Should I continue playing after a big blunder?
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I strongly recommend playing through blunders. It's an important learning part of the game. Everyone makes blunders, whether large or small. Otherwise, the games would always end in a draw. The important thing about playing through a blunder is that you'll learn to push for the draw or try to make a bad situation into an even or greater situation. There have been plenty of times where I've blundered in a game only to have my opponent become over confident and blunder even worse than mine, not only "evening the odds" but skewing them greatly in my favor.
I personally will take a draw over a loss any day. I really enjoy the challenge of forcing a draw after a blunder. It's extremely satisfying (in its own twisted kind of way) to sap the glee of victory out of your opponent after they're ahead. Besides, if you plan on doing any competition, it's the difference between half a point and no points at all.
Make sure you annotate your games as well though. Go back to the point where you made the mistake after you finish the game, think out the better move, and then play your friend (or computer) again to see just how different the game will be. Playing through your mistakes does you no good unless you actually learn from them as well.
just today i continued after two and still got a draw.
i would have been really upset if i just lost, but now the blunders just served as a lesson instead of a thorn in my brain all night!
keep on keepin' on until it looks real bleak, i say
u have to ask yourself wheather it's a waste of time or not but you have to learn not to assume a move is correct but instead see that it is correct.
Jul 11, 2007
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#6
Well, isn't this part of the many judgment calls we have to make in chess? If i lose my queen in a queen and pawn ending, then most likely the game is over. If I lose a piece in the opening, or simply get a pawn in return for it, then I will play on because my opponent can blunder himself while I try to make things more difficult for him. If I lose a piece and I still have some kind of attack going, I will pursue the attack. So, I feel when to resign hinges on other things than just losing a piece.
Play on--it isn't over 'till it's over.
I usually play on after a (big) blunder. They are a good way to learn and practice difficult situations. Even if it is obvious you lose, you could still learn a lot. It's part of the game.
When I posted this question, I had just lost my Queen for no reason in my game against MattHelfst. I gave up a Queen for Bishop, because I didn't even look at the board to see what that he was attacking my Queen with his Knight. You can see it here.
I continued to play because I thought my position was strong enough to fight for a draw even though I was down the exchange. I lost, but it was fun to play and also get rid of the wonder question: "would I have lost if I had continued to play?" In this case, Matt was good enough to turn the advantage into a win.
Thanks for the comments!
Sometimes resigning after a blunder is premature take this situation I was playing a correspondence game against a British Player on Queen Alice as Black I made a mouse slip and pressed enter by mistake costing me my Rook now up a Rook my opponent was confident he was going to make mince meat out of my pawns on the Queenside and guide his d5 pawn up unopposed to d8 to Queen but I didn't resign because I saw I could move my pawns down with the help of my Bishop and hold his pawns marching up the Kingside and I won his Rook didn't prove much of an advantage for him if your bleeding too much and there is no prospect of winning at all then there is no use beating a dead horse but if there is still life in the position don't give up too soon!
no you should not quit after a blunder even if you mess up big time and totally humiliate yourslef! hold your head up high and keep playing and that will always win people's respect (thats what i'd do!!!)
Nov 13, 2015
0
#12
Last oct first week just before joining chess.com.i was playing against an
opponent on spark chess.who was 1% better than me.(my estimation)
,after 15 th move i had 6 pawns,a rook,bishop and knight .he had the same
and a queen, rook extra.any sane player of my rating would have resigned
but not me..and my opponent proved me right.by 30 th move ,i had
a rook 2 pawns and a bishop to his one rook and 3 pawns..end game he
had a pawn and i had nothing..match ended in draw as i used the correct
K and pawn ending technique..
My blunder tolerance seems inversely proportional to time control length...
On bullet games, I'm fine with all sorts of mistakes and see them as a natural occurrence.
In longer than 5 mins time controls, inexcusable blunders often compel me to rage quit.
I find it easier to overcome blunders and mistakes in shorter time controls than longer ones. But I recognize that ordealing through longer games in more precarious positions can be more educational than playing with comfortable or winning positions.
A single blunder against a very skilled player is probably game over. Against someone else, it might be worth to continue the fight. Only way to know is to continue.
One of the toughest things in Chess (for me) is deciding what to do after I blunder big time! So far I have continued to play because of two major reasons. I feel that if I play well enough, I can secure a draw or a win. Second, I don't want to be a quitter unless it's clear that I have lost.
Do you play on after a huge blunder? Why or why not?