U.S. champion, in round one of the Women’s American Cup, one of the strongest women's tournaments in the United States. See if you can find the moves that Cervantes should have played as Black.

Black to move and win by forcing checkmate.

After missing the forced checkmate, Cervantes lost the exchange and went on to lose the game. The full game is below. 

Game-Ending Blunder

In the second round of the 2025 Monaco FIDE Women's Grand Prix in February, GM Harika Dronavalli blundered terribly. After having been on the offensive for most of her game against IM Sara Khadem, Harika fell for a trap and her 38th move, …Nxe5??, lost on the spot, and she resigned.

Resignation In Winning Position

In the 2025 Chess.com Classic in May, the unbelievable happened. On the verge of a comeback in game four, GM Hikaru Nakamura suddenly resigned in the following winning position to GM Magnus Carlsen. 

Nakamura had not seen the winning move 33.Rfg3!. After the game, Carlsen claimed that he saw the winning move for White immediately after he had sacrificed his rook. He said, "At that point, I was just desperately looking for ways that I could prolong the game"—and then Nakamura resigned.

I was just desperately looking for ways that I could prolong the game.
—Magnus Carlsen about the board position before Hikaru Nakamura resigned

Fist-Slamming, Table-Jarring Blunder

In round 6 of Norway Chess 2025 in June, Carlsen seemed to be on his way to winning the game against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Although Carlsen had made no mistakes for almost the entire game, he began to falter around move 46. Then, in a blunder on move 52, he dropped a knight.

Still needing accurate play, Gukesh went on to achieve a solid winning position. Then Carlsen resigned—but not before banging on the table with his fist in an emotional outburst.

Mate-In-One Blunder

Freestyle chess, also known as Chess960, places pieces on the back rank in random starting positions. This variant presents challenges from the initial moves onward—just ask GM Hans Neimann. In the blitz playoff of the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Play-In in January, Niemann made a crushing blunder that lost a game and ultimately his match to GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. With White to move, can you find the mate-in-one that Nepomniachtchi found?

Niemann’s 38th move, …Ne3, is the blunder that set up the mate-in-one. Nepomniachtchi did find the game-ending opportunity (39.Qf8#). Here is the full game.

World Championship Blunder

Perhaps the blunder most amazing in 2025 is due not to the mistakes made but where they were made—in a world championship match. In a rook endgame that seemed headed for an inevitable draw in game two of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Championship in April, GM Ju Wenjun collapsed in a rook endgame as she was approaching the time control. A draw had seemed inevitable until 38...Rf5? and 40...Ke8?. The two moves gave GM Tan Zhongyi all the advantage that she needed, and she steered confidently to victory with precise play.

Were you aware that elite chess players had made such colossal blunders? Now that you see how top masters can play poorly, be more kind to yourself when you lose a winning game or blunder a piece (or two).