Blunder vs. Sacrifice

It is hard to tell a blunder from a sacrifice unless you see what your opponent sees. 

yes, a sacrifice is when it is quite obvious that your opponent gave away the piece, and a blunder is when you mistakenly just lose a piece due to a mistake in calculation or just not seeing the whole board

When you just sac a piece your opponent doesn't know. 

yes thats the point of a sacrifice your opponent doesn't know if its a genuine mistake or just a trap

Some of my dumb blunders have turned out to be clever sacrifices.

Some of my clever sacrifices have turned out to be dumb blunders.

i agree with that last one lol

and some of you wins turned out to be losses

so relatable...

I have never done a sacrifice, just blunders...

only the bravest can sacrifice a queen

I always rely on cheapos. Whether  It's a blunder or a sacrifice, it totally depends on my opponent. 

If you've blundered a piece, act as if it was a sacrifice. If you've sacrificed a piece act as if you've blundered it.

I wonder if I've just invented a proverb.

 Thanks Igor. 

I had a memorable clever positional sacrifice (Q for R+P) that was a dumb blunder (it needed two preparatory moves to work) and ended up being a clever sacrifice (the opponent thought it was a king attack and made two defensive moves that allowed my prep moves to be made and eventually forcing him to give up Q+P for a R (final tally - two pawns won).  In another game I blundered an exchange for a center pawn an pressed hard with my center pawns, eventually twice winning a piece for a center pawn (final tally giving up R+P for B+B+N).

If you've made a blunder that loses material look for the continuation that gives the best chance for turning the blunder into a viable sacrifice.  That may not involve playing the technically correct "best moves" because those moves simply slow the deterioration of the position.  A swindle (which looks like yet another blunder from a player who already blundered) may often be the best chance to get back into the game.

who cares

When it's your turn and your opponent blundered/sacked you can't really be sure to take the piece or not 

Here's an over-the-board tournament game in which I made a horrible blunder, that turned out to be a clever Pawn sacrifice!

Based on a total oversight, though!

If you liked that game, try this one:

A Heroic Defense in the Sicilian Najdorf - Kids, don't try this at home! - Chess Forums - Chess.com

After Qxd6 black has to play Bb2 before playing f3 (an immediate f3 allows Qxf8#).  Other than that typo oversight it is a good example.

it's for recognizing a blunder or a sacrifice