In continuation of our How To Stop Blundering series, let’s take a look at another position.

Black just played the move Qf5.

Black is looking to potentially clear the d-file, and to get queen closer to the action for an attack.. However, this gives our bishop no squares, and it can be trapped by the simple move: f3.

Let’s follow our framework to improve and avoid this blunder in the future.

And if you’re interested in mastering the art of not blundering, check out our course: How to Stop Blundering.

Framework

1. Understand the blunder on a technical level
2. Understand why I made the blunder?
3. Re-wire your brain to see the danger that caused the blunder.

Understand the Blunder

This one is simple. The light square bishop has no squares and can be easily attacked. A simple move traps the piece and it can be captured where we lose material. We must not stop here in our analysis, however.

Why did I make the Blunder?

Since we are not actually inside the head of the player here. Let’s make a few hypothesis as to why this blunder happened.

1. White was in tunnel vision. White was trying to attack g2 to checkmate his opponent’s king. By making this move, he’s also not thinking deeply about his opponents threats, and only focusing on his own plan.

2. Poor pattern recognition. Black simply did not notice that the bishop was low on squares. Black did not have any sense of danger in his head that his bishop could be attacked.

Train this Blunder

The best way to re-wire your brain to sense danger here is to simply look at a bunch of these positions, over and over. Mark this position down for later review, or maybe even make a flashcard.

A quick look at the pattern is better than nothing at all. But it’s nowhere close to true pattern internalization. The more subtle the pattern, the longer the time it takes.

Let’s analyze the positional elements that make this a danger position.

Notice a few things.

• Both of black’s bishop retreating lanes are blocked by pawns. It’s only available square is f5.
• There is no where for it to go if there is a piece on f5

Let this position soak in your mind for a minute or so before you move on.

Conclusion

Every time you make a blunder, you have three steps:

1. Understand it on a technical level
2. Understand why I made the blunder?
3. Re-wire your brain to see the danger that caused the blunder.

If you’re interested in the full YouTube video, with more examples, you can watch it here.