Obvious Errors

Can users post some common and obvious mistakes/errors they always see? I'm trying to get an idea of what I need to avoid doing. Thanks!

Not consistently checking for all the opponent's available checks, captures, and threats as a response to a candidate move.

Playing a lot of pawn moves in the opening.

Initiating a lot of captures in the opening.

Initiating a lot of captures at any point in the game.

Attacking with only a few pieces developed in the opening.

Not trying to improve the worst placed pieces all through the game.

Trying or expecting to immediately win the game after an odd opening has been played.

I'm sure there are others, or more useful ones for you. This is off the top of my head.

Not realizing about when your about to be checked

Not realizing you can't take back a peice because of a pin

Missing a checkmate threat

Saccing peices (or Losing them) on the attack! you might be tossing out what you desperately need

Losing pawns

Allowing a pawn weakness

Being slow to get your king out as the game goes towards an endgame

Attacking peices on the move

Getting lazy and not trying as hard when you are winning OR being too passive when you are losing. 

Agonizing over an position with little choice, for example when bad things have happened.  Equally bad is feeling angry, frustrated, morose and upset about it- instead, fight it out NOW and deal with your dissapointement AFTER you've lost.

Can someone expand on "pawn weakness". I know pawns are called pawns for a reason, but how can I use pawns best? Are they best placed defending pieces or forcing pieces out of the way, to backtrack?

yes, Pawns defend peices and can push things in the right place, but in the endgame particularly whether they can promote becomes all important!

not all pawn formations  are equal in this regard.  doubled pawns, pawns isolated from other pawns and pawns that are behind their neighbor can be weak and become targets.  

Pawns that can move strait down the board without opposing diagonal pawns "passed pawns" can be a game winning advantage.

Coming from somebody who is just struggling to get above "patzer" rating: By far the #1 error is rushing the next move. I estimate in about 10% of all my loses I had a STRONG wining position (I mean, queen up or equivalent) and got so excited about winning that I played quickly not looking at the board one more time after opp played his move. I could post a few recent games like that, but I'm too embarrased...

Another 10% of loses are on time, I don't check the clock. Shame to lose 15/10 game that way, I have to stop drinking while playing...

When people talk about a weakness in a position it's very pragmatic. Basically if something can be attacked by the opponent and not easily defended then it's weak. Something may be typically weak, but if in that specific position it's not able to be attacked (say a pawn on a dark square and all the opponent has is a light square bishop and their king can't get to it either) then it's not weak, and no one will mention it as a weakness.

That said, there are typically weak formations. Any time a pawn can't be protected by another pawn then it's often weak. Doubled pawns, isolated pawns, backward pawns, and pawns on the starting rank are typically weak and are targets for the opponent.

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In the beginning of the game pawns are best for claiming some territory. Because they're worth the least, other pieces can't step onto squares they attack. And because the center is the closest to all other points, central space is the most valuable and why moves like 1.e4 and 1.d4 are extremely common.

As for what's better, defending or pushing around enemy pieces, that's also very pragmatic. As is so often the answer in chess: "it depends on the position." Every time a pawn moves the squares it no longer attacks are permanently weakened as that pawn will never be able to defend those squares again. Move too many pawns forward, and your position will be full of holes. Also the further they move up the board, the closer they are to all the enemy pieces and the further they are from your own.

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Typically you only advance pawns far down the board on one side, the side where the majority of your non-pawns are stationed, and where your pawn chain "points." This is good for at least 3 reasons:

The many non-pawns cover the weaknesses left behind
The many non-pawns help defend the far advanced pawns
The pawns are claiming extra space which can be used by the non-pawns

As a counter example, you typically never want to move the pawns in front of your castled king. The exceptions are usually when your pawn chain points that way, and the majority of your non-pawns are on or influence that side of the board.

That is really very nice writing MrD.  a very lucid discussion. ty.

MrD? I don't know the reference 

But thanks, I was happy with how it turned out.

"0110001101101000" is too difficult. hence Mr Digital or MrD.  I guess I could have said Mr Binary or MrB.

but its got to be something else!  I love your posts but your username is tricky to write.

Thank you for your insights. Very enlightening.