Common Mistakes

Many people ask me what the most common mistakes people make. With being a full time chess coach for over 7 years I've seen it all and there are some themes which seem to always come up. I have picked a few across the rating ranges to get you started.

1\. Let's start of with the first one\.\.\.

2\. Maybe you've stopped checking when you shouldn't? Well how about this mistake I see across all rating ranges\.\.\.

3\. From my experience this mistake happens a lot but people are not being punished for it\!

4\. This last mistake brings me on to why I enjoy the game\, trying to balance material with developing is the crux of many games\!

Try to think which mistakes you might have made during your games?

Make sure to go through each and every single game you play. With the time ticking down we all resort back to our default options, checking, defending, taking pieces when we shouldn't! I know this happens to me in my games, stopping yourself from playing the move you know is wrong is also difficult - try not to give in to temptation!

Improvement is a slow process, with time and determination you can do it but you have to be disciplined in your approach.

I hope this helps you on your chess journey.

Jonathan