3 SECRET TIPS To Stop Blunders in Chess

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

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[@owenkellogg3130]

I blundered my queen today. But I had watched this video yesterday. I remained calm and came back to win.

[@IAmAdamTaylor]

Puzzle move is Nf6+ gxf6 gxf3+ and you can win their Queen after they take your Rook

[@Mrpopperer]

Didn't even see the rook X-ray against the king, impressive stuff!

[@myo1608]

Awesome bro. I was thinking about bishop e3. That's why I am still under 1500 😅

[@Axiomatic75]

Oh nice, didn't see that

[@cronoscraiss330]

Oh wow, you're awesome! 😮🎉 very nice 🙂👍

[@MaximeTanti]

@@myo1608 Haha, me too Be3 was the only thing I could see

[@electric-lemonade]

Best chess teacher on KZbin, hands down. Thank you so much !!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

🙏

[@Shadowaka121]

Same

[@mkn2929]

Puzzle moves: Nf6+, gxf6, gxf3+, queen is forced to capture rook and lose the game.

[@Hailmich10]

Always great content presented in a concise manner. Your comments regarding mentally resigning after losing a piece were spot on and something all of us can do by at least fighting on since most of us are not playing Magnus Carlsen! Thanks Igor!

[@gainesdominique]

This is the best chess channel on KZbin. GM Danya is 2nd. 🎉🎉🎉 Chess is wonderful.

[@mcbigswig1569]

Great advice, as always. Just had my opponent blunder his queen, even though I think he still had a chance for coming back due to superior tactical position, but chose to resign as soon as he blundered, without even waiting to see if I would catch it.

[@horacelidenbrock3905]

Suggestion for a future video: how to win a winning position. I observed that you often stop the analysis after one side win material. I'm not proud of it, but I've sometimes lost while I was in completely winning position. What's your take on this?

[@ohyeahohyeah1071]

+1

[@johnogata3491]

I’m not proud of it, but I ALWAYS lose a winning position.

[@bob-tj7up]

just trade peices and reach an endgame as fast as possible as you will be up peices and convert pawns into queens

[@habalosh]

either trade pieces or bring your pieces to the king side and sacrafice

[@walterbrownstone8017]

Igor shares alot of good stuff. Easy to understand.

[@steve_m7383]

This video seems to be more about the process of recovering after blundering ( both mentally and tactically) rather than avoiding blunders in first place.

[@張謙-n3l]

For the quiz, I guess Nf6+ is the right move, since the queen is controlling the f8 square, the king cannot run and is forced to play gxf6, then white can play gxf3+, with the discovered check to black's king. Again black's king has no square to dodge and is forced to play Qxg1+, then Rxg1 will be checkmate

[@IAmAdamTaylor]

Correct moves, but I think you missed the Bishop on c1 that means you can’t take back with the Rook

[@IAmAdamTaylor]

@EightBit72 Yep thats why I said correct moves and only pointed out the Rook can’t take. There is no checkmate just a strong position for white.

[@張謙-n3l]

@@IAmAdamTaylor Oh, yes, so the final move should be Qxg1, which wins a queen for a rook

[@hasb826]

Thanks. I was thinking: White Queen to C5. Have you explored that option?

[@IAmAdamTaylor]

@@hasb826 This does defuse the checkmate, but leads to a losing position after Qxg1+. The resulting trades, leave you down a Rook for a Knight and their Bishop gets to take your centre pawns

[@tematennis]

Puzzle: bishop to e3. BQueen is forced to take bishop or loses queen. Nf6+. Black takes with pawn. White takes knight with pawn, discovered check with rook. Only move is queen takes rook. Use other rook to take queen. Checkmate.

[@jtk1996]

Qh4 would be possible, too, which destroys Nf6.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Key Idea To Improve in Chess (+300 Rating Points) 00:16 Example-1: How Chess Players Blunder 02:08 Example-2: He Sacrificed The ROOK! 03:18 Example-3 03:53 1st tip to avoid blunders 05:26 THE TWIST 06:19 BUT, how to find such good moves? 06:58 Example-4 07:49 2nd tip to prevent blunders 09:13 Example-5 09:39 3rd tip to make less blunders (anti-blunder check) 10:54 Quiz: Test your knowledge with this puzzle

[@grislesix4261]

The stiuation at 7:49 is a common attack in the Jobava London. Black sometimes plays Bb4+. After white plays the pawn to c3, Ba5 covers the c7 pawn.

[@neilarmstrong76]

Great video. Avoiding blunders is the most important skill that I hope to learn. I hope you do some more on this topic. Thanks 🙏🏼

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Yes!

[@MaxDooDat2]

Puzzle -- move white bishop to attack queen. Then rourke is protected by the other rourke. So the queen must move away or take the bishop. But if queen takes bishop then the white pawn takes knight. Then even if black bishop takes pawn and produces check, it can be blocked by the rourke; and the black queen can't attack the king due to the other rourke sitting in the corner.

[@swasticbanerjee2711]

After Bxf3+, Rg2, Qxg2#

[@brianbeattyphotography]

enjoy the honesty. "don't worry, you/they will mess up again." haha! so true to stay into the game though. I've won so many games that seemed hopeless at the time.

[@DavidEmerling79]

This highlights one of the most classic and frequent blunders, the *lateral* movement of the queen from one side of the board to the other. That's a blind spot for many people. How many times in an opening has your opening moved their queen diagonally, from its original square, usually Qh5+ or Qa4+, and then captured a hanging piece on the opposite side of the board? Very common! The other very common blunder is failing to see how your opponent's knight can move *backwards" and fork your attacking pieces.

[@mazyzazie4048]

What truths you speak and demonstrate. Thanks to you, as always.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

I appreciate that

[@mihazupan5214]

One thing that really helps is reviewing every game later and making a mental note of every blunder you've made. These build up in the background of your mind and you blunder less and less that way. I played a game yesterday where I won easily due to piece activity (mate with three minor pieces and a rook while the enemy was completely undeveloped). A later analysis showed he also handed me over a queen for free at one point and I missed that because I relentlessly pursued aforementioned piece activity. I won a pawn and two monster knights in the queen trade, but Stockfish says a straight queen would be better. It's ... hard to disagree with that. On the upside I got a nice checkmate in the end, instead of a resignation. It was more entertaining that way, so that's a plus. But I'll try not to miss something like that ever again.

[@kriszed5329]

Great video Igor. Here is a question... in order to improve at chess and learn strategies rather than just tactics, do you think it wise to play a SLOWER time control? On Blitz, 5-0, I just cant think well enough because there is no time. 10-0 Rapid, I tend to do a lot better and I am around 2000 level. Bullet... dont even ask how bad I am!

[@HavingSaidThat1]

I have been stagnant at 1400 - 1500 level for well over a year. I play for fun but it sucks being stagnant for so long, plus I am super competitive. Thanks for your perspectives Igor! Hopefully it helps me break through.

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

Qf6+, rook takes queen, Nf6+, black pawn takes knight to avoid smother, then white pawn takes knight and the g file is open. Black can sacrifice the queen but can't stop checkmate.

[@philiprostek]

Yep, That is the answer! - its all forced...

[@daleproctor3723]

Most chess videos make me want to give up the game. This game gives me a bit of hope so thanks for that! LOL

[@ReflectionOcean]

- Stay mentally resilient and keep creating threats (3:55) - Think about counter-attacks instead of just defending (8:01) - Before moving, check for opponent threats on your half of the board (9:39)

[@vladislavshevchenko9970]

I'm 1300 and I noticed that when you are significantly down Material you should: 1) open up the board 2) create as much chaos as you can 3) go for the king There was a tournament game where I blundered very early one, and I was really fighting for a draw, when suddenly my opponent blundered and I checkmated him being 10 points of material down. Queen was literally my only piece remaining so I just decided to get it as close to the enemy king as possible, because you never know, then he was giving checks, I ran my king into the opponent's half of the board when suddenly his rook gave me a check leaving the backrank, I found a place where he couldn't check me, and it was a backrank checkmate.

[@eekwibble]

Be3 (Qxe3), Nf6+ (gxf6)

[@frankbeerbaum5593]

Nf6+ gxf6 (only possible move) gxf3+ Qxg1+ Kxg1 and white has a Queen against a Bishop and a pawn!

[@Aditya170983]

Very good video buddy...Highly motivating.

[@stevekoscick904]

Great advice! You're absolutely right. Fight to the (sometimes) bitter end.

[@kootmcgoot8677]

Never Resign Mentally. ❤ When playing games for fun or learning you should always carry through to the finish because it will give your opponent the opportunity to learn to finish, and you to learn to try for stalemate.

[@theUroshman]

Although 441K is an impressive number of subscribers, your channel deserves to have more than 1M. This is without a doubt one of the top chess channels on KZbin.

[@loukhamvarunsingh4644]

Move the black square bishop to E3. Queen takes your bishop. Take the black knight with your G2 pawn. If the bishop takes your pawn defend the check with your rook.... Or if the queen takes the pawn defend the check with your rook

[@miguelangelohemzo782]

Hi Igor, just found your channel, great tips! I have a questions - I've been told that a great difference between a 1600 and a 2000 player is that the stronger looks for a better move when he finds a good one. Do you know of any book that help you training with games and positions that at first look an interesting move can be seen, but it takes a longer analysis to find a second and better one? Thanks a lot!

[@MatBobulasChessSchool]

There is that famous quote by the second World Champion, Emanuel Lasker: 'When you see a good move, look for a better one.' Some interesting books that might help you with this are Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation by Jacob Aagaard or Perfect Your Chess by Andrei Volokitin and Vladimir Grabinsky.

[@pettym3]

puzzle: develop the bishop to b2 or just move it from the first file

[@davidrobertson1980]

Another great video with what I consider a couple of good "puzzle positions" to help cement correct analysis with likely obvious moves by opponents taken into consideration. I guess doing this often is the way GM's are able to see so many moves ahead - something I have trouble with for now. I prefer classical Vs bullet or blitz as I often lose a winning position on time lol

[@KurtvonLaven0]

Nf6+ forces xf6, which allows xf3+, provoking Qxg1+ Kxg1.

[@ayungabrian5948]

Igor really teaches well!

[@lywcn]

Puzzle move is Qf8 Rxf8 Nf6+ gxf6 gxf3+ and black is mated

[@yetto1277]

Kf6+ black pawn takes knight, pawn takes Kf3. If queen captures the rook you can recapture it since it has no piece to defend her.

[@derektoyne2729]

For a long time an even occasionally now I mentally resign a game if I miss a blunder or lose even a pawn. Recently I played a game where I didn't know the opening, made what I thought was a winning move only to discover I blundered a piece. I played on and instead of consolidating his position he allowed me to launch an attack against his king. Here's the game full of errors and blunders we both made. 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Bg5 de 6.Bxe4 c5 7.Nf3 cd 8.Nxd4 Qa5 9.Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Ke2 gxf6 12.Re1?! Ke7 13.Nb5?? Qe5! 14.Qd3 f5 15.Qa3+?! Kf6 16.f4?! Qxb5?! 17.Bd3 Qe8 18.Kf1 Nc6 19.Qc3+ Kg6 20.g4!? Ne7?! 21.g5 Nd5 22.Qe5 h6?! 23.Bxf3+ Kh5?? 24.Qe2+ Kh4 25.Qg4mate So even if you've blundered play on, take your time and look for your chances as your opponent thinking he's won will likely make a mistake as my opponent and we've all done.

[@sandipraj100]

It took me a while to notice that rook on g1 is x-raying the black king. Once that is being noticed the answer to puzzle was simple. Nf6+ gxf6 gxf3+ and Queen is forced to capture the rook there by white has queen for rook advantage. I doubt ever i will see such a tactical brilliance in an actual game.

[@sauravgarg2822]

isn't the g pawn pinned

[@sandipraj100]

@@sauravgarg2822 no.

[@RyannIsobelLimbing]

I blundered my queen today during my schools chess tournament, I feel really frustrated towards myself but there's still 2 more games tomorrow so pls pray for me. Thank you very much sir for making a video like this.

[@kelvin.36]

Thanks

[@josephbharrison]

Qf8+, Rxf8, Nf6+, gxf6, gxf3+, Qxg1+, Kxg1... looks pretty interesting. Nf6+ though is probably just winning

[@ChristianSoschner]

Excellent video

[@OcteractSG]

The final puzzle is a funny one. Nf6+ must be met with gxf6. From here, gxf3+ wins the queen and the game on the next move. However, white can start with Qf8+ and then achieve the same checkmate, so there is a pointless but completely viable queen sacrifice here.

[@jtk1996]

think again, there is no checkmate for white, only big win of material. For checkmate you have to connect the rooks first.

[@OcteractSG]

@@jtk1996 You’re right. I missed Qxg1+.

[@ReflectionOcean]

Forcing moves / counter-attacks for the last puzzle: Qf8 -> Nf6 -> f3 mate [10:54]

[@martinofinotelli1884]

its not mate

[@michelvoortman4725]

When I blunder I often don't notice a long diagonal from a bishop or queen and one of my pieces get's captured. Is there a way I can train to avoid this? I mean it's a pretty dumb way of losing a game and I really don't like it when I am ahead after the opening fase and I give it away like that in the middle game.

[@claudi917]

Puzzle spoiler Nf6+ is the correct move, white is forced to capture on f6 and then we can play gxf3+ (now it works bc is check) and all black can do is to give up their queen for a rook therefore white is winning

[@mrnelgin]

If it was me I'd have played Qc5 and force their queen to take me in which case I'd take their queen with the knight, or force it to move to take my rook, which would lead to Nxg1 Kxg1. This is probably why I still suck at chess :) The other option would be to sac the bishop so I could take the knight. Either way, the game drags on. I need to look more for the win.

[@dcan888]

How to manage time in Blitz and Rapid games?

[@joshthoughts6177]

Knight F6, they must recapture with the pawn, then pawn F3 taking thier knight with your pawn revealing a discovered attack on the queen. To eliminate the mating threat they must trade thier queen for your rook on G1.

[@jagadeesh1842]

Great 👍

[@adventureboy444]

Qf8, Rxf8 only move Ne7 checkmate

[@jtk1996]

fantastic idea, but... no knight able to reach e7 in this position

[@nonskategaming9827]

Nf6+

[@PavelGnatyuk]

1. Nf6+ gxf6 2. gxf3+ Qxg1 3. Kxg1

[@oldhamegg]

I think the occasional jab at Gotham Chess is hilarious.

[@tockmizzy]

I thought I heard that too...

[@ElevateYourrLife]

Nf6+ gxf6 (forced) Be3 (Attacks Qf2 as well as Ra1 now protects Rg1) Qxe3 (Queen is deflected) gxf3+ and now 2 lines 1) Qxg1 Rxg1# or 2) Qg5 (protected by pawn on f6) h4! Bxf3+ Kh2 (and White wins the queen and knight for bishop and knight and pawn).

[@memyselfandi3727]

1. Nf6+, gxf6 (is forced) 2. gxf3+, Qxg1(is forced) 3. Kxg1(is forced), Bxf3 ....3 points of material won at the end...

[@vinayaksaha9865]

what about bishop to a3.(black cannot continue with the attack as there are 2 rooks )Then knight to f8 -> rook takes.Then white queen to f8 and it is checkmate.

[@92snp]

At 2:50, I don't think whites king ever takes the bishop on g6 before upgrading the pawn. Surely that is why black resigned. Or am I missing something here??

[@jagadeesh1842]

Thanks for reminding me 😂👍

[@HelooMinecraft]

I have a trick which wins material also ba3 which results that now white rook is protecting the checkmate threath and if queens takes the rook you can win 2 points of material after trading those all and also a solution nf6+ and gxf6 is forced then pawn takes night gxf3 is a blunder since bf3 is mate

[@cyan_wings5420]

Last puzzle; Queen C5

[@freedombug11]

White should move the bishop to e3. Then the black queen has to deal with the threat and also white's rook is defended by its other rook.

[@mannynunez1481]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🏆 *Importance of Avoiding Blunders* - Blunders occur frequently in chess games, often unnoticed by opponents. - Continuous blunders hinder improvement and impact overall chess results. 02:17 🔄 *Blunders by Strong Players* - Even strong Grandmasters make blunders, showcasing that blunders are a common aspect of chess. - Highlighted a game where a Grandmaster blundered by sacrificing a rook, and the opponent resigned, unaware that they were still winning. 04:39 🛡️ *Mental Resilience After Blunders* - Players often resign mentally after a blunder, impacting their gameplay. - Advises to continue playing aggressively after a blunder, creating threats and exploiting opponent mistakes. 07:26 ⚔️ *Counter-Attacking After Blunders* - Emphasizes the importance of counter-attacking when in a disadvantaged position. - Provides examples of counter-attacking moves, such as Knight to H5 or Pawn to A6, to turn the tide in the game. 09:46 🤔 *Prevention of Double Blunders* - Urges players to ask themselves if the intended move allows the opponent to enter their half of the board and cause trouble. - Demonstrates a position where castling led to a dual blunder, illustrating the need for cautious consideration before making moves. Made with HARPA AI

[@lyingcat9022]

Ohhh that’s a nasty little Knight sac on F6… ouch 🤕 Hard to notice when you’re focused on your King getting buried alive!

[@ioanenache6686]

5:48 in that position white could just take the D8 rook and win.. ignoring the queen capture

[@TheGamingG810]

I am here because of a chess game I had where I was 10 points of material up but I long castled and blundered mate in 1.

[@jonsigursson9431]

1. Nf6 - g7xNf6 2. g2xNf3 - QxRg1

[@reaganchiko8024]

Move white queen to C5 square to exchange the queens I think.

[@chrisg.1246]

8:36 Doesn't g5 give up another pawn and pin the knight? Unless you blundered intentionally to feed the algorithm.

[@garahan4298]

Mm one of the best way to reduce blunders is, to keep regular practicing until you feel that you are aware of whats going on at the whole chess board..

[@stefaneg6139]

Queen e1, or Bf4

[@nickyork8901]

Suggested White move - Queen to C5 instead of resigning?

[@Martins_Andre]

Be3 qxe3, Df8+ Txf8, Cf6+ gxf6, gxf3+ Dxg1, Taxg1++

[@MASTERIMAGEN]

1.Nf6+ gxf6 3.gxf3+ Qxg1+ 4.Kxg1 and Black had to trade his Queen for a Rook!

[@hemamalini1814]

bishop a3 since now the rook covers the other rook and it's mate in 1

[@abdulghani6686]

I noticed after watching this , i have a problem with horizontal path of the queen

[@santebee]

QC5

[@jonathannelson9765]

This guy made me feel so dumb and he is so right, im so stupid lol, thank you for that.

[@JusticeNDOU]

Also C1-A3

[@joemagnets9940]

Am I wrong, or is castling illegal if the rook is already under attack?

[@heatherenidwalker3145]

No, it's fine. Since a rook can't be in check, it isn't restricted in the way a king is. Obviously the king can't castle into, out of, or across check, but a rook can do what it likes, provided it hasn't already moved. Even if it has already moved, it's still legal to castle with the other rook, so long as neither that one nor the king has moved and that nothing is in the way.

[@mikomiko993]

That queen materialised out of thin air

[@gdtutorial]

1st? 12s sgo?

[@R8amo8N]

1. Nf6+ gf вынужденно. 2. gf+ Q:g1 3. K:g1

[@bobobobo869]

Isn't bishop h7 the move Opening the kind side and connecting rooks

[@peterbago4574]

Knight to f6 is better. Opens up the rook-king line. After pawn takes f6, pawn takes f3 with a check. And then soon checkmate.

[@tnmrepointing]

I have days when I don't blunder anything end up rating goes up 100 then another day blunder every game,

[@sparksinterest]

Qc5

[@ksakthipriyasivaperumal5403]

pawn g2

[@sj4267]

8:15 Bishop b4 check?

[@solehwidodo6839]

knight check to f6

[@RilkeForum]

What about Qf8 check? 😁 RxQ, Kf6 check, gxK, g2xK check? 😆

[@martianinc458]

move Bc1??

[@JusticeNDOU]

Two Moves can Work B4 to C5 OR C1 to A3

[@Hugh_jass...]

The rooooookk !!

[@Reza090]

Thank you❤

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

😊

[@altrfryd5859]

After watching this video I went up 526 points

[@PeWeHH]

It all starts with Nf6.