50 Bad Chess Habits!

"In chess, logical thinking is more valuable than inspiration." ~Purdy

50 Bad Chess Habits

Bad chess habits cause many discouraging losses. Following is a list of 50 common bad chess habits:

• Playing too fast and being impatient. (sound chess requires time)
• Neglecting to castle.
• Failing to develop all pieces early.
• Moving the same pieces multiple times in the opening.
• Underestimating the importance of controlling the center.
• Expecting to win in the opening, and playing premature attacks.
• Unwise pawn-grabbing at the expense of development and position.
• Giving useless checks and making idle threats.
• Relying on opponents’ errors or inferior moves.
• Making hasty or careless moves. (“I’ll just see what happens”)
• Making unsound trappy moves. (“Hope he doesn’t see it”)
• Attacking with only one or two pieces.
• Exchanging pieces or pawns without a specific, sound purpose.
• Creating weaknesses in your position. (exposed King, unguarded, pinned, forkable pieces and pawns, weak pawns, holes in pawn structure)
• Overlooking opponents’ threats. (not asking after each of your opponent’s moves, “What is the threat?”)
• Missing tactical opportunities. (not asking after each of your opponent’s moves, “What has changed in the position?”)
• Losing material carelessly. (neglecting to ask before each of your moves, “Is this move safe?”)
• Believing a significant early material deficit can always be overcome.
• Not keeping accurate account of material at all times.
• Being mentally lazy. (not looking far enough ahead, not anticipating opponents’ best defenses to your threats)
• Having no systematic method of searching for a move.
• Failing to analyze each position accurately and completely.
• Not analyzing the consequences of all possible checks and captures — for both sides — on each move.
• Not planning. (playing only move-to-move)
• Inflexibly persisting with inappropriate or faulty plans.
• Becoming so involved in your own plans and threats that you ignore or underestimate your opponents’ plans and threat.
• Not playing adequate defense. (not breaking pins early, not keeping all pieces and pawns defended, walking into Knight forks, aligning your King or Queen with enemy pieces, not considering all possible defenses to threats)
• Ignoring or discounting positional possibilities. (open files and diagonals, outposts, Rooks on seventh rank, strong or weak pawns) for both sides
• Ignoring or underestimating the value of pawns and the importance of pawn play (passed pawns, pawn majorities, pawn exchanges and sacrifices, weak pawns, holes in pawn structure)
• Being too passive. (blocking pieces with pawns, always retreating rather than advancing or counter attacking when threatened)
• Being unwilling to trade Queens.
• Always accepting sacrifices.
• Never playing sacrifices.
• Not creating, protecting, and advancing passed pawns quickly in the endgame.
• Not activating your King early and using your King aggressively in the endgame.
• Playing the opponent, rather than the position on the board.
• Becoming intimidated and playing too cautiously or passively against stronger opponents; becoming overconfident and playing carelessly against weaker opponents.
• Concentrating on staying ahead of your opponent on the clock more than on the board.
• Not relaxing by taking frequent mental breaks during a game.
• Always playing to win, even when only a draw is realistic.
• Resigning prematurely.
• Agreeing prematurely to draws.
• Becoming overconfident and careless in winning positions.
• Carelessly allowing losing opponents to achieve stalemate.
• Not recording and reviewing your own games.
• Not studying chess regularly.
• Not trying new ideas, even in casual games.
• Listening to too many chess advice-givers. (confusing)
• Playing only weaker opponents.
• Becoming emotionally upset after losses instead of learning a pertinent lesson to improve your future play.

To improve your chess immediately, select five applicable bad habits from the foregoing list and begin to remedy them promptly.

Some Good Habits

• To improve your chess game, combine STUDY and PLAY: study and play, study and play, study and play ...
• Divide your study time: Opening-30%; Middlegame-50%; Endgame-20%.
• As you improve, you will learn the value of— and develop skill in exploiting — first pieces, then pawns, and finally squares.
• Always play “Touch-Move” — never take back a move; it is against the rules of chess and detrimental to your improvement.
• Avoid having a favorite piece.
• Learn chess notation, then record and review your games.
• Play stronger players frequently, and learn from them — playing stronger players strengthens your chess.
• Learn and play standard openings and defenses which suit your style, whether tactical or positional.
• Play both King- and Queen-pawn openings, and play gambits occasionally.
• Specialize in only a few openings and defenses.
• In serious games, play openings and defenses you know well; practice other openings and defenses in casual (“skittles”) games or against a computer.
• Remain calm and alert throughout a chess game — take occasional mental breaks to ease the tension.
• Emphasize playing your best, rather than considering winning all important.
• Enjoy your WINS and learn from your LOSSES! Learn at least one lesson from each loss defeats are great teachers.
• Chess is the game of kings and the king of games, but for perspective, remember chess is only a game.

Summary

Chess knowledge is chess power! The preceding helpful guidelines represent the accumulated practical wisdom of countless chess Masters over the centuries. Learning and applying the foregoing guidelines will strengthen your chess game. Apply them consistently and appropriately but not automatically, for exceptions exist, and you will win more games.

"Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer." — Albert Einstein