# Week 87: ten blunders before a rapid timeout

> Week 87: 1222 to 1206 in 14 rapid games (6-8). 47 blunders, 10 of them in one game I was winning until my clock ran down to seconds.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w39/
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Week 87 (September 22–26, 2025): **47 blunders in 14 rapid games**, **6 wins and 8 losses**, and my rating moved from **1222 to 1206**. In game 1694 I recorded ten blunders before a rapid timeout, with my clock running down through the middlegame. That game is the focus below, alongside two more moments from the week.

## Ten blunders before a rapid timeout: the week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 14 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 6 / 8 / 0 |
| Rating | 1222 → 1206 (-16) |
| Average accuracy | 75.9% |
| Blunders | 47 |
| Most played openings | Modern Defense with 1 d4 (2), Pirc Defense (2), Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense (2) |

The week had a five-game losing streak in the middle (games 1696 to 1700). Of my 47 blunders, 35 came in the middlegame, 6 in the opening and 6 in the endgame. Ten were played with a low clock, and all ten were in that single game, number 1694. Without it, the week would have been bad but ordinary. With it, it's a lesson.

## Game 1694: how a 10-minute game is lost on time

I was Black against [pHaeXYr (1213)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143413650128), in the Modern Defense against 1.d4. The clock tells the story better than the moves. After my 25th move I had 289 seconds left. By move 30 I had 120. On move 32 alone I spent 58 seconds, and the move I found, 32...Bxd6, was a blunder that took the evaluation from -1.24 (good for me) to +4.23. I had 56 seconds left for the rest of the game.

Then the position swung back. On move 35 I was winning again, -4.98, with 38 seconds. Here are my blunders from then on, with the seconds I had left after each: 35...Ne7 (38), 37...Qxe6 (31), 39...Nc6 (24), 41...Nd4 (20), 42...Ke6 (18), 46...Rxf2+ (12), 48...Kc3 (11), 49...Rb2+ (10), 50...Rc2+ (8). Each one gave away a large part of the evaluation, and between them the advantage changed hands several times. On move 57 I had 4 seconds and White was mating; the clock ran out first. My accuracy for the game was 64.0%, with 13 blunders in total, and 26 of my 57 moves were made with a low clock.

The honest reading: the blunders with 10 seconds left are not the real mistake. The real mistake was spending four minutes on seven middlegame moves in a 10-minute game with no increment.

> **Move 17 against pHaeXYr: White's pawns had reached g5 and h5, close to my king**
> Position (FEN): `r1b2rk1/2p3bp/2n1p1p1/pp1qPpPP/3PpP2/P3B3/1PPQB3/1K1R2NR b - - 0 17`
> Played: b4 — Pawn from b5 to b4
> Better: Rd8 — Rook from f8 to d8

The first big swing in that game came earlier, with plenty of time on the clock. White's kingside pawns were already on g5 and h5. I pushed 17...b4 on the other side of the board, and the evaluation went from -0.53 to +2.56. Stockfish's answer for White starts with 18.h6, a pawn attacking my bishop on g7, and then 19.c4, a pawn attacking my queen on d5. Pawns gaining time with attacks. The engine's choice for me was the calm 17...Rd8, keeping things about equal.

## Two more moments from the week

> **Move 16 against jhonperada: the same calm rook move, ignored again**
> Position (FEN): `r3nr2/pp1bppkp/nqp3p1/4P3/2P4P/P1N2N2/1P1Q1PP1/RB2K2R b KQ - 0 16`
> Played: f6 — Pawn from f7 to f6
> Better: Rd8 — Rook from a8 to d8

The same idea, later that same day, against [jhonperada (1202)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143438634800). Stockfish wanted 16...Rd8 again, and again I played a pawn move next to my own king instead: 16...f6, from +0.80 to +3.20. In the engine's lines White's h-pawn advances towards my king. In the game it did, 17.h5, I blundered once more with 17...Nc5, and the evaluation reached +17.34. My opponent didn't find the finish, and I won when the game was abandoned on move 33.

> **Move 10 against budaksekip: the c7 pawn, free for my bishop**
> Position (FEN): `r3k1nr/ppp2ppp/5q2/n2p4/3P1Bb1/P3PN2/1P1K1PPP/R2Q1B1R w kq - 1 10`
> Played: Be2 — Bishop from f1 to e2
> Better: Bxc7 — Bishop takes the pawn on c7, attacking the undefended knight on a5

And as White, against [budaksekip (1242)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143456102792), Black's 9...Na5 was a blunder that left the c7 pawn hanging to my bishop on f4. Stockfish's 10.Bxc7 takes it and also attacks the knight on a5, which had no defender. I developed with 10.Be2, and my advantage dropped from +2.42 to +0.49. It's the second week in a row that my London bishop on f4 ignored a free pawn on c7. I lost this one later.

## The lesson of the week

Budget the clock by phase, not by feeling. In a 10-minute game with no increment, a minute on a single middlegame move is a luxury I can't afford, and game 1694 shows the bill: all ten of my low-clock blunders this week came after one long think. My rule from now on is rough but simple: if I have less than half my time left before move 25, I play the next few moves on principle and save the long thinks for real crises. And when a calm move like ...Rd8 is available, I should play it instead of pushing pawns next to my own king.

## All games this week

| # | Date | Colour | Opponent | Result | Opening | Accuracy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1694 | 2025-09-22 | Black | pHaeXYr (1213) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 64.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143413650128) |
| 1695 | 2025-09-22 | Black | jhonperada (1202) | Win | English Opening Anglo Indian Queen's Knight Variation | 86.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143438634800) |
| 1696 | 2025-09-23 | White | budaksekip (1242) | Loss | Englund Gambit | 79.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143456102792) |
| 1697 | 2025-09-23 | Black | SanjeevDuseja1 (1219) | Loss | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 74.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143465445828) |
| 1698 | 2025-09-23 | White | gtmlsecu (1231) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 78.8% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143479534822) |
| 1699 | 2025-09-24 | Black | Juzoo7 (1192) | Loss | Pirc Defense | 59.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143517075094) |
| 1700 | 2025-09-25 | White | Amitionz (1197) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Mikenas Defense | 81.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143537905730) |
| 1701 | 2025-09-25 | Black | WaHuBa29 (1179) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 98.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143546166754) |
| 1702 | 2025-09-25 | Black | warhelkrd (1170) | Win | Pirc Defense | 93.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143555109664) |
| 1703 | 2025-09-25 | White | Sesshomaru6 (1190) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening | 55.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143556653622) |
| 1704 | 2025-09-25 | Black | joncena1702 (1181) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 58.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143558690226) |
| 1705 | 2025-09-26 | White | Leendert-Jan1975 (1194) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 78.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143578466454) |
| 1706 | 2025-09-26 | Black | seregadatsenko (1212) | Loss | Reti Opening Nimzo Larsen Double Fianchetto Attack | 61.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143578857628) |
| 1707 | 2025-09-26 | White | tyhcd (1197) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 93.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/143584679534) |

Previous week: [week 86](/journey/week-2025-w38/). Next week: [week 88](/journey/week-2025-w40/). The rest of the story is on the [journey page](/journey/). Clock times and evaluations come from the same game review Chess Coach gives you when you [review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

For a general method beyond this week's games, see [the clock-review guide](/answers/why-do-i-keep-losing-on-time-in-chess/).

## FAQ

### Where did the clock go before my ten-blunder timeout?

In game 1694 I spent about four minutes on moves 26 to 32, with 56 seconds recorded after move 32. Ten blunders appeared in the final 25 moves before the time loss.

### Is it better to lose on time or to blunder?

In that game I did both. I was winning (-4.98 for Black, me) on move 35 with 38 seconds left, and from there I blundered nine more times before my clock ran out.

### Did I ever win on time this week?

Yes, once. In game 1704 my opponent's clock ran out while I still had 56 seconds.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 86 (Sep 2025): how my opponents beat the Modern Defense](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w38.md)
- [Week 88 (Sep 2025): stuck at 1200, sliding to 1168](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w40.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)
- [Why do I keep losing on time in chess?](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/why-do-i-keep-losing-on-time-in-chess.md)