Tips to stop blundering at 1500+

Hi. I am playing 10 minute games around the 1450 mark, but my daily problem solving puzzles are around the 1800 mark. Analysing my games, I make a blunder and a mistake on almost every game. What’s going on in that brain? Any tips to stop me snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?

I looked at one whole game and your blunders were not pieces left hanging or calculation errors. Instead, they seemed more positional blunders.

For example,

seems to be leaving your king open to the attack that follows.

Very helpful!

I play 10 minutes too. I never analyzed by games. I just do a bit of tactics, everyone is doing tons of it. I create  my own training methods.  I do not mind my rating I just keep on training almost each and every day. I feel bad if I did not do chess in a day or two. Before I know it I reach 2000 online easily.

My advice for avoiding blunders:

Sit on your hands.

Seriously. That trick added at least 100 points to my rating. Train yourself so that when you pull your hands out to make your move, you automatically make one last blunder-check.

Train your brain to be careful. Get a piggy bank beside you when playing. Drop a dollar every time you thought you make a blunder.

You look quite young. I was prone to blunders and always felt my rating should be higher than it was, given my level of understanding and calculation ability. It gradually improved through my 30s and now in my mid-50s I am higher rated than ever. I don’t think I understand chess any better and I don’t think I did anything specific to stop blundering. I think it is just getting more relaxed and less impulsive as I got older. Some of the training tips mentioned above seem worth trying. Also, try to analyse your games from a psychological point of view, as well as technical. What were you thinking when you made the blunder, or the move(s) leading up to it? It is easy to dismiss such games as a freak accident, but then it shouldn’t keep happening.

???

Love how you guys take the ratings so seriously, it’s biased purely designed to get you addicted. I outplayed most opponents but have a lower rating bacuse I lose , even though I am the better player according to the analysis. It’s rubbish guys , wake up

Thanks all. I especially love that letour2 is in the training forum but doesn’t care about why he loses :) I also love that someone thinks I am young. That was an old old picture! :) anyway... I’ve been working hard of the puzzles suggestion. Now at 2,000 on the puzzles, but under 1400 on the 10 minute games! Doh! :) going to try the hand sitting idea next. I’m not going for paid lessons though, thanks. It’s only a game for me. I appreciate the feedback, all.

Wow such a helpful community I learned a little myself.

playing slower games like 15/10 also helps...and the confirm button before each move really helps a lot.

Just looking at your last game (10+0):

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4374623280?username=dixonjones

Looks like you were out of book after 5... Bc5. 10 seconds until then. No move longer than 13,1 secs, 59 seconds for 13 moves, average 4,5 secs.

With average 60 moves per game you have 10 secs each move. Of course faster when you are in your opening "book" and also in the end when time runs out.

I would also like 15/10 more for becoming better, thinking some minutes in a critical moment and playing the rest of the game with the 10 secs increment each move.

 

And then the thinking process: After white plays 9. Ne1, ask yourself what this move does. The undefended knight on g4 is attacked now and white prepares the f4-f5 push. So you have the options to protect the knight, to move it or to attack something yourself. Your development move 9... 0-0 is absolutely no candidate to concider.

Candidates:

Protect 9... f5, 9... h5

Move: 9... Nf6, 9... Nh6

Attack:  9... Nxh2, 9... Nxe3

Attacks don't work, move back loses tempi. Protecting by 9... h5 looks like you can protect the knight and provocate further weaknesses in whites king position and open the h-file for your rook later on. 9... f5 fixes the pawns and after h2-h3 you have Nf6 and than playing with h7-h5 or g7-g5. Whites castling looks a bit premature, you could storm his position and castle long or maybe leave the king in the centre. There is enough time to concider which suits best.

You need to find your own routine for that, better first in much slower time controls, then later also in 10+0 games.

 

There is also Nunn's dictum: LPDO! (Loose Pieces drop off!) Your Ng5 is loose and already on a diagonal with the white queen, so any move by the Nf3 could be dangerous. So motives like Bd3 0-0 Bxh7+ Kxh7 Ng5+ followed by Qxg4 are winning a pawn because of that. Always take extra care about such things.

Think.