# Week 98: my rook was captured with check

> Week 98: 1337 → 1313 with one win and four losses. Sixteen blunders in five games: a rook lost with check, a pawn fork and a queen left hanging.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w50/
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Author: Ignacio Soler

From December 10–14, 2025 I played **five games, with one win and four losses**, and my rating moved from **1337 to 1313 (−24)**. The engine counted **16 blunders** and an average accuracy of 60.7%. A rook capture with check after I attacked a queen is the first case below, followed by other material-losing decisions.

## My rook was captured with check: the week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 5 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 1 / 4 / 0 |
| Rating | 1337 → 1313 (−24) |
| Average accuracy | 60.7 % |
| Blunders | 16 |
| Openings | London System, Englund Gambit, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Pirc Defense, Queen's Pawn Zukertort (1 each) |

Five games, five different openings. My only win came against the Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5), and it
wasn't pretty: 50.3 % accuracy, three blunders of my own, and my opponent abandoned on move 17. Twelve
of my sixteen blunders came in the middlegame.

## A rook that attacked the queen and died: game 1883

On Wednesday I played the London System as White against **emicra1973 (1378)**. Black's queen was on
c6 and their rook on c8, both on the same file. I saw that and jumped.

> **Move 15: I'm still uncastled, and the c-file belongs to Black**
> Position (FEN): `2r1k2r/1p1bppbp/p1q3p1/3p4/P2P4/1Q2PNP1/1P1N2PP/R3K2R w KQk - 0 15`
> Played: Rc1 — Rc1 — rook attacks the queen and the rook behind it, but can be taken
> Better: Kf2 — Kf2 — king steps to f2, connecting my rooks

The position.py check describes 15.Rc1 honestly: it attacks the queen on c6 and the rook behind it,
"but the rook can now be captured". Black's queen simply took it with check, 15...Qxc1+, and the
engine's line goes on with the queen also taking my other rook on h1 (−9.49). I lost a rook and the
game was abandoned on that same move. The engine's quiet options — castling, h3 or Kf2 — all kept me
only slightly worse (around −0.8). The game is [here](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146541055226).

The lesson is boring and true: an attacking move is worth nothing if the attacker can be taken. Before
I put a piece on a square, I need to count who defends that square and who attacks it. On c1 the rook
was simply taken, with check, so my next move had to be a king move and nothing was ever recaptured.

## Attacking the queen just because I can: game 1885

Later that Saturday I had Black against **27aripin (1332)**, who opened with 1.b3. On move 5
White's queen was on f3, so I attacked it.

> **Move 5: White's queen on f3 eyes my pawn on b7**
> Position (FEN): `rnbqkb1r/ppp2p1p/3p1np1/4p3/8/1PN1PQ2/PBPP1PPP/R3KBNR b KQkq - 3 5`
> Played: Bg4 — Bg4 — bishop attacks the queen
> Better: Bg7 — Bg7 — bishop develops next to my king

The problem with 5...Bg4 is where the queen goes after being attacked. The engine's first answer is
6.Qxb7: the queen takes a pawn and attacks my rook in the corner, which has no defender (+1.63). By
moving my c8 bishop away I had also taken away the piece that protected b7. With 5...Bg7 I was slightly
better (−0.82). My opponent played 6.Qg3 instead, but the b7 pawn fell anyway on move 9, and the game
got wild: this was my worst game of the week, 45.1 % accuracy and nine blunders. I even had a winning
position at one point (−5.51 before 28...Nd7 turned it into +5.20) and was mated on move 39
([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146683697698)).

## Two more pieces on Sunday

Sunday was two more losses. Against **HypeR129714 (1329)** in a Pirc, my 7...Be6 walked into 8.d5, a
pawn move that attacks my knight on c6 and my bishop on e6 at once — a *fork*, a single move that
threatens two things (+6.40). Taking the knight on f3 instead kept the game about equal. That game
lasted 12 moves. In the evening, against **dan1el2rtyu (1349)**, I was winning by more than six pawns
on move 32 and played 32.dxe5. Black's pawn had just moved from e6 to e5 and opened the diagonal of
their bishop on c8 towards h3, where my queen stood. The engine's line starts with 32...Bxh3, and that
is what happened.

## The lesson of the week

Hanging pieces isn't one mistake, it's a missing habit. This week I lost material in three ways: a
piece moved to a square where it could be taken (15.Rc1), a move that removed a defender (5...Bg4
left b7 alone), and ignoring what my opponent's last move uncovered (31...e5 opened a line to my
queen). The habit I'm building now is a two-question check before I touch a piece: *what does my
opponent's last move attack?* and *after my move, which of my pieces can be taken for free?*

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 | 2025-12-10 | White | emicra1973 (1378) | Loss | London System | 78.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146541055226) |
| 1884 | 2025-12-13 | White | Little-Finger (1306) | Win | Englund Gambit | 50.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146658977896) |
| 1885 | 2025-12-13 | Black | 27aripin (1332) | Loss | Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern | 45.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146683697698) |
| 1886 | 2025-12-14 | Black | HypeR129714 (1329) | Loss | Pirc Defense | 77.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146702247900) |
| 1887 | 2025-12-14 | White | dan1el2rtyu (1349) | Loss | Queen's Pawn, Zukertort | 53.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146721946944) |

← [Week 97](/journey/week-2025-w49/) · [Week 99](/journey/week-2025-w51/) → · Back to
[the journey hub](/journey/) · [How Chess Coach reviews games like these](/features/ai-chess-analysis/)

For a general method beyond this week's games, see [the piece-safety routine](/guides/how-to-stop-hanging-pieces-in-chess/).

## FAQ

### Why was my rook captured with check after attacking a queen?

In game 1883 I moved my rook to c1 to attack Black's queen, but the rook itself could be taken with check. The move lost material despite creating a threat.

### Is attacking the queen always good?

No. In game 1885 my 5...Bg4 attacked White's queen, but the engine's reply is 6.Qxb7: the queen escapes by taking a pawn and attacks my rook. The quiet 5...Bg7 was better.

### How many pieces did I hang this week?

The engine counted 16 blunders in 5 games, including a rook in game 1883, a piece to a pawn fork in game 1886 and my queen in game 1887.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 97 (Dec 2025): grabbing the b7 pawn cost me the game](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w49.md)
- [Week 99 (Dec 2025): learning to convert an advantage](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w51.md)
- [Can Claude analyze chess games? Yes, with Stockfish](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/can-claude-analyze-chess-games.md)
- [How to stop hanging pieces in chess: a safety routine](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/guides/how-to-stop-hanging-pieces-in-chess.md)