# Week 34: seven chess games without a win

> Week 34 of my chess journey: 993 → 945 (-48) with 0 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, and the engine says I was winning in six of those seven games.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w35/
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Week 34: **7 rapid games** between August 28 and 30, 2024, **no wins, 6 losses and 1 draw**, and my rating fell from **993 to 945**. In six of those seven chess games without a win, the engine's winning-chance estimate reached 80% or more at some point. The positions below show how my advantages changed; the recorded terminations give a separate part of the story.

## Seven chess games without a win: the week in numbers

| Stat | This week |
|---|---|
| Rating | 993 → 945 (-48) |
| Games | 7 (#829–#835) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 0 / 6 / 1 |
| Blunders (my moves) | 17 (2.4 per game) |
| Average accuracy | 68.2 % |
| Most played openings | Kings Pawn Opening (1), Scotch Game Goring Double Pawn Sacrifice Variation (1), Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation (1) |

The accuracy, 68.2 %, was my lowest for weeks, and 17 blunders in 7 games is almost two and a half per game. I played seven different openings in seven games, so there is no single opening to blame. With Black I lost three and drew one; with White I lost all three.

## Six advantages in seven games: what the data says

I went through the seven games looking for a common thread, and three things stand out.

**First, the blunders came late.** Eleven of my 17 blunders happened in the middlegame, after I had already built an advantage. The opening was not the problem; keeping the advantage was.

**Second, I stopped counting defenders.** In the first two key moments below, a piece of mine was left with one defender, or none, and my opponent found the capture straight away.

**Third, I walked away.** Five of my six losses are recorded by Chess.com as "game abandoned": I left the game instead of resigning or playing on. One of them, [game 831](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108968458760) against CAVMA9 (969), is the strangest of the week: 96.7 % accuracy, zero blunders, a winning chance above 80 %, and still a loss by abandonment. Whatever happened there, it was not the chess.

The only loss that went to the end was [game 835](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109001935426), an Englund Gambit against mansaris1408 (975), where I was checkmated after three blunders of my own.

## Three positions where the win slipped

### Game 829: a knight defended only by my king

With Black against Goldenstate2023 (984), the engine had me at -4.42, "black is winning". My knight was still at home on b8, and I developed it.

> **Game 829, move 21: the knight on d7 would have only one defender, my king**
> Position (FEN): `rn2kr2/ppp4p/3p3p/P2Pp3/QP6/2P1q1P1/3R1R1P/2K5 b - - 2 21`
> Played: Nd7 — Nd7 — knight from b8 to d7
> Better: c6 — c6 — pawn from c7 to c6, attacking the pawn on d5

The problem was not the square itself but who protected it. After 21...Nd7 White traded rooks with check, 22.Rxf8+ Kxf8, and position.py spells out the consequence: my king's recapture "stops defending the knight on the queen's side, which can now be captured". White's queen took it on d7 and the engine went from -4.42 to 0.00. The pawn move c6 kept "black is winning". You can [replay the game here](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108966445548).

### Game 830: from +8 to lost in two moves

Against Nasci77 (980) I had a huge attack with Black: rooks on the h-file, a pawn on h2, my queen on g3. The engine's number was -8.11, "black is completely winning".

> **Game 830, move 27: one more rook to the h-file was all I needed**
> Position (FEN): `2kr4/1pp3p1/p1np1p2/P7/4P3/4RPqr/3Q3p/2B2K1R b - - 5 27`
> Played: Nxa5 — Nxa5 — knight takes the pawn on a5, but the knight can now be captured
> Better: Rdh8 — Rdh8 — rook from d8 to h8, joining the attack

Instead of bringing my last rook to the h-file, I took a pawn on the other side of the board. Position.py's warning is short: "the knight can now be captured", and White's queen did exactly that. The real disaster came one move later in the [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108966793984): 28...Qg2+ simply gave my queen away to 29.Kxg2, and the evaluation swung from -3.69 to +8.51. One greedy move, then one panicked move.

### Game 832: an early knight on the edge

The third moment is from the opening. Against InyoureMum (955), after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qf3, I put my knight on h6.

> **Game 832, move 3: Nh6 instead of the natural Nf6**
> Position (FEN): `rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p3/2B1P3/5Q2/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b KQkq - 3 3`
> Played: Nh6 — Nh6 — knight from g8 to h6
> Better: Nf6 — Nf6 — knight from g8 to f6, about equal

The engine's punishment is 4.d4: position.py describes it as a pawn move that attacks my bishop on c5 and my pawn on e5 at the same time, and also "opens a line: the bishop that has not moved yet now attacks the knight". The evaluation jumped from -0.12 to +4.63. My opponent did not find it, the game turned wild, and it ended in a draw by repetition after 6 blunders from me. I was winning at one point there too, which is why it counts among the six.

## The lesson of the week

A winning position is not a won game. What I need when I'm ahead is a short checklist before every move: *which of my pieces is defended only once, and can a check or a trade remove that defender?* And when I'm attacking, *does my move add a piece to the attack, or take one away from it?* In game 829 a single trade removed my knight's only defender. In game 830 a pawn grab pulled my knight out of play and invited the capture. The third lesson isn't chess at all: if I leave the game, I lose it for certain. Staying and playing the position out is the only way a winning chance can still turn into a win.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 829 | Aug 28 | Black | Goldenstate2023 (984) | Loss | Kings Pawn Opening | 71.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108966445548) |
| 830 | Aug 28 | Black | Nasci77 (980) | Loss | Scotch Game Goring Double Pawn Sacrifice Variation | 52.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108966793984) |
| 831 | Aug 28 | White | CAVMA9 (969) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 96.7 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108968458760) |
| 832 | Aug 29 | Black | InyoureMum (955) | Draw | Bishops Opening Boi Variation | 52.5 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108976253794) |
| 833 | Aug 29 | White | Vajiraal (982) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 86.4 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108976875356) |
| 834 | Aug 30 | Black | anmol9841 (989) | Loss | Scotch Game | 53.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108993241250) |
| 835 | Aug 30 | White | mansaris1408 (975) | Loss | Englund Gambit | 64.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109001935426) |

[← Week 33](/journey/week-2024-w34/) · [Week 35 →](/journey/week-2024-w36/) · [Back to the journey](/journey/) · If you want to know where your own wins slip away, [review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

For a general method beyond this week's games, see [the guide to reviewing lost winning positions](/answers/why-do-i-keep-losing-winning-positions-in-chess/).

## FAQ

### How did seven chess games finish without a win?

The results were six losses and one draw. Five losses were recorded as abandoned, and the key positions show a removed knight defender and a pawn capture that exposed a knight.

### How do you know a position was winning?

Every game was analysed with Stockfish. In six of the seven games the engine gave me at least an 80 % chance of winning at some point, yet I won none of them.

### What should you do when you are winning?

My games point to two habits: before each move, check which of your pieces is defended only once, and prefer moves that bring another piece into the attack over grabbing a pawn.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 33 (Aug 2024): my Zukertort setup and an en passant shock](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w34.md)
- [Week 35 (Sep 2024): stuck at 945 and the forks I didn't see](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w36.md)
- [Can Claude analyze chess games? Yes, with Stockfish](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/can-claude-analyze-chess-games.md)
- [Why do I keep losing winning positions in chess?](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/why-do-i-keep-losing-winning-positions-in-chess.md)