Week 58: why do I keep blundering my queen? Three games, three warnings
After fourteen days without a rated rapid game, February 20 and 21, 2025 brought three rapid games: one win, two losses, and a rating change from 1264 to 1257 (−7). The rating barely moved. My play did: average accuracy 58.4%, the lowest of any week this winter, with 11 blunders in three games. And the most expensive move of the week was the one every beginner knows too well. So this post is about the question I typed after game 1353: why do I keep blundering my queen?
The week in numbers
| Rapid games | 3 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 1 / 2 / 0 |
| Rating | 1264 → 1257 (−7) |
| Record with White / Black | 1–1 / 0–1 |
| Average accuracy | 58.4% |
| Blunders (mine) | 11 |
| Most played openings | Indian Game Knights Variation East Indian Defense (1), Indian Game (1), Modern Defense Three Pawns Attack with 2 f4 (1) |
The win was not pretty. Game 1352, against CONGASIDA (1252), had five blunders from me, three of them with under a minute on the clock, and twice I threw away a position the engine rated above +6. I still won by checkmate on move 61 with 5 seconds left. The two losses were quicker: one lasted 14 moves, the other 22.
Game 1353: the queen move that ended the game
With White against AUTISMMAIN (1302) in an Indian Game (game on Chess.com), the position after 13 moves was fine, +0.80, slightly better for me.
Qc6 attacks the knight on b6 and the rook on a8. Two targets, so it feels strong. But the square c6 is covered by the black knight on e7, and the engine's answer is simply Nxc6: the knight takes the queen. The evaluation went from +0.80 to −8.27. My opponent took it, and that was the end of the game; Chess.com recorded it as abandoned after 14.Qc6 Nxc6. The engine's move, Qc2, just retreats the queen and keeps the small edge.
This is the purest version of a queen blunder: I looked at what my move attacked, and I never looked at who could attack the square I was moving to.
Game 1354: a hanging knight and a hungry queen
The next day, with Black against Phoenix8890 (1284) in a Modern Defense, Three Pawns Attack (game link), I was already in trouble on move 5.
My knight had taken a pawn on f4 with 4...Nxf4, and after 5.d4 it was in the line of White's dark-squared bishop on c1. I developed my bishop instead of saving the knight, and the engine's answer is Bxf4: the bishop takes the knight. +1.01 became +6.57. That is a hanging piece: a piece that can be taken for free.
What happened next is the queen part of the story. I won the material back when my queen took a white bishop on g5 (11...Qxg5), and later the engine even had me winning, −3.56. Then my queen went shopping: 15...Qxd4+, 18...Qxb2, 19...Qxc3. Three pawns, while White's knight sat on f6 next to my king and a rook swung over to h3. The engine marks 18...Qxb2 as a blunder (−3.56 to +0.86), and three moves later 21...b6 allowed 22.Rxh7#, checkmate.
Game 1352: a rook move that let the queen in
The third key moment comes from my win. With White against CONGASIDA (1252) (game) I was completely winning, +6.46.
Rfd1 attacks the black bishop on d3, which has no defender. But the engine's reply is Qe2+, a queen check next to my king that also attacks my rook on d1 and my knight on f3. +6.46 became −0.66. Black played exactly 25...Qe2+, and I needed another 36 moves and a lot of luck to win. The engine's Bc7 keeps a winning position (+6.27).
The lesson of the week
All three games had the same weak spot: the queen. Mine walked to a square a knight covered. Mine went pawn-grabbing while my king was being surrounded. Black's got a free check because I moved a rook without asking what it opened. The habit I took from this week is very specific: before any queen move, I look at the destination square from my opponent's side of the board and count every piece that could capture there. And before any move at all, I ask whether it lets the opponent's queen give a check. Those two questions would have changed every game of this week.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1352 | Feb 20 | White | CONGASIDA (1252) | Win (checkmate) | Indian Game Knights Variation East Indian Defense | 50.7 | game |
| 1353 | Feb 20 | White | AUTISMMAIN (1302) | Loss (abandoned) | Indian Game | 71.0 | game |
| 1354 | Feb 21 | Black | Phoenix8890 (1284) | Loss (checkmate) | Modern Defense Three Pawns Attack with 2 f4 | 53.5 | game |
See week 57 for the single game before this, and week 59 for what came next. The full series is on the journey hub. If you want your own queen blunders found and explained, this is how Chess Coach does it.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I keep blundering my queen?
In game 1353 I moved my queen to c6 because it attacked a knight and a rook, and I didn't check that a black knight could take it there. The evaluation went from +0.80 to −8.27 in one move. I looked at what my queen attacked, not at what attacked the square.
What was your accuracy that week?
58.4% on average over three games, my lowest weekly average of the winter. My best game of the week was 71.0%, and that was the one where I lost my queen.
Can you win a game with 50% accuracy?
I did that week. Game 1352 had 50.7% accuracy and five blunders from me, and I still won by checkmate with 5 seconds left on my clock.