# Week 65: why do I blunder so much in chess? 68 blunders in 24 games

> Week 65 of my chess diary: 1267 → 1265 in 24 rapid games (11 W, 12 L, 1 D) and 68 blunders. Why do I blunder so much? The data answers.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w15/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Why do I blunder so much in chess? Week 65 put a number on that question. Between April 7 and 13, 2025, I played 24 rapid games, went from **1267 to 1265** (−2) and finished with **11 wins, 12 losses and 1 draw**. Stockfish flagged **68 of my moves as blunders**, almost three per game. My opponents, rated 1273 on average, made 71. That is why my rating stood still: it was a week of mutual mistakes, and whoever made the last one usually lost.

## The week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 24 (12 with White, 12 with Black) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 11 / 12 / 1 |
| Rating | 1267 → 1265 (−2); high 1296, low 1251 |
| Average accuracy | 76.1% |
| Blunders (Stockfish) | 68 |
| Most played openings | Zukertort Chigorin Variation (6), Modern Defense with 1.e4 (3), London System (2), Horwitz Defense (2) |

With White I went 7–5. With Black it was 4 wins, 7 losses and the draw. The Zukertort Chigorin, my main White setup that spring, split exactly 3–3.

## Where 68 blunders come from

The total sounds dramatic, but it wasn't spread evenly. One game alone, game 1440 against tommyr5000 (1294), produced 15 of them. We traded blunders back and forth for 143 half-moves (he also made 15), and it ended as a draw by insufficient material with **2 seconds** left on my clock. Game 1447 against howcaniknnow1 (1295) added seven more, and that was my lowest accuracy of the week, 45.6%.

At the other end, four games had zero blunders: 1428, 1429, 1438 and 1441. **All four were wins.** The best was game 1438 against Darwin-08 (1282): 98.8% accuracy and checkmate on move 59. So the same account that blundered 15 times on Friday had played a clean game on Thursday. Blunders are not a fixed personality trait. They show up in specific situations, and the data shows which ones.

The expensive ones were the seven games where I reached a winning position and didn't win. Game 1432 against iffe_a (1257) hurts the most: at one point the engine gave me a 96.8% winning chance, and I lost on time with my clock at zero. Then came four losses in a row (games 1445 to 1448) that took me from my high of 1296 down to 1265. In two of those four, 1445 and 1447, I'd had a winning position first.

## Moment 1: two pawns up, and I let the rook in

Game 1430 against Yea4Jona (1267), with Black ([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137173235650)). By move 34 I was two pawns up in a rook endgame, six pawns against four, and the engine had me at −4.46, which means clearly winning for Black. I pushed my d-pawn one square.

> **Two pawns up in a rook endgame. Chase White's rook, or push a pawn?**
> Position (FEN): `8/pp5p/2pp4/4p2k/7r/P2P4/1PPK2R1/8 b - - 5 34`
> Played: d5 — Pawn from d6 to d5; White's rook can now reach g7 and hit two loose pawns
> Better: Rg4 — Rook to g4 attacks White's rook on g2, which has no defender

The better move was **Rg4**: my rook attacks White's rook, which nobody defends, so White has to move it or trade. If the rooks come off, only kings and pawns are left, and I'm the one with two extra pawns. After my pawn move, White's rook gets to g7 instead, deep in my position, attacking my b7 pawn and my h7 pawn at the same time (a double attack). The evaluation dropped from −4.46 to −0.24, roughly equal, with a single quiet pawn move. The game ended in a loss on move 50.

The beginner version of the lesson: in a rook endgame, the rooks matter more than the pawns. Before you push a pawn, ask where the opponent's rook can go next.

## Moment 2: a pawn instead of a bishop

Game 1431 against L0R3nZQ (1272), Black again, a Modern Defense ([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137187797006)). My knight on a5 was already attacking White's bishop on b3. Instead of taking it, I used my other knight to grab the pawn on e4.

> **Two captures available: a pawn on e4 or a bishop on b3**
> Position (FEN): `r2q1rk1/2p2pbp/p2p1np1/np6/3PP1b1/1B2BN2/PP3PPP/RN1QR1K1 b - - 0 13`
> Played: Nxe4 — Knight takes the pawn on e4; White's bishop can answer on d5, hitting the knight and my rook on a8
> Better: Nxb3 — Knight takes the bishop on b3 and attacks the rook on a1, which has no defender

**Nxb3** takes a whole bishop. White can take my knight back, but then my other knight can still go after the e4 pawn, as the engine's line shows. After my pawn grab, White had **Bd5**: the bishop lands in the center and attacks two things at once, my knight on e4 (no defender) and my rook in the corner. The evaluation went from −2.05 (clearly better for me) to +0.26, about equal. I lost the game.

## The lesson of the week

Both moments are the same mistake in different clothes. I made a move that looked free, a pawn grab or a pawn push, without asking what it allowed the opponent's pieces to do next. The habit that would have saved both games takes five seconds: after choosing a move, look at the opponent's checks, captures and attacks in the new position. If a bigger capture is on the board, take that one first.

The second lesson is about when it happens. Only 11 of the 68 blunders came in the opening; 57 came in the middlegame and endgame, and only 10 with less than two minutes on my clock. So most of them weren't panic moves. They were moves made with time to spare and no final check. The clock only finished the job in the two worst outcomes, the 15-blunder draw and the loss on time from a winning position.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1427 | Apr 7 | White | chokojlassi (1257) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 74.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137115958486) |
| 1428 | Apr 8 | Black | Ratna-hi (1245) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 93.8% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137151193124) |
| 1429 | Apr 8 | White | KickTheApple (1253) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 94.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137170531182) |
| 1430 | Apr 8 | Black | Yea4Jona (1267) | Loss | Mieses Opening | 77.2% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137173235650) |
| 1431 | Apr 9 | Black | L0R3nZQ (1272) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 76.2% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137187797006) |
| 1432 | Apr 9 | Black | iffe_a (1257) | Loss | Pirc Defense Classical Variation | 78.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137204916262) |
| 1433 | Apr 9 | White | 32Shadows (1253) | Win | London System | 82.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137208632078) |
| 1434 | Apr 9 | White | maurodif (1239) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 83.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137210228558) |
| 1435 | Apr 10 | Black | omer401 (1262) | Win | Reti Opening Kingside Fianchetto Variation | 86.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137225864760) |
| 1436 | Apr 10 | White | Arfsun (1267) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 72.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137232032468) |
| 1437 | Apr 10 | Black | lumamia24 (1272) | Win | Caro Kann Defense | 75.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137243446084) |
| 1438 | Apr 10 | White | Darwin-08 (1282) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 98.8% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137245417944) |
| 1439 | Apr 10 | Black | UrbBaker (1274) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Larsen Attack | 75.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137245993182) |
| 1440 | Apr 11 | Black | tommyr5000 (1294) | Draw | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 65.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137257089914) |
| 1441 | Apr 11 | White | junei (1252) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 96.2% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137265296464) |
| 1442 | Apr 11 | Black | ammruta2006 (1266) | Win | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 60.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137266530560) |
| 1443 | Apr 11 | Black | Sach14M (1321) | Loss | Modern Defense Standard Line | 50.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137272430724) |
| 1444 | Apr 11 | White | EnTghen (1270) | Win | London System | 86.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137279674168) |
| 1445 | Apr 11 | White | Gaet37 (1283) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 51.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137279929750) |
| 1446 | Apr 12 | White | Michelpaban (1274) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 78.8% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137297602870) |
| 1447 | Apr 12 | Black | howcaniknnow1 (1295) | Loss | Pirc Defense Main Line Austrian Weiss Variation | 45.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137302410022) |
| 1448 | Apr 12 | Black | ReadBoysz (1361) | Loss | King's Indian Defense Normal Variation | 75.8% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137305733634) |
| 1449 | Apr 13 | White | seyedhasannoori (1255) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 89.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137329695750) |
| 1450 | Apr 13 | White | surrm (1277) | Loss | Indian Game East Indian London System | 54.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/137347662000) |

Previous week: [week 64](/journey/week-2025-w14/) · Next week: [week 66](/journey/week-2025-w16/) · Back to [the journey hub](/journey/) · Want the blunders in your own games explained like this? Try [AI chess analysis with Chess Coach](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

## FAQ

### Why do I blunder so much in chess?

In my week 65 the blunders were not spread evenly: 15 of my 68 came in one long game, and the four games with zero blunders were all wins. The two that cost me most were a pawn grab and a pawn push I didn't double-check.

### Can you still keep your rating while blundering a lot?

For a while, yes. I made 68 blunders in 24 games and only lost 2 rating points, because my opponents made 71. It's a fragile balance: the player who makes the last blunder usually loses.

### Are most chess blunders made in time trouble?

Not in my week 65. Only 10 of my 68 blunders came with less than two minutes on my clock, and 57 came in the middlegame or endgame. Time trouble made the worst endings worse, though: one game ended on 2 seconds and another on zero.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 64 (Apr 2025): a sudden losing streak, explained by data](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w14.md)
- [Week 66 (Apr 2025): the Modern Defense lifts me to 1317](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w16.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)