Matemax wrote on 05/12/12 at 10:58:58:


Hmm, I read through the thread too quickly, and I didn't realize it was a 1-minute game. As others have mentioned above, you cannot seriously analyze a 1-minute game.

But my answer to the original question remains. In OTB chess, where you have time for it, make it a habit to ask yourself whether your opponent's last move threatens anything.

Seems good advice If you put a queen en prise in a real game? Well it'll most likely be because you're rusty! An obvious solution to that.

Blunder rates do definetly vary though. I've played in a fairly stable team of mostly ~2200 folk for a bit now. 

Some do just do it - 1/20 games say? - but others just don't seem to do it at all, even in one case under self inflicted time pressure caused by playing out endings right out in quickplay finishes.

Matemax wrote on 05/12/12 at 10:58:58:


Not if the questions come automatically. Also if one has a time advantage then a few seconds can be spent on a critical position. But I agree that trying to analyse 1-minute games is a waste of time. I've seen Grandmasters walk into mate in one on several occasions, so these obvious blunders happen to everyone, just less frequently for the GMs.

Gilchrist is a legend wrote on 05/12/12 at 07:02:30:


Apply Blumenfeld's rule: just before making your move, see the position through the eyes of a beginner. Is my queen safe? Am I missing a quick checkmate? Does he have a double attack?

Also in the 1-minute game you played, had you asked 'What is the idea of my opponent's move?', you would definitely have seen the threat. Not that such games are of any merit for practical purposes, of course. But getting into a habit of working out your opponent's ideas before making your move can score you a lot of points over time. LPDO as mentioned by Matemax is another good maxim, since most tactics are based on a double attack and/or undefended pieces. 

As for training exercises, the best might be to set up or find random positions and determine all the possible captures that each piece can make. It sounds trivial but would reduce the number of one-move blunders in your games.

In that case you are in good company with e.g. Stripunsky! 

When I start playing tournaments again, it will be very embarrassing if I lose the queen like that in a slow game

For example, here is one of an ICC 1-minute games I played today:



Opponent ran out of time at the end, so draw.

Why did I not notice my queen is attacked on move 21? I have no idea, but for some reason I did not even realise the queen was on c2. I played this at 3 in the morning, but still most people would notice the queen on c2.

Making the same experience on the FIDE 1900 level and having thought about it from several povs there are only two solutions. Training simple tactics for 15 min to 30 min daily to reactivate automated responses learned earlier is the first. Analyzing the mistakes individually and looking for common patterns to direct attention is the second way.