A Reassuring Blunder

We’ve all done it. We miss the blindingly obvious; a checkmate, piece capture or just a general positioning move, all too often, at our expense.

Particularly during online Blitz, the obvious move is often spotted right after the mouse trigger has been released by over zealous fingers. A simple assessment would have found the better move, but alas it is too late. Winning on time is hardly adequate medicine for that moment of anguish.

It is reassuring therefore, to know that even the best sometimes make mistakes.

In the Man vs. Machine match of 2006, Vladimir Kramnik was on the verge of winning the million dollar prize against Deep Fritz, he was however to make an horrendous blunder.

Playing Black, on move 34… he was to play Qe3?? The engine immediately played 35. h7 mate.

How a player of Kramnik’s stature could miss such a move can’t really be known. From personal experience, no matter how hard we try, there is only one conclusion;

                ‘I missed it’