practice tactics and sit on your hands while playing
Blundering is sickness
Thank you for your advice, but I know there is no solution. The only thing that would maybe help is if moderators of this site (or chess community in general) would acknowledge this problem and give some sort of support to the sufferers. But I already know they will say that I (we) are whining about it, there is no such problem in particular, it is a general thing etc, etc... But I am telling you - it is a very big problem for certain characters, unlike others. And alas, these "other" characters will take advantage of it rather than help, it is just human nature...
LOl I am really whining, am I not... Who cares about your ADD and blundering and shit...
I know... it disgusts me really... the fact that I am whining about it is appalling.
No solution, just keep on rolling that stone uphill... no comfort. That's it, get used to it.
Bye fellas, off to bed...
Thanks, but i don't want to dedicate time to chess, I despise the game really. It is a vicious circle - you despise it, yet you spend time on it, therefore no improvement, only disappointment. I just have too much time in this particular season in my life; that will change soon and I will stop playing. Cheers.
Resting/ stopping chess for awhile can be good for you. i myself got my rating down to 1390 because i played chess blitz nonstop without realizing that i am literally doing blunders/mistakes more often to the point where i am playing like a 200 rating player that just gives away all of his pieces.
If your having pyschological disturbance for now, force yourself to stop playing chess. rest or find another interests for awhile
This is the problem - longer games - you lose patience waiting for your opponent to move, so you end up blundering; short games - you blunder by default. There should be a system where you can't have much time for the first 15 moves, after that you get more time...
play 15/10...play the opening fairly quickly and those secs will rack up so you can take more time in the middlegame and any complex positions during a game?!
loosing patience should never be allowed, remember every single move you play is worth gold, you shouldn't be wanting to end the game quickly, you should be wanting it to last longer instead. Good time management means that you use up almost all of the time on your chess clock, ant not using only 5mins in a 15mins game,...
Sorry but that is not possible. I really loath when I see the opponent takes 5 minutes on move 6, I start doing other things, my concentration inevitably suffers. There is no solution for this timing problem in chess (unless maybe one proposed above), and there is no solution for blundering. Some people should just not play.
This is one lesson in life (and chess) - ones who succeed are the ones who are fully committed to the cause. They don't question what they are doing (it is stupid sometimes, I know...). Ones who resent what they are doing will be surpassed by even inferior. I really resent this game, I think it is a waste of time after certain point, therefore when I play it clearly shows, I blunder and get beaten by lower rated players. The same thing happened to me on the job I didn't like. So this is a take home message - don't do things which you don't fully believe in, or you will just plainly suck in them. You can just half-ass certain jobs and that's fine if you can get away with it, but for those where high performance is required - stay away.
This used to happen to me back when i was around 1100
Here was things i did to prevent blunders and climb to higher rating :
1. Take a rest. Blunders are always caused by lazy calculations, you are too lazy to look and see the board longer and just immidiately make a move,which means you are careless, or other word you are TIRED at the same time. probably too lazy to look at every pieces at the screen because you have been too long in front of computer or mobile. So when you are on losing streak, just take a rest. come back few hours later or tommorow
2. Play rapid games. one of my favorite chess youtubers "John Bartholomew" in one of his videos said that players need to play longer games like 15l10 instead of just 5 mins or 3 mins blitz all time. When you are playing longer games, you have more time to calculate things without worrying about time out. because while playing blitz, it seems that time is more important than the game itself, which you know it isnt! After playing lot of rapid, you can play and calculate faster. I know, you may be too lazy to wait like 10 mins for opponent to make a move, but patiently is important!, because in real life tournament i've played most time control is 25 mins, so if you arent patient enough to wait opponent online, you will be lazy to wait in real life think best move you make
3. Look at the board carefully, like, really pay attention to it. this can also improved by playing rapid. ask yourself like "Did that move actually have threat?" " What is he trying to do?" " Is this move considered safe?what is his best reply for this ?"
I only can write 3 but i think these have helped me in my chess Good luck fella
UrrK - why does it make you mad (and what does precisely), can you please explain?
Freddy - thank you, yes you are right, you can't afford to half-ass a chess game (and that is exactly what i'm doing). However, you see, as I explained above - I resent this game, I detest it, I think it is very stupid to be in front of the screen calculating endlessly what your opponent is doing (or what you may do to him). Going to chess tournaments (real ones, with chess boards and stuff) - what you call "real life" seems even more like a waste of time (sorry for my sincerity). But good points altogether, thank you. Cheers.
I play only OTB chess, and am an A player who has been over 2000 for a few times, but I have gone through periods where I make the most outrageous blunders that ruin 30% to 50% of my games. I am usually very good at tactics, and these blunders are not falling for a pin or skewer or a simple 2-move tactic. They are just stupid pawn or piece hangs where I make the second move of a plan without making the first move! Or some nonsensical finger-fehler. Why do they happen?
1. The game has gone into a transition-phase, from an intense tactical period to a phase where the game requires more long-term thinking. Perhaps I was pressing for an advantage, and either I have secured that advantage, and now my sense of danger has passed, and my focus has diminished.
2. After a couple of hours of concentration, the outcome of the game is still in the balance, and the tension is just too much, so subconsciously I want the tension to end. The easiest way is to just make a blunder.. a real "howler."
3. I have done TOO much studying before the tournament, and I have too much new knowledge that clutters my game. Maybe I have studied endgames in the Grunfeld (which I play), and while still in the middle game, I am anticipating a favorable ending. So I move my King one move closer to the center, while I forget to recapture a piece in an exchange-swap my opponent has just initiated.
So my cause of blunders have been clearly identifed. The cure is not as easy. You can't conduct a game by double and triple checking every move. It would be like a track runner who tripped and fell during a race, trying to avoid a repeat, by looking down at his feet during the next event.
In my case, I try to correct the problem by avoiding computer engines/databases for a while. I found that I got too used to the computer making the moves, while I just watched. It is important to touch real wood (or plastic). And instead of trying to double-check every move I make, I am careful to note every time the game undergoes some change in its phase -- opening/middlegame/ending or just tactics are over. Finally, understand that as you learn more and more about the game, there may be periods of performance regression until you have time and practrice assimilating this new knowledge. Until that point, new knowledge is just clutter.
As for dealing with blunders caused by tension -- Whenever I fet tense, I just remind myself how much fun chess can be. How, during a game, it can feel like a life or death situation, but, in reality, it is not even close to that! That's the appeal of the game to me. Chess is not reality, it is just an incredible simulation.
Easing the tension - yes, good point. However, this is the conclusion I came to today after losing another won game - FEELING SORRY FOR THE OPPONENT. I can't help it, I detest chess also because it is such a predatory game, it sickens my stomach. So, plainly said - I don't have a killer instinct (or if I do sometimes I feel ashamed about it). So what's the point in playing really? None! Wish I never saw this game at all! Thank you all for your good points.
@roniron Wow... I don't think I've ever heard that one... "Feeling sorry for the opponnet."
In my experiences at the chessboard, I can attest to the fact that the most fierce, violent, attacking chess players usually are the nicest, most mild-mannered people in real life. The late Harry Lyman, long-time, Boston-area chess expert and benefactor, used to devote countless hours of gentle tutoring to young and old, patzers and prodigies. Most who had the good fortune to know Harry Lyman remember him as the very best of gentleman. But at the chess board, he was an axe-murderer!
Better to channel your agression on the chessboard, then to play "nice," but end up, in your real life, leaving hitch-hikers in shallow graves!
I blunder almost every game. My rating is artificially low as I lose won games so often. I don't have a solution but to stop playing and I can't do that (wish I could). Any sound advice?
Some people are just wired that way that it is impossible for them not to blunder. I am in a serious psychological turmoil, since there is no solution - I can't stop blundering and I get very upset about it. This feels like demon has a grip on me - doesn't let me stop playing, and since I blunder so much it is really unhealthy for me to continue. I have ADD on top of it all, so I know I will keep on blundering till the end of my life. I am really desperate, this is the worst game for people with ADD, I wish somebody would give more expert attention to this problem. I know there is no solution but to stop playing, which is a sort of admitting defeat. It is hard...