Are not all blunders created equal? A possible distinction

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JackAustralia

I am a beginner so make lots of blunders. At that level I was thinking that perhaps not all blunders are equal. What I mean is that sometimes a blunder is a one move blunder in which you hang a piece, give checkmate in one or allow a simple tactic like a fork. Perhaps I could call this a "beginner blunder." Other times the engine detects a blunder but perhaps a beginner would not usually be able to take advantage. This type of blunder is perhaps more subtle and positional. Would this be a useful distinction for a beginner? What do others think? 

AtaChess68
I have quite a strong opinion about this: you decide what a blunder is, not the engine.
JackAustralia

Thanks for your replies. AtaChess68 I appreciate what you say. I have heard before that it is best to analyse your games first without the engine. Would you recommend using the engine to double-check my evaluation of what a blunder is? That is after I have analysed the game myself. Being a beginner I am not sure if I would be an authority about what is a blunder. I was thinking of getting the gold membership for the unlimited analysis but curious to hear what you thought? Thanks in advance. 

MarkGrubb

I think it can be useful to categorise your blunders/mistakes if it helps. In the first example, giving away a piece, this suggests a simple calculation error. Regular puzzles can help reduce this and will improve your board vision. A positional mistake might be not taking advantage of your opponents weaknesses. The engine can help draw attention to these. It's always good to try and find them yourself first then turn on the engine.

Signal25

For sure there are different catagories if blunders; but when you're starting out(I'm also a beginner) I would just concentrate  on cutting down on the obvious blunders/mistakes. Positional knowledge will come with time and practice and I'm sure even relatively high ranking players commit positional blunders occasionally or don't spot where they could have taken advantage of their opponents mistake; giving a "missed win" in analysis. 

destroyer8470_Inactive

At the end of a day, a blunder can cost the game, no matter at what level, they just become more subtle as you climb higher.

m_connors

By definition (chess dictionary), a blunder is a "very bad move" denoted by ?? that may very well cost the perpetrator the game.

At higher levels it would likely result in a resignation once realized. Fortunately, however, at our level if we wait long enough and play well enough, our opponent may also blunder. When I was starting out playing online chess, as my opponent and I moved into the end game he blundered his Queen, leaving me with a Queen and about 3 pawns up. But, wouldn't you know, 2 or 3 moves later I blundered my Queen! Just as the move was completed, I realized what I had done and actually yelled out aloud, "Oh no!!"

Types of blunders may not all be equal (think blundering a Rook versus a Queen); however, the result pretty much is - they leave you at a distinct disadvantage.

I just thought of a positional blunder. In a game I played several months ago, an opponent made a terrible blunder by moving a Knight that was protecting an incredibly important square. It allowed me to checkmate one my very next move. Now that was a costly blunder!  Good luck.  happy.png

AtaChess68
You are - like me - rated around 1300. But let’s make the question a bit more easy. My son is rated 800. For him a blunder is giving away a piece for free or, he just discovered, not taking a piece that his opponent gave away for free.

What use would it be for him to think about a missed pin in 3? Useless. So yes he can use the engine to check if he dropped pieces or forgot the take a few. But no he shouldn’t check every ‘blunder’.

What’s useful for you only you can decide. Or a good coach of course.
AtaChess68
Sjo... and after this firm post I played a game against Brzoslav.

Ended up with a rook and queen against two rooks. Gave my queen away for free and lost.
JackAustralia

Thanks everyone! Really useful. Yeah, AtaChess - it is the beginner's quandary - I know in theory not to blunder but how do I stop myself?  

destroyer8470_Inactive
JackAustralia wrote:

Thanks everyone! Really useful. Yeah, AtaChess - it is the beginner's quandary - I know in theory not to blunder but how do I stop myself?  

Foucs, do tactics, and as you improve you do less, just double check each piece until it becomes natural

BlindThief
JackAustralia wrote:

I am a beginner so make lots of blunders. At that level I was thinking that perhaps not all blunders are equal. What I mean is that sometimes a blunder is a one move blunder in which you hang a piece, give checkmate in one or allow a simple tactic like a fork. Perhaps I could call this a "beginner blunder." Other times the engine detects a blunder but perhaps a beginner would not usually be able to take advantage. This type of blunder is perhaps more subtle and positional. Would this be a useful distinction for a beginner? What do others think? 

Your notion is correct. A blunder is defined as any move that loses 4+ pawn equivalents (I believe, may be three may be five). Now, the computer can play out the position finding the best moves each time and what moves force which captures. Restated, a computer can see ten move combinations that result in the loss of a piece while many grandmasters may not see the same attack.

So, making a blunder that requires a three move combination is considerably more forgiveable than hanging your Queen. It’s about slowly improving and making less blunders (and less severe blunders when you do) each game.