The Blunder Streak

My Disaster

I was playing just a normal blitz game, and we were just out of the opening, reaching a sharp but balanced position.

A normal move would have been Ne8 or Bxf4 and then Nd7. Instead in this position I simply played something inexplicably horrid:

Oh no! The bishop drops off the board. At this point, I could resign-but we all know it's never too late to resign. So, I would of course play on- for at least a few more moves. My opponent takes my bishop, to which I respond by blitzing out the embarrassing Nb4(??).

I am extremely annoyed, but I have won worse positions than this, and it's still not impossible if I can start an attack on the king, right? So I play the ridiculous a5(??)!

My opponent, of course quickly takes my rook as well. In disgust, I play for a few more moves, but my opponent converts nicely, avoiding my stalemate traps. How did this happen? I am an approximately 2000 blitz player, I rarely hang a piece like that, but hanging a bishop, then hanging a knight, and then a rook! How did this happen?
As GM Igor Smirnov's very helpful video explains, I had already violated a few basic principles. In his video 10 Useful tips to avoid blunders in chess, Igor lists the 2nd reason as not leaving pieces loose, where they could be hanging. When I played Nd7, I immediately violated this principle. However, this in itself is like saying stop blundering by not playing bad moves. It's insufficient. Which leads me to his 5th point, which is to limit blunders, you have to sleep well and stay calm. I was tired from celebrating the new year the previous night and was getting nervous about his attack on my king-setting myself up for failure.

(Quick tip: If you are tired but still want to play chess, play on another account or play casual games-don't destroy your hard-earned rating!)
I also disregarded his 7th tip, checking for blunders before your move, which is possibly even the most important point.
(If you want to watch his video you can find it here)
However, these all only explain my original blunder. What led to me making 3 (!!) inexplicable blunders in a row?
GM Avetik Grigoryan explains in his great blog on how to bounce back after a blunder.
The critical think that I did not do was FREEZE!!! Just take your stupid hand off the mouse and do not move!! Take a drink of water, a deep breath, but when you move with inertia, you will inevitably blunder.

What I did miserably wrong-and the thing I did right

My game was a great example of what not to do. I did not take the proper steps before the game, in being tired. I continued to screw up during the game, in being stressed, and not stopping after the blunder! However, there is one key thing I did not do-play another game right after. If instead of one horrible game, you want one horrible hour of chess, potentially dropping 100 rating points, then that is what you need to do. But if you have had a disaster of a game, it's best to step back and come back at earliest in about an hour, and even maybe in a few days. However, after making a blunder, it is critical to stop for a minute and try to recover and stage a comeback.

Just don't blunder in the first place

I won't go deep into the details since GM Avetik already has a great article on how to blunder less, but I will give a summary of the most important points.
Here are my 5 top steps to limit blunders:

1. Always give the game 100% of your focus

Stop checking on the other tabs, watching a video, responding to an email etc. Focus on the game and nothing else.

2. Never relax

Always stay vigilant. We've all seen hilarious games, even at the top level, where the game seen won and then was lost suddenly. The following game was a good example of this.

3. Check for blunders

Before you make a move, check to see if you are blundering anything-from a tactical sacrifice to a hanging piece.

4. Warm-Up before the game

If you immediately dive into a game, you will not be ready to play your best chess.

5. Be sharp in tactics and mating patterns

Not only will you not allow your opponent to surprise you, but you will also miss less of the sneaky things you can do to your opponent.

Conclusion

To summarize:
If you blunder, STOP before you move immediately.
However, just don't blunder in the first place.
I wanted to end with an example where I did this successfully.
I was playing a blitz game and had blundered a pawn very stupidly on g3.

I did not pause, but sped on, and blundered another pawn, on f4.

Here, in this critical moment, I stopped. For about 10 seconds, I calmed myself down, focused and continued the game. I was not tilted, played good moves, and won a few moves later with a very enjoyable finish.

I hope you enjoyed this blog!
If you want to learn more about blundering less, ChessMood has a great course called BlunderProof which will help you raise hundreds of rating points and take your game through the roof.
If you want to find a free chess masterclass to make you rethink the game, go to this link.
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