please help

In some games, I find myself making a move only to see right after i release the piece that it is a blunder.  How can I help prevent that?

Double check before moving the piece.  As the saying goes, when you think you have a good move, look for a better one.  Also make sure you're not hanging a piece.  I think even at higher levels blunders still tend to be part of the game.

hey chasm, i'm asking myself that question all the time, so here's my 2 cents...

we are about the same strength level, so i second what N2UHC is advising, check and double check. clearly depends on what your playing? if it's a bullet game compared to a 5min game, then thinking time is all the more limited.

so for me when moving, i'm always trying to make sure everything is defended. Meaning nothing is hanging after opening moves thru middle game, so worst case scenario if a piece is taken then both sides are simplifying fairly equally. Very basic stategy, but it's a start. There will always be times were an unseen tactical shot comes out of nowhere! :-0 so ideally while we are all getting more experience and knowledge those times become less and less :-) that's the play anyways.

one last point, is to take a lesson from some crazy people! and that's talking to yourself :-) having an internal dialogue, which helps in double checking and plainly just "thinking" about the next move

keeping a mental note on the board situation, for example

What's their threat - their queen is opposite my king - their rook is opposite my queen - my king has back rank mate threats, no escape square yet - the piece i'm moving is leaving another piece unprotected - which pawns are hanging - my king is open to checks and can be forked etc.. 

hope this helps buddy

Thanks, guys.  lately, I seem to look for the best move i can find, make it, and see that I blundered.  Good, sound advice, though.

Check out Dan Heismans articles on thought process. They've helped me quite a bit with that problem.

http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Articles/subject.htm#Analysis

Make a mental note of all the checks can captures available to your opponent.  Then as you consider moves, imagine your move as if it had been played and run through that list.  Do you still like your move even if any one of those checks or captures is played?  If you still like it, then go ahead and play it.  As you practice this it eventually becomes second nature.

Or as I like to think of it... find your opponent's most annoying response and see if you still like your intended move :)  As beginners we paradoxically tend to look at only the moves that will help us... e.g. "if I attack here and he misses it then I win his queen!"  Then because we're playing beginners they do miss it and we win their queen... yay!  But as we face stronger opposition this kind of reasoning will only lead to wasteful moves and missed threats.  So remember to look for the annoying moves ;)

Is not all that uncommon. I've had the exact same thing happen to me, at several weddings.

lol!  Was the bride upset?

Before you make a move, try to find your opponent's best response.  This will avoid blunders, but also help you understand what's going on positionally better by considering both side of the board.

Thanks everyone!   I'll let you know how it turns out.

First, as is my problem, don't play so fast. Always consider your opponents counter move. When its you opponents turn, consider their move and goals. Chess is not a one sided game. Play both black and white

double check the move smart one :3

I do check the move twice, I just don't realize that I fall for a trap until the piece is on the board and then it just occurs to me what I did, "sarcastic one."

Never release the piece.  By not completing any moves, you free yourself from the fear of blundering.  Then you'll have to tackle the next problem: Fear of the clock.

But seriously, it is a discipline to take your time and think and pay just as close attention to defense as to your own attack or initial impulses.  And you will get better at it over time.  I heard some chess master/educator sort say that by the time someone reaches 1500 they have stopped making blunders (for the most part).  You can figure out a way to discipline yourself.  I don't blunder too much anymore unless I'm playing blitz exhausted, or tired.  My real game face involves careful moves.

I also helps if you've been playing for a long time, because you build up a chess vocabulary and know what to look for and can do it more quickly and easily - instinctively.   And of course it is essential to understand how to count the number of attackers vs. defenders on a piece - for example, to take a piece and be up a piece as a result, you need to have one more attacker on the piece than the opponent has defenders, or have some other weird tricks involved like forks, pins, check, etc...

I'll only have to fear the clock when I can stop myself from playing 30 minute games with 25 minutes left on the clock afterwards.  

sarcastic one is actually a not bad name

Always review the whole board and acknowledge and remember where you put each piece, then consider a plan and your strongest moves :) Practice practice practice ! 

Then you might as well call me Smartass One.

yay :D

Each time you blunder a piece, go back, and ask yourself what you were thinking about, besides piece safety. You were probably looking for some subtle strategy, or some dazzling combination. Whatever it was, you need to learn to put that stuff on the back burner. Not blundering pieces should be your first priority! Everything else should come second. That will win you more games than anything else in the world.