# Week 50: why do I keep blundering in chess? 83 blunders in 35 games

> Week 50 of my chess diary: 35 rapid games, 18 wins and 17 losses, 1120 → 1141. I made 83 blunders, and two of them got me checkmated on move 17.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w51/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Thirty-five rapid games in one week, December 16 to 22, 2024: **18 wins, 17 losses, rating 1120 → 1141 (+21)**. It was the busiest week of this stretch and, according to Stockfish, the sloppiest. I made **83 blunders**, about 2.4 per game. So this post is my honest attempt to answer the question every improving player types into Google at some point: why do I keep blundering in chess? The data from this week gives a clearer answer than I expected, and it is not "time trouble".

## The week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Rapid games | 35 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 18 / 17 / 0 |
| Rating | 1120 → 1141 (+21) |
| Record with White / Black | 11–6 / 7–11 |
| Average accuracy | 75.5% |
| Blunders (mine) | 83 |
| Most played openings | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation (6), Indian Game (5), Modern Defense with 1 e4 (4) |

A few things jump out of the full game list. White was my good side: 11–6, helped by the Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation, which went 5–1. Black was the problem: 7–11, with the Modern Defense against 1.e4 going 1–3. The rating moved like a seesaw: down to 1092 after game 1205, up to 1157 after game 1219, and back to 1141 by Sunday night. In between there was a run of four straight losses on December 18 (games 1199 to 1202) and a run of six straight wins on December 21 and 22 (games 1212 to 1217).

Where did the 83 blunders happen? **63 in the middlegame, 11 in the opening and 9 in the endgame.** Only 9 of them were played with less than a minute on my clock. 59 of the 83 came with five minutes or more left on my 10-minute clock, which means I had the time to check and didn't use it. Only five games had no blunder from me at all (games 1188, 1195, 1212, 1216 and 1217), and I won every one of them.

## Two moves next to my own king

The engine picked three key moments from the week. Two of them are almost the same mistake, played on the same day, a few hours apart, and both ended in checkmate on move 17. (The third, 9...b5 in game 1187 against Hotstreak5, attacked a queen but let White's bishop take on b5 and pin my knight on c6 to my king; a **pin** means the piece can't move without exposing something more valuable behind it.)

### Game 1189: recapturing with the wrong piece

I had Black against **Daognamanka (1182)** in an Indian Game ([game on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128077746105)). White's queen had reached h6 and a pawn had just landed on g6, next to my king. The engine rated the position +0.81, only slightly better for White.

> **Two ways to take the pawn on g6, and only one of them keeps my king alive**
> Position (FEN): `r4rk1/pp3p1p/3pbqPQ/4p3/3nP3/5P2/PPP3P1/2KR1BNR b - - 0 16`
> Played: fxg6 — fxg6 takes the pawn on g6 with my f-pawn
> Better: Qxg6 — Qxg6 takes the pawn with my queen and attacks the white queen on h6

I took back with the pawn. After fxg6, White has Qxh7, which the engine marks as checkmate: the queen takes the pawn next to my king, with the rook on h1 behind it on the open h-file. The evaluation went from +0.81 to mate in one, and my opponent found it straight away. The engine's move was Qxg6: take with the queen, which also attacks White's queen, and the line goes 17.Ne2 Qxh6+ 18.Rxh6, a queen trade and a position only slightly worse for me. Same capture, different piece, completely different game.

### Game 1190: castling into the attack

Three hours later I had White against **urangkareh (1182)**, who answered my 1.d4 with the Englund Gambit ([game link](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128089202791)). I was already worse, −1.66, with Black's queen on g4 and bishop on d6 pointing at my kingside.

> **Castling is usually safe, but here it moves the king to where Black's pieces are already aiming**
> Position (FEN): `r3k2r/p4ppp/3b1n2/1p1p4/2pPp1q1/1PP1P3/P1Q1NPPP/R1B1K2R w KQkq - 2 15`
> Played: O-O — O-O castles the king to the kingside
> Better: Ng3 — Ng3 moves the knight from e2 to g3

Castling is the move every beginner is told to play, and normally the engine agrees with it. Here it made things much worse: −1.66 became −7.14. After O-O, the engine's first choice for Black is Bxh2+, the bishop taking the pawn next to my king with check. In the game Black played 15...cxb3 16.axb3 Qh5 17.Ba3 Qxh2#: the queen came to h5 and then mated on h2. Ng3, the engine's choice, keeps the king in the center for now and stays at about −1.5, clearly worse but still a game.

## The lesson of the week

My blunders this week were not random. The most expensive ones changed the pawns or pieces right next to my own king: a recapture that pulled the f-pawn away and left h7 to the queen, and a castle that put my king on the same diagonal as an enemy bishop. Both happened with more than five minutes on the clock. **Before any capture or castle near my own king, I need to ask one question: after this move, what can the opponent check or capture next to my king?** It takes ten seconds. Those ten seconds would have saved two games in a single day.

The other lesson is about expectations. Nine games this week had four or more of my blunders and I still won five of them, because the other player blundered too. At this rating the game often goes to whoever blunders last, which is a good reason to never give up a bad position early, and a bad reason to feel good about a win.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1187 | Dec 16 | Black | Hotstreak5 (1220) | Loss (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening | 80.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128047166635) |
| 1188 | Dec 16 | White | kJfjfkfkfk (1162) | Win (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 93.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128077177895) |
| 1189 | Dec 16 | Black | Daognamanka (1182) | Loss (checkmate) | Indian Game | 72.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128077746105) |
| 1190 | Dec 16 | White | urangkareh (1182) | Loss (checkmate) | Englund Gambit | 56.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128089202791) |
| 1191 | Dec 16 | Black | Yaghoubi_IRAN_52 (1119) | Loss (abandoned) | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 57.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128099401821) |
| 1192 | Dec 16 | White | donniedarko07 (1125) | Win (resignation) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 84.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128108457933) |
| 1193 | Dec 17 | White | acquyfff-kk (1119) | Win (checkmate) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 91.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128163536179) |
| 1194 | Dec 17 | White | 1peterben (1129) | Loss (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 57.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128180447473) |
| 1195 | Dec 17 | Black | sofiacervera14 (1136) | Win (time) | Reti Opening Pirc Invitation | 96.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128186372321) |
| 1196 | Dec 17 | Black | boulah09 (1130) | Loss (abandoned) | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 55.5 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128188802661) |
| 1197 | Dec 17 | White | hirk_46 (1180) | Win (checkmate) | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 91.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128191149813) |
| 1198 | Dec 18 | Black | iosf_otters (1125) | Win (abandoned) | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 83.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128218784531) |
| 1199 | Dec 18 | White | nelsonAj12 (1182) | Loss (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 75.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128221130357) |
| 1200 | Dec 18 | Black | Hardmankaz (1178) | Loss (abandoned) | Indian Game | 76.5 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128257810447) |
| 1201 | Dec 18 | Black | jonnys81 (1109) | Loss (checkmate) | Modern Defense Standard Line | 73.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128271559237) |
| 1202 | Dec 18 | Black | danielott1 (1119) | Loss (abandoned) | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 79.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128303985695) |
| 1203 | Dec 19 | White | trener_Alexandr (1092) | Win (checkmate) | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 79.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/121563221054) |
| 1204 | Dec 19 | White | hi4apoorva (1142) | Loss (abandoned) | Indian Game | 85.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128350765705) |
| 1205 | Dec 19 | Black | rabaeyo (1089) | Loss (abandoned) | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 69.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/121571283500) |
| 1206 | Dec 20 | White | Amateurcatur (1092) | Win (checkmate) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 54.9 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/121579403236) |
| 1207 | Dec 20 | White | sambos98 (1084) | Win (checkmate) | Queen's Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 61.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/121584938038) |
| 1208 | Dec 20 | Black | jake1dicello (1109) | Loss (abandoned) | Pirc Defense Classical Variation | 57.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128449459099) |
| 1209 | Dec 21 | Black | Nb1230dj (1090) | Win (resignation) | Queen's Pawn Opening | 87.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/121607144678) |
| 1210 | Dec 21 | Black | AndrzejOsinski (1126) | Win (resignation) | Pirc Defense Classical Variation | 83.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128534051009) |
| 1211 | Dec 21 | White | frogfriends0987 (1140) | Loss (checkmate) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 65.5 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128535160387) |
| 1212 | Dec 21 | Black | mdsohrabx (1098) | Win (checkmate) | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 97.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128537606821) |
| 1213 | Dec 21 | White | matefaim (1094) | Win (checkmate) | Indian Game | 81.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128538201499) |
| 1214 | Dec 21 | White | Zachs_Glasses (1101) | Win (resignation) | Indian Game | 84.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128538230135) |
| 1215 | Dec 21 | Black | Kartoffel-fee (1117) | Win (resignation) | Queen's Pawn Opening | 76.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128538760835) |
| 1216 | Dec 22 | White | PresidentDJTrump (1136) | Win (resignation) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 97.5 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128600609109) |
| 1217 | Dec 22 | White | wbaqaie (1120) | Win (resignation) | London System | 90.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128601773773) |
| 1218 | Dec 22 | Black | peacebapeace (1152) | Loss (abandoned) | Pirc Defense Classical Schlechter Variation | 48.5 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128604162193) |
| 1219 | Dec 22 | Black | albvella (1181) | Win (resignation) | Pirc Defense Classical Variation | 52.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128627549185) |
| 1220 | Dec 22 | Black | Calibogue (1159) | Loss (time) | King's Indian Defense Normal Variation | 72.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128630056455) |
| 1221 | Dec 22 | White | borjacalvelo (1152) | Loss (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Krause Variation | 75.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/128647989885) |

Previous week: [week 49](/journey/week-2024-w50/). Next week: [week 51](/journey/week-2024-w52/). The whole series lives on the [journey page](/journey/), and the analysis behind it is what Chess Coach does for [your own games](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

## FAQ

### Why do I keep blundering in chess?

In my week 50 games, 63 of my 83 blunders came in the middlegame and only 9 with less than a minute left, so time pressure was not the main cause. Two of the worst were moves next to my own king, a recapture and castling, that opened a mating attack.

### How many blunders per game did you make that week?

83 blunders in 35 games, about 2.4 per game. Only five games had no blunder from me at all, and I won all five.

### Can you blunder and still win at chess?

Yes, at my level it happened all the time. Nine of my games that week had four or more of my blunders and I still won five of them, because my opponents blundered as well.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 49 (Dec 2024): six losses from winning positions](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w50.md)
- [Week 51: reaching 1200 over Christmas](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w52.md)
- [Can Claude analyze chess games? Yes, with Stockfish](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/can-claude-analyze-chess-games.md)