The Soviet Advice If You Are Tired of Blundering
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
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00:00 The Eye of a Patzer
03:54 Position 2
07:22 Position 3
10:10 Position 4
13:37 Position 5
17:48 Homework Position
This video showcases instructive positions where we must avoid blunders. We discuss the correct thought process for reducing errors, avoiding confirmation bias, and wishful thinking.
Blumenfeld, a Soviet chess player and psychologist, offered valuable advice on blunder prevention: "Before making a move, examine the position one final time with the eye of a patzer." He also recommended writing down the intended move before executing it, a practice no longer permitted under FIDE rules. However, players can adhere to this principle by substituting the move with the opponent's clock time, as allowed by FIDE. This fosters the habit of always conducting a final blunder check.
Furthermore, I believe that we tend to make more blunders when presented with pawn-grabbing opportunities. This notion prompted me to create my recent Chessable course. Additionally, pawn moves often escape detection during blunder checks, as illustrated by several examples in this video.
Please share your ideas about this video by writing a comment! I am always happy to respond! - Zábava
Soviet advice: "Stop making blunders or you will be playing chess in gulag - good luck, comrade"
An interesting take on things!
Honestly avoiding blunders will singlehandedly gain you hundreds of rating points if you are a beginner
Absolutely! That is why I am now working on a course on raising our chess floor!
And you will more easily see the blunders by your opponent.
People learn positional play long before they learn to play solidly enough for positional play to make any difference
@@muskyoxes Indeed! That is why I am now working on a course called Raise Your Floor.
@@Dr.CansClinic I look forward to that course. I think I need it!
I started playing chess 1 year ago and just found your channel 2 months ago. I have gained 200-300 Elo after implementing your positional ideas in my games. Top educational chess content on CZcams!
I am extremely happy to read your comment, thank you so much for your kind words. Really happy that the channel is actually helping people rather than selling b.s.
@@Dr.CansClinic You haven't tried to sell anything. I rarely give credit where it's due. You're nothing but helpful and generous, and you have live with that. If he keeps watching this channel and practicing, he'll get better. Half of that is your fault. You're an enabler. I hope you can sleep at night.
Homework position: wow, what a subtle situation. At first glace, it looks like the problem with Kg5 is Rxg2+, but before this video I would have been satisfied that Kxh5 was a satisfactory answer, and thus I would have played Kg5 with confidence. But of course, I would have missed ...f4!, and black gets a passer by force.
I am adding all possible pawn moves to my blunder check list. Luckily there usually aren't that many, so the process should be quick. But the trick is to MAKE yourself look at them.
Thanks for a great lesson!
Thank you for your kind words! Excellent answer to the hw position!
The "scientist looking for counter evidence" is really good advice!
All swans are white! Until you see a black swan!
Conspiracy theorists don't understand that about scientists. A big part of the job is trying to prove ideas wrong.
Side note, why is understanding tempo harder than calculus problems?
@@Mikejones011990 So well said! Tempo can be tricky indeed to understand like the concept of time has been for philosophers. Please check out my recent Chessable course on evaluating material, quality and time.
Don't forget to check for surprising pawn moves during the blunder check! I will remember that.
In the homework position, I first looked at 1.Kg3. Here Black has two obvious candidates 1..Re2 and 1..Ra2. After 1..Re2, I don't think white has anything better than to repeat moves with 2.Kf4 Rf2+ with a draw, and after 1..Ra2 we get into a pawn race after 2.Rg5 Rxa4 3.Rxf5+ Kc4 which maybe favours White. So, the blunder must 1.Kg5, but why? Since this move allows the trade of the last piece, as you said in an earlier video, that an exact evaluation of the resulting pawn endgame is necessary. I first looked at 1..Rxg2 2.Kxh5, creating a passed pawn, 2..Rxg6 3.Kxg6. At first, I thought this was winning but then I noticed that White's king is behind the Black pawns, thus the pawn break 3..f4 wins for Black. An improvement in this variation is 2.Kxf5 and White wins. Here I wondered where the blunder was, and it took a while to realise that this improvement wasn't enough, because Black can play ..f4 immediately and win. So, 1.Kg5 is a blunder due to 1..f4 and black wins.
I think the positions in this video, with the exception of the homework position, was simpler than usual. But I think this is a strengh not a weakness. The difficulty lies in doing it during a real game.
By the way, I bought your latest course and upgraded the chess crimes course.
Such a beautiful comment! Thanks for your excellent analysis of the hw position!
Yes, I also wanted to get beginners on the board today, as it is such a fundamental process that they must be aware of.
Thank you so much for purchasing my latest course, really appreciate it! Please ask me anything along the way!
FYI, I was able to vizualize all the puzzles and solve them all in a reasonable time. They were very good examples because they are not simple beginner ones of hanging pieces nor super-advanced ones such as multi-move traps.
Thanks for the feedback!
Love your way of teaching, simple and clear😊
Love to see such comments. Thank you! ☺️
Gopher-Holing! (There are Old Gophers and there are Bold Gophers, but there are no Old, Bold Gophers.) The prudent gopher sticks his head out of his hole and takes a careful look around before emerging fully. The on-line chessic equivalent: left-click your mouse and make your intended move, but DO NOT RELEASE yet. Look around, and release only if the new position looks safe. Otherwise just move it back. Interestingly, if you watch Eric Rosen playing on YT, you will often see him making little test feints of candidate moves he is considering.
Well said! I like the analogy! You stick your head and take a careful look before leaving. Perhaps the gopher may go back to their hole, but you cannot take your moves back in chess!
Really nice upload,positions i think we get in our games all the time that require some fine tuning,i wish you had the book versions of your work for my shelf....with extra content.Brilliant channel,my go to for chess coaching...
Thank you so much! Perhaps a chessable course on the blunder check? ☺️
@@Dr.CansClinic Yes!,of course...You always ask people to check before executing their calculations that theres no swchishenzug or inbetween move to counter it or leave you in a bad position with a possible counter attack like a fork or pin.Dr can,a realistic time for your najdorf? end of the year maybe? There will be someone on release saying this line or that line is missing,you will have to update it not long after im guessing.Really can't wait for that...i have been heavily watching GM Matthew Saddlers channel and reading his books,wow their great...Leela is my fav engine,just like it.Its english repertoire is crazy....So ive been putting a repertoire together in a private chessable and physical book i tested it out yesterday...
1. c4 e5 { A20 English Opening: King's English Variation } 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nd4 5. e3 Nc6 6. Qc2 Bb4 7. Nge2 d6 8. h3 g6 9. a3 Bf5 10. Qb3 Bxc3 11. Nxc3 Qd7 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Na5 14. Qb4 b6 15. e4 c5 16. Qc3 Be6 17. dxe6 Qxe6 18. b4 Nb3 19. Rb1 Nxc1 20. Rxc1 cxb4 21. Qc6+ Ke7 22. axb4 Rac8 23. Qb7+ Qd7 24. Qxd7+ Kxd7 25. Ke2 Ra8 26. b5 a5 27. bxa6 Rxa6 28. Rc2 Rb8 29. Rhc1 Ke6 30. h4 b5 31. Bh3+ Kf6 32. Rc7 b4 33. g4 b3 34. g5+ Kg7 35. Be6 b2 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. Rb7+ Kf8 38. Rxb8+ Ke7 39. Rxb2 Kxe6 40. Rcb1 Ra4 41. f3 d5 42. d3 dxe4 43. dxe4 Ra6 44. Rb6+ Rxb6 45. Rxb6+ Kd7 46. Kd3 Kc7 47. Rf6 { Black resigns. } 1-0
Great, great video as always. Thank you!! 🏅
My pleasure! ☺️
Easy advice to follow. Every time I look at the board, I am already looking it with the eyes of a Patzer :P
And as you get better at chess, those will turn into the eye of a tiger!
Thanks! Great lesons!
I am so happy for your generous support! Thank you so much 🙏
When I started playing recently, I found "checks, captures, threats" fine, but limited. A mnemonic to cover some of the other advice I was getting was: "cctv" -- which stands for "checks, captures, threats, viewpoint of the opponent; and because "cctv' is the name for surveillance cameras, ending with a quick overall board surveillance to reduce tunnel vision. Cute, but helpful. Goes a little beyond blunders, but can still be pretty helpful.
Cute one indeed, thanks for sharing! As Tartakower said, your opponent has the right to exist!
Thank you! Intructive!
My pleasure!
Great video....apart from your advice, another thing i learned from this video is that i need to play longer time formats. Though i found the right solutions for all the positions you showed but i am sure when im playing a '3+0' or '5+0' game (which i do mostly), i would blunder in half of these positions.
Also in position 2, after bishop takes b3, is queen a7 check also winning or d7 is the only move for white?
Thank you so much! Yes, slow games are a must to help internalize this process. Qa7 would allow ...Kg6, and the d-pawn will be stopped I think. The queen on d4 was excellent in supporting that pawn, hence d7 is preferable! ☺️
Dr Can, thank you! As always, great topic!
Re: Homework
The white rook is holding the position together for white by limiting the black king and staring at a6 pawn to gobble it anytime.
Moving to g5 would allow black Rxg2+ and which ever side white king steps, a trade of rooks will happen Rxg6 and then the black king is freed up once white's key defender is removed.
Moving to g3 would seem to keep pressure on black rook and protect g2, black can move Re2 threatening Rxe3 but black king can go back to f4 to cover e3. f4 is an excellent spot for the king, if black goes Ra1 threatening Rxa4, white can gobble a6 and be behind the a5 pawn.
So based on these thoughts I would move Kg3.
Thank you so much for taking your time and writing! Kg3 is indeed the best move, but why exactly Kg5 is a blunder? Perhaps you are missing a pawn move by Black there? ☺️
Ok I think i see the comtinuation... after trade of rooks, black can go f4 to undermine e3, and black pawn on e4 will become a passed pawn, but white king is out of position to stop it...
@@Dr.CansClinic I don't see it... I thought f4 might be something for black, but I think white king has that covered with pawn on e3... perhaps you can discuss briefly in the next video? I made the correct choice Kg3 felt more aggressive and closer to the action, but not understanding entirely why the other choice loses.
@@brainfellow5140 the pawn on e3 covers the f4-square, but then Black's e4-pawn becomes unstoppable after exf4 ...e3! Black creates an unstoppable passed pawn as a result of ...f4.
@@Dr.CansClinic I see it now, thank you for explaining.
Really enjoy this video particularly position 5 just shows how something so right can end up going SOoooooo wrong 😮 over looking a pawn move,one of biggest blunders 😢is overlooking the unexpected knight fork,it can really shock 😮 great advice on looking away from the for a while from the board,I realise this as a painter when you look away form the painting and come back the next day you tend to notice overlooks stuff that can improve 🎉great idea to look away from the board a minute or two🎉
Thank you for your kind feedback! Indeed, some blunders are so brutal in refuting a move that looks very good on the surface. Nice to see the connections with painting! ☺️
Great video! I also wonder if higher level player use more peripheral vision when looking at the board? Do they even look at individual pieces or squares? I believe I read somewhere (terrible citation I know) that grandmasters tend to focus on the intersections of the squares as opposed to the center of the square which leads me to believe they may be using peripheral vision to Take in more of the board and not getting fixated on a certain piece (tunnel vision).
Thank you so much! And a great comment! Yes, experts seem to be using peripheral vision by mostly focusing on the intersections between squares. Here is a recent article on this: www.journalofexpertise.org/articles/volume6_issue1/JoE_6_1_deWinter_etal.pdf
I think the original article was published by Bilalic, Gobet and others.
homework spoiler - no engine
In an equal rook endgame, white will try to take advantage of having the next move to improve their king with concrete, precise play.
Kg5 f4 exf4 Rxg2+ Kxh5 Rxg6 Kxg6 e3 and e-pawn will promote.
Kg5 f4 Rf6 fxe3 Rxf2 exf2 and f-pawn will promote.
White loses after Kg5. Alternatively, Kg3 is better.
After Kg3, f4+ or Rxg2+ or Rf3+ will all lose the black rook and gain black nothing.
Kg3 Re2 Rg5 Rxe3+ Kf2 Kxd4 Rxf5 and white is solid.
Kg3 Ra2 Rf6 Rxa4 Rxf5+ Kc4 Rxh5 Ra3 Kf4 Ra2 g3 Rh2 Rxa5 and white has gained two connected passed outside pawns and will win.
There is also a trap to be avoided after Kg3
Kg3 Re2 Rxa6 Rxe2+ Kf4 Kxd4 Rxa5 Re2 Rxf4 Rf2+ Kg5 Rxf5 Kxf5 e3 and black wins.
But with proper technique Kg3 is the best move for white.
As always, thanks for your detailed and excellent analysis!
I haven't heard that Blumenfeld quote before, but I like some of the positions you show. I give a lot of similar positions to my students where a very tempting move is available, but in fact a blunder - I think these sorts of puzzles are very valuable in an age where there is an over-abundance of computer generated tactics.
Thanks for your feedback Sam! I am considering to create a course on blunder check, given its huge importance and the lack of sufficient resources. There are some computer generated blunder check puzzles out there, but they are artificial. I am just thinking about the overall architecture of the course. Would love to hear. your feedback on it, given you are also a chess coach!
I am blundering, because I kind of enter a "survival mode" that stops me from doing reasonable thinking. Very awful.
I hear you. In the actual game, stress levels usually rise and fight & flight responses may kick in. It is good that you gain awareness of this issue, as it is the first step for the cure!
This! I am trying hard to remember that I'm playing a game and there's no actual threat to my life, but it's hard not to think I'm actually being attacked.
Great news, I have the eyes of a patzer
One follower said I should have played the eye of the tiger in the intro 😅
"You're always playing Chess with both sides" Double Exclam. Best advice in the history of mankind!
I believe we can transfer this to life too ☺️
That’s a must in chess, you gotta see all your opponent plans to execute yours.
On lichess you can flip a board while you play, so you play from top to bottom if you get me.
It’s a great way to practice seeing opponents plans and ideas
@@zvezdanjasovic3185bad idea because you cannot flip the board OTB, and online is only practice for OTB
@@zvezdanjasovic3185 Well said!
I am a master of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I did well at "Choose between this move or that", but am terrible at it when playing. My puzzle-solving brain goes on standby three moves into the opening, and that's a huge problem. :\
I hear you... My Chessable course will be published by late July to help fix this issue. We will raise our floor and work on crucial things that are underrepresented in puzzles.
I missed the 5th position exactly for the reasons you mention in this video. For me, kg5 doesnt feel too good after f4, so i'd say thats the blunder. Great video, new sub :)
Thank you so much for the feedback and subscribing! Really appreciate it. Stay tuned for more! ☺️ And yes, Kg5 is a blunder due to ..f4!
I look at every move with the fresh eyes of a patzer. They're the only eyes I have!
And as you get better at chess and learn those patterns and chunks, your vision will change and the eyes of a patzer will turn into the eye of a tiger!
I have long experience in blundering in winning positions. This excellent video highlighted pawn blunders, a particularly difficult topic for me. I actually missed the homework problem. The threat is pushing f4. I thought it was swinging the rook to a2 and grabbing a pawn. Thanks Can.
Thank you so much for the kind feedback Dan! ..f4 is a surprising pawn move that can easily be missed.
8:50 I made the right move but I saw the wrong punish. I thought blacks position looked unpleasant after Nxe6 f7xe6 Qxe6 Kd8 Rd1 and completely missed the simple f5. I also missed that Rd1 hangs a rook with check but 0-0-0 accomplishes the same thing without hanging a rook.
Thank you for your feedback! Interesting that you missed the pawn move f4-f5. Perhaps a good checklist question could be, can my piece to be moved be attacked on its new square?
Petrosian always wrote down his move before making it 1:18. I don't know about FIDE rules but this is allowed by the USCF.
Nice, did not know that! Can it explain why he rarely blundered? USCF still allows it - it would be nice to compare the blunder rates of players having this habit with those who do not.
What is a blunder? We use the term, but without much definition. Mostly we think of it as something I do by myself.
There is a Japanese term, suki. It refers to a situation where, for example, two samurai are fighting to the death. In the course of the fight, they battle back and forth, thrusting and parrying, matching each other’s dynamics. But, suppose in his mind, one player suddenly realizes that a wrong move could get him killed. This causes a stutter or a gap to open up in the flow, and it is at that moment that the opponent drives through to actually create the death that the samurai was afraid of. The blunderer breaks the flow. Suki refers to this, and also sometimes is referred to as a kind of glue or stickiness that hampers the flow. That is one kind of blundering.
A blunder can cause such an opening for the opponent to enter. The blunder creates an opportunity for the opponent (which they can fail to take advantage of, of course). Obviously there are levels: a piece suddenly vulnerable; a misplaced piece; a failure to grasp the nature of the opening or the threat; etc. This puts us into the constant perspective of the opponent: what we are giving to our opponent to test out. Is this the way forward for what the board is telling us?
One related way of playing is to see the opponent as a generator of threats that need to be met (this is where puzzles can be misleading - the opponent is just hurling threats at you one after the other). This is the battleground metaphor, everywhere in chessspeak. Another way of playing is to think of the other player as initiating a dance move to which I am to reply. The dancefloor metaphor. I blunder when I lose the rhythm of the unfolding dance.
Perhaps we are looking at a beautiful draw as a victory for both players.
Such a deep and nice comment to read! We should write a joint article on chess philosophy, Peter!
underrated youtube channel
Please do not hesitate sharing the channel with your friends and other platforms ☺️🙏
Great content,can you make some lessons for 2100-2200
I will surely consider that!
Yes, I did and have fallen for material grabs, stupidly, greed. But since I have been watching your great videos I have become better and enjoying chess now. Realizing it is a learning process. The pattern of thinking. Do the same process over and over. Become habit forming. Nice pawn move to block the queen check and protect the knight. That is an aspect of protecting discovered after the move. I will be mindful of that aspect of the game.
Yes, some moves look good on the surface, as the ocean sometimes seems. But under the surface, very large (dangers lurk). I view blunders like this. Great job
May Jesus bless you in all you do, for I enjoy your teachings. You are a talented instructor , again great job.
Such a beautiful comment to read, really made me happy! Thank you for your support!
How are you supposed to do a blunder check in blitz though?
You don't play blitz to learn.
If the process becomes automatic after intense training, you can also do it in blitz - of course not with great accuracy.
How does one look through the eye of a patzer?
One looks at extremely elementary tactics - as patzer plays for cheapos.
...A-a-a-n-nd, of course, I missed it. But I think that if I'd been playing this game, I'd be aware of the Rook's open file due to familiarity..
Thanks for the honest feedback! And yes, while playing it, your working memory will probably be updated on that open file and the presence of the enemy rook.
Ha, this really works. I didn't see any problem with the first example, then looked at my cat, looked around the room, and back at the board only then seeing the backspanker!
Beautiful to hear, thanks for the feedback!
Blundering is a basic part of my identity at this stage.
I am now working on a course that will fix that issue!
tunnel vision, is the root of all evil!
there are many great channels that teach how to play, with tips and tricks and everything
but I believe this is the only one that teaches how to "think"
Thank you so much for your motivating words! That is the main function of this channel in fact.
I made a video about tunnel vision some months ago. I am posting it here in case you missed it: czcams.com/video/boJX4UraXGw/video.html
This video is perfect for someone at my level, i'm subscribing for more while noticing i sound like a chatbot.
Welcome on board! Thank you so much for your kind feedback, and more will surely come! You should also check my playlist on blunders.
Thought this was Lawrence Trent until he spoke lmao
Should I take it as a compliment?
I blundered all the puzzles, or had wrong logic for the alternatives
Was my explanations useful to help fix those issues? Awareness is the first step for the cure.
Well king to g3 is the move
And why is Kg5 a blunder?
What the hell is a patzer?
A simple googling would do. It means a woodpusher.
Is it just me or were today's positions easier than usual?
Maybe you’re just getting better 😉
@@randerson5172 Yeah no they are easier than usual
That's what she said.
In the last video, there were some very difficult positions from the candidates tournament. These were not beginner positions but not too hard either.
I wanted to get beginners on board for today's video, as it is such a fundamental process that they must be aware of early on.
Homework is Kg3 due to process of elimination. Kg5 loses to Rxg2+ Kf6 Rxg6+ Kxg6 and a pawn breakthrough with f4! exf4 e3 and black wins the pawn race
It is Kg3 but you're missing Kg5 Rxg2+ Kxf5. Kg5 loses because of the immediate response Kg5 f4.
Thanks!
With the eye of a patzer?
Yes!
@@Dr.CansClinic Ok, I hadn't heard that word before, I had to look it up just now.
The Raven ...
They are lovely, aren't they?
@@Dr.CansClinic Blunders? Nevermore! :)
@@stefanodemerich8085 Nevermore!
I don't get it
What is it you dont get?
If I did not blunder I would be 2700 elo now
Then you know what to fix to become a 2700!
Can someone tldr this
Thinking a soviet or (any flavor of marxist) have anything wise to impart is the real blunder.
Have you even watched the video?
Ah, my one disappointment is that you didn’t play "Eye of the Tiger" [theme song from Rocky III] as intro music to underscore the "eye of the patzer" theme! 😅
Ah, how i missed that! Brilliant idea!
There’s no soviet anything. No soviet way of avoiding blunders, no school of chess. All bollox.
School of nihilism…
Good video. Good advice to look away for like 10 seconds and then look afresh. Only criticism is could you not say “God” all the time. To some of us it is bothersome because we don’t want to be taking the Lord’s Name in vain. It’s good for you too, you won’t be guilty of it. All the best, keep up the good work.
Thank you. Point taken, will try to avoid it in the future - but I don't mean it literally as must be understood in context.
@@Dr.CansClinic that’s what taking the name of God in vain is. Thank you for responding and caring. All the best! Enjoy your vids.
Very Brave Title since you see a lot of Russian Hate these days.
Soviet does not only denote Russians.
I think it's very beneficial for beginners to play through an entire game and really kick the habit of resigning. Even if you're not going to win you can learn a lot
I don't disagree.
@@Dr.CansClinic then why did you suggest multiple times that the player resign after making the blunder? Are you speaking only to high level players?
@@wisdomencouraged9326 Yes that is the habit that remains for high-level games.
@@Dr.CansClinicIt's annoying when they wait until they've lost to start thinking. I've had opponents blitz their way out of all their pieces in rapid games. I had 6 queens + most of my pieces vs none of his. I guess he was praying for stalemate, but sometimes resigning is the right move. Pretty much have to play 10+0 if I care about my time.
@@Mikejones011990 Agreed. There is a limit to keep on playing.
In Soviet Russia Blunders make you!
An interesting take on things!
This video could be subtitled, "Revenge of the Marshmallow"! What a great video lesson. Everybody talks about doing a blunder check before making a move; but I haven't seen any resource that so clearly demonstrates the thought process required to do it. And the focus on looking for your opponent's _pawn_ moves is particularly helpful, because it's so easy to underestimate the power of those little critters! Thanks again for your wonderful content, @DrCansClinic.
You come up with brilliant ideas Michael! Love that subtitle. May use it in my future videos on pawn grabbing 😅