Week 59: a rook left hanging on move two
On February 27–28, 2025 I played ten rapid games, nine on the first day: 5 wins, 5 losses, rating 1257 → 1259 (+2). With Black I went 3–1, and with White 2–4. A rook left hanging on move two, a missed bishop capture and two knight decisions provide the concrete material for this week's review.
A rook left hanging on move two: the week in numbers
| Rapid games | 10 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 5 / 5 / 0 |
| Rating | 1257 → 1259 (+2) |
| Record with White / Black | 2–4 / 3–1 |
| Average accuracy | 79.2% |
| Blunders (mine) | 15 |
| Most played openings | Modern Defense with 1 d4 (2), Polish Opening (1), Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation (1) |
Two numbers were good. I made 15 blunders in 10 games, 1.5 per game, and none of them came with less than a minute on the clock. And there were real highlights: game 1357 against busao (1253) with 97.1% accuracy, game 1362 against Feuersteinke (1247) with 96.0% and no blunders at all, and a Pirc Classical win on time at 93.0% against shravanboddula (1247). The rest of the week was about pieces left without protection.
A rook on move 2
The week's first game was with Black against newbies808 (1263), who opened 1.b4 (the Polish Opening) (game on Chess.com).
After 1.b4 g6 2.Bb2, White's bishop points straight down the long diagonal to my rook in the corner, because my g-pawn has left g7 and nothing stands in between. I played 2...d6, a normal developing move that does nothing about it. The engine's reply for White is Bxh8: the bishop takes the rook in the corner, and the evaluation goes from +0.10 to +5.78. Nf6 would have blocked the diagonal. My opponent played 3.Nc3 instead, and resigned after move 7.
This is the most common way I hang pieces: not by moving a piece to a bad square, but by not noticing what my opponent's last move started attacking.
A free bishop I didn't take
Eight minutes later, with White against Lorenzodd15 (1283) in a Modern Defense against my 1.d4 (game link), the roles were reversed. I was winning, +5.48, and Black's bishop on g4 was there for the taking.
The engine's move is Nxg4: take the bishop, +5.93. I played c3. The engine's best answer for Black is then Qxd1+, a queen trade with check that also attacks my rook on a1 and my knight on f3; its line 13.Rxd1 Bxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxd1 ends with Black ahead. +5.48 became −1.74. In the game Black played 12...Bxe5, I blundered again with 13.Qb3, and after 13...Bxf3 I was a piece down for good. Hanging pieces have a mirror image: the free piece you don't take. Before every move I should ask what my opponent left undefended, not only what I did.
A knight walking into a double attack
With White against lotfi_mani (1285) (game), I was clearly better, +2.62.
Nxc6 wins a pawn and hits the queen. But the knight on c6 is attacked by the bishop on b7 and defended only by my bishop on e4, and the engine's reply, 19...Qe8, attacks it a second time. The evaluation went from +2.62 to −6.19. My opponent traded instead (19...Bxc6 20.Bxc6), and I won this game when they abandoned it, but in that position the knight was hanging in the more subtle sense: attacked twice, defended once.
The one time this week a hanging piece was actually punished was game 1361 against Ferminllera (1268) (game): 12.Ng5 put my knight on a square the black queen controlled, 12...Qxg5 took it, and the game was over at move 12.
The lesson of the week
Counting this week's moments, I left a rook, a knight and a potential knight hanging, and I missed a free bishop. They all have the same cure, which is boring and works: after every move my opponent makes, I ask "what does that move attack now?" Before every move I make, I ask "after this, is any of my pieces attacked more times than it is defended?" The first question would have saved the rook on h8. The second would have saved the knights on c6 and g5. And the same counting from the other side would have found Nxg4.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1355 | Feb 27 | Black | newbies808 (1263) | Win (resignation) | Polish Opening | 66.6 | game |
| 1356 | Feb 27 | White | Lorenzodd15 (1283) | Loss (abandoned) | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 63.6 | game |
| 1357 | Feb 27 | White | busao (1253) | Win (resignation) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 97.1 | game |
| 1358 | Feb 27 | Black | shravanboddula (1247) | Win (time) | Pirc Defense Classical Variation | 93.0 | game |
| 1359 | Feb 27 | White | lotfi_mani (1285) | Win (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 64.5 | game |
| 1360 | Feb 27 | Black | sssss12frhhu (1315) | Loss (abandoned) | Alekhine's Defense Modern Alburt Variation | 69.8 | game |
| 1361 | Feb 27 | White | Ferminllera (1268) | Loss (abandoned) | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 77.0 | game |
| 1362 | Feb 27 | Black | Feuersteinke (1247) | Win (abandoned) | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 96.0 | game |
| 1363 | Feb 27 | White | shub2222 (1304) | Loss (abandoned) | London System | 91.9 | game |
| 1364 | Feb 28 | White | mahmoud103 (1296) | Loss (resignation) | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 72.9 | game |
For the queen blunders before this, see week 58; for what came after, week 60. The diary's index is on the journey page, and you can have Chess Coach look for hanging pieces in your own games.
For a general method beyond this week's games, see the piece-safety routine.
Frequently asked questions
How did my rook end up hanging on move two?
After White's bishop reached b2, it attacked my rook on h8 along the diagonal. I played a move that did not defend the rook in game 1355, but White did not take it.
What does it mean to hang a piece?
A hanging piece is one your opponent can take for free, because nothing defends it or because it is attacked more times than it is defended. My rook on h8 in game 1355 was hanging: one bishop capture would have won it.
Did your opponents punish the hanging pieces?
Only once. In game 1361 the queen took my knight on g5 straight away. In game 1355 my opponent didn't take the rook, and in game 1359 they traded instead of winning my knight. I didn't punish anything either: in game 1356 I left a free bishop on g4.