From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc
sion F2 wrote:
sion F2 wrote:
How many times have I made a move to only notice then some weakness I
have created or allowed.
I'm including in my routine a good survey of the board after each move
so that I make sure I don't leave gaping blunders.-a This is really
good and maybe I will get 1500 soon.
This seems almost necessary, although I'm doubly angry now when a
blunder actually gets through.
We all blunder, but few chess books tell us how to deal with our
mistakes. Which is a pity, as it is a critical issue, especially for us non-masters.
It is very important to keep calm after you have blundered.
Clear your mind, forget your earlier plans, assess the new situation as
if you were just sitting down to the board to play this position.
What are your chances? Are there any features favourable to you?
Did you really blunder? I dropped a queen the other day and resigned immediately. Only later to discover that I had a tactic and, amazingly,
the position was actually drawn. I did not follow my own advice there.
The recipient of a blunder often plays his next move badly. Do you have
a trap available? Something that in his overconfidence he might well overlook?
Assuming you have none of that, you have more decisions to make. Should
you defend as best you can, hoping that he'll be unable to convert his advantage? Or must you complicate, probably losing sooner but giving
him a bigger chance to err?
Or should you just resign and save your time and energy for other
purposes? Like the work you've been neglecting to play this game.
There's a lot to think about after a blunder. Anger only helps the
opponent.
I have thought a lot about this because I blunder often. It was only
when I was able to control my emotions that my speed rating went from
1100 to 2000, over about six months (real ratings, not inflated ones).
William Hyde
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2