Time Control: 3 min + 2 sec increment (Blitz) Games: 12 Record: 0W / 0D / 12L

Overview

I’ve been posting a bunch of wins lately because, to be honest, they’re the only interesting games I’ve played. But in between those wins have been many, many losses due to blunders and playing mindlessly. I think it’s important to create this post just to highlight how often I’m losing by playing carelessly. In each game I’ll just show one diagram of the moment where I blundered a piece or made a critical mistake by not thinking. This post is a reminder to me that there’s no point playing fast if you’re just going to blunder away the game.

All Games

#ColorOpponentResultMethodMy Rating
1⏳BlackRowdy-07 (606)LossTime570
2🏳️WhiteItzcoatl111 (574)LossResignation570
3⚔️Blackrynopahlevi (584)LossCheckmate570
4🏳️Blackmonther_emad2 (583)LossResignation562
5🏳️Whiteadrianfhr (612)LossResignation555
6⚔️WhiteTwin_12 (467)LossCheckmate545
7🏳️WhiteSchauderbasis (479)LossResignation535
8⚔️BlackSingh_brajendra (562)LossCheckmate527
9🏳️Blackbradvukich (538)LossResignation519
10⚔️BlackBartveidr (515)LossCheckmate519
11🏳️WhiteSRPK33K1 (530)LossResignation511
12🏳️BlackGilmet7 (537)LossResignation503

Rating drop: 570 → 503. That’s 67 points across 12 games.

The Blunders

Game 1: Loss vs Rowdy-07 (606) as Black

After 16...Rxb7
After 16...Rxb7: I took the bishop with my rook, but cxb7 wins it right back. Down a whole rook for a bishop.

Game 2: Loss vs Itzcoatl111 (574) as White

After 13...Nxc2+
After 13...Nxc2+: Black forks my rook and queen while revealing a discovered check on my king.

Game 3: Loss vs rynopahlevi (584) as Black

After 27. Qh7#
After 27. Qh7#: Checkmate. My king was stuck on h5 with no escape.

Game 4: Loss vs monther_emad2 (583) as Black

After 15...Qxg2+
After 15...Qxg2+: I traded my queen for a bishop. Terrible exchange.

Game 5: Loss vs adrianfhr (612) as White

After 43. Rxc3
After 43. Rxc3: I took Black's rook on c3, but bxc3 creates a passed pawn that promotes two moves later.

Game 6: Loss vs Twin_12 (467) as White

After 37...Rxc1#
After 37...Rxc1#: Back rank checkmate.

Game 7: Loss vs Schauderbasis (479) as White

After 18. Be4
After 18. Be4: I put my bishop right in front of Black's rook on e8. Hung it for free.

Game 8: Loss vs Singh_brajendra (562) as Black

After 24. Nf6+
After 24. Nf6+: Knight forks my king and rook. I played Re8 without seeing it coming.

Game 9: Loss vs bradvukich (538) as Black

After 28...Bxd4+
After 28...Bxd4+: I grabbed a pawn with my bishop, but Nxd4 wins it right back. Now I'm down a bishop in a rook endgame with no way back.

Game 10: Loss vs Bartveidr (515) as Black

After 29. Rxf8#
After 29. Rxf8#: Back rank checkmate.

Game 11: Loss vs SRPK33K1 (530) as White

After 18. Rf2
After 18. Rf2: I moved my rook right into Black's bishop. Bxf2+ wins the exchange.

Game 12: Loss vs Gilmet7 (537) as Black

After 20...Rae8
After 20...Rae8: I attacked White's queen but it easily escapes with Qxh4, taking my queen. Should have just traded queens with Qxe7.

Reflections

Twelve losses. Three checkmates, one time loss, and eight resignations. Rating dropped from 570 to 503. The pattern is clear: I’m not thinking before I move. Hanging pieces on defended squares, forgetting about back rank mates, blundering into forks, trading queens for bishops. Every one of these losses was me giving the game away.

There’s no point playing fast if you’re just going to blunder the game.