every player has his or her own issue regarding weak point..something similar happens to me too...although i have evolved more, i still play some stupid mistakes.. there were times when i let my guard down. i fell for simple traps.. this is laughable. since i have made several tactics more complex than them. but i think its because i've been learning to mimic engine moves without engine assistance..however i am human afterall..there's no way i am able to memorize millions of positions and not all my tactics work well. and since i spar with engines, i am the one who loses..making me more familiar with how engines attack than how they defend. as a result, the way i play chess is mostly attacking (but still not sharp as top engines)., but put less effort and attention on defense. that explains why i still fall for simple traps. when i play against stronger opponents, i play like a total noob because my tactics are futile while my defenses are vulnerable
Why do I keep missing queen/bishop mate on long diagonal to the corner?
Sort:
Beginner no longer rank novice. I've slowly climbed from 500s to 900-950.
Mostly I'm still working as hard as I can on limiting and catching blunders. There's one particular attack that keeps getting me. For some reason, I never see it - but usually it happens in the middle game in which I'm up a piece or two and have the initiative but get mated out of the blue when I feel well protected with my king tucked away and protected by pawns. It's when opponent has managed to line up queen and bishop on the opposite side of the board and for some reason, I keep missing it and get mated in one swift move. This is not a sophisticated attack - there's no reason I couldn't defend it. This is just me not seeing an obvious vulnerability when I'm plotting my next move and then suddenly "CLICK" followed by "Black Won" or "White Won". This has happened probably 5 or 10 times since I cracked 900 and each time I think "dang, let's not do that again." and a few games later. . "CLICK", followed by "WTF?" *.
Argh - the last game was even worse! Opponent left his knight hanging with his king open, a free piece and a check and a missed both of them because I was so focused on my next move instead of slowing down to take a look at how the board changed. . .