Walking into Traps
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It's happening frequently now. I play well, get into an almost impossible to lose position, like +2. +3 on evaluation bar. Then my opponent finds a trap which I somehow manage to walk into. Could you suggest me anything?
Chesspuzzles, daily ? For example (for free) lichess, chesspuzzles.com, chesstempo (in order of how tough the puzzles are), or (for money) on this site here. With time, you will gain a tactical eye and board awareness.
Oh, and analyze your games so you can identify your weaknesses.
Ideally of course find a coach or at least your local chess club.
P.s.: I checked the four games you played today. They all got decided through simple tactics. Solving chess puzzles on the regular will help you greatly.
Just look at this. Lost in the simplest of traps. Now I am feeling a bit slow in attacking. Why will my opponents always get the time to make these traps? Shouldn't I be able to develop the lethal attacks earlier? It seems after reaching a position , I don't find what I should do to force a checkmate before my opponent finds something out.
So, I climbed up to 759 after much difficulty. Then a 12 game losing streak. Sometimes I hang pieces out of nowhere, sometimes I throw away winning positions, and in some cases I have zero idea what's going on. Now I am back to 698 or something. Is it recoverable at all?
Even GM Hikaru Nakamura sometimes says "I have no clue whats going" during a game. That just happends.
Of course its "recoverable". All that has to change is that you get better at chess.
If it helps any, I have missed mate in one twice recently:
Yes I saw a weird move and reacted without actually thinking. Then I saw the point of the move and resigned. This game is the main reason I switched from 10|0 to 15|10. This way I always have some time to think, and dont feel pressured by the lack of increment to always move as fast as possible.
And here:
On that occasion neither of us noticed though.
julkifol wrote:
Just look at this. Lost in the simplest of traps. Now I am feeling a bit slow in attacking. Why will my opponents always get the time to make these traps? Shouldn't I be able to develop the lethal attacks earlier? It seems after reaching a position , I don't find what I should do to force a checkmate before my opponent finds something out.
Your opponent threatened mate-in-1. It's not a trap, there nothing deceptive about it, it's just the most simple and direct threat. All you needed to do is notice it and stop it. You were up a full rook at this point, so there was absolutely no need "to force a checkmate before my opponent finds something out."
What you need to do is pay attention to the game until it's over. Chess is a game where you can lose immediately at any point, no matter how much ahead you are. Just like in boxing, you can't afford to let your guard down.
Mar 12, 2025
0
#7
if someone move...check what he wants before ask yourself what you want
Mar 12, 2025
0
#8
@magipi dont compare box with chess. box is an art to kill or damage your opponent physical...
julkifol wrote:
Just look at this. Lost in the simplest of traps. Now I am feeling a bit slow in attacking. Why will my opponents always get the time to make these traps? Shouldn't I be able to develop the lethal attacks earlier? It seems after reaching a position , I don't find what I should do to force a checkmate before my opponent finds something out.
Holy Symmetrical Mainlines Batman! It's like black knows how white plays or something.
jk though-- for my own experience having slightly improving my *peak* play; I really think the sharpest tactical awareness comes from experimenting and creating the opens as you play them, move by move; balance out your knowledge with the wisdom. Also, cramming 12+ hours 2-3 days and at night, play until your eyes hurt and the board starts melting and you forget how to take with a pawn, since the files are now just optical-illusion diagonals........ Just forget about the rating losses.