Week 123: how to avoid blundering in chess when the attacking move looks best
On June 17, 2026 I played two rapid games and the rating ended where it began, 1223 → 1223: one win, one loss. Each game had exactly one blunder of mine, and both were queen moves that attacked something. One was rescued by my opponent. The other allowed mate in two. That makes this a small, clean case study in how to avoid blundering in chess when the most attacking move is the one that catches your eye.
The week in numbers
| Games | 2 (same day) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 1 / 1 / 0 |
| Rating | 1223 → 1223 (0) |
| Average accuracy | 82.8% |
| My blunders | 2, one per game |
| Colour | White in the win, Black in the loss |
| Openings | Zukertort Chigorin Variation, Pirc Defense Classical Variation |
Two blunders in two games is a low count for me, and the average accuracy, 82.8%, was decent. But one of those two blunders decided a game outright.
First game: a pin that looked like a double attack
Game 2108, White against mendin74 (1209), Zukertort Chigorin Variation. Black had pushed the b-pawn to b4, attacking my pawn on c3, and I was winning (+3.80).
Queen to a4 looks great on paper: it attacks the b4 pawn and the knight on c6, and the knight is pinned to the king on e8. The engine was less impressed. Its best reply for Black is a bishop move to d7, which blocks the pin, and then Black's b-pawn takes on c3. After my queen move the evaluation was +1.33. Just taking the pawn on b4, which the engine had at +4.00, kept me winning; it even ranked two other quiet moves slightly higher. My opponent didn't find the bishop move. They moved the queen to d7 instead, a blunder, and I won Black's queen with a knight check on move 15 (game 2108).
Second game: the queen that was holding the draw
Game 2109, Black against EtshElnazer (1251), Pirc Defense Classical Variation. This was a hard game: on move 22 White was clearly winning, then White's rook move on move 25 let me take a bishop on h6, and after my king move on move 26 the engine had the position at 0.00. White's queen was on e7 and a rook on f7, close to my king on h8. My queen on g7 was guarding the squares around it.
Queen to g8 attacks the rook. But once my queen leaves g7, White has two different mates in two. One starts with the queen to h4 with check down the h-file; I can only block with my queen on h7, and the queen takes it with mate. The other starts with the queen to f6 with check. Queen to h6 instead keeps the h-file covered, and in the engine's line White's rook and my queen just repeat the same moves, at 0.00. White found the first mate, and the game ended on move 29 (game 2109).
I had 4 minutes and 38 seconds left when I played queen to g8. Time wasn't the issue. The move attacked something; what it gave up was the defence of my king.
The lesson of the week
An attacking move is not automatically a good move. Both blunders this week were queen moves that attacked something: a pawn and a pinned knight in game 2108, a rook in game 2109. Both times the engine's move was quieter, a simple pawn capture and a queen move that kept the balance. So the blunder check I'm adding is short: when a move attacks, first ask what the moving piece was defending, and second, whether the quiet alternative already gives me what I need. A draw by repetition, when you are defending, is a result, not a failure.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2108 | Jun 17 | White | mendin74 (1209) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 89.8% | game |
| 2109 | Jun 17 | Black | EtshElnazer (1251) | Loss | Pirc Defense, Classical Variation | 75.8% | game |
There were no games the week after this one, so the diary jumps from here to week 124. The one before is week 122, and every week is on the journey hub. If you want the same move-by-move check on your games, this is how Chess Coach reviews them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I avoid blundering in chess?
One habit from my week 123: before playing a move that attacks something, ask what the moving piece was defending. In game 2109 my queen left g7 to attack a rook, and White had mate in two; the quieter queen move kept the game level.
Is it a blunder if the opponent doesn't punish it?
The engine still counts it. In game 2108 my queen move to a4 dropped my evaluation from +3.80 to +1.33, but my opponent replied with a blunder of their own and I won in 16 moves.
Can you blunder with plenty of time on the clock?
Yes. When I allowed mate in two in game 2109, I still had 4 minutes and 38 seconds left in a 10-minute game.