12 games at 3+2. 5 won, 7 lost. The engine flagged 29 blunders and 26 further mistakes.
5−7Wins and losses
910 to 902 (−8)Rating, first to last game
2.42Blunders per game
5 of 7Losses that began from +3.0 or better
5.0 sAverage time per move
A blunder is a move after which the engine evaluation drops by three pawns or more. A mistake is a drop of one and a half to three pawns. Times are UTC.
Key positions
10 positions from the day. Use the buttons under each board: test yourself first, then see what happened and the better move, or open the whole game up to that point. The red arrow is the move that was played.
Clock: this move took 11.7 s, and 2:45 were left after it.
The bishop on g5 attacks the knight on f6. After 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qh6 the black king has no pawn cover, and even Black's best defences leave White more than four pawns ahead. White retreated with 13.Nc1 instead.
The capture stayed available and was skipped again at moves 14, 15 and 17 (the engine marks 14.Nb3, 15.Nc5 and 17.Rab1 with the same missed Bxf6). The evaluation went from +4.6 to −1.2 on the first of these moves.
Before a quiet retreat, list every capture and check. A capture that works now may be gone after one more move.
Clock: this move took 1.6 s, and 1:12 were left after it.
On f5 the white knight blocked the diagonal from Black's queen on g6 to White's queen on d3, and the queen on d3 had no defender. When the knight moved, 25...Qxd3 won the queen (after a rook trade on e1 first).
25.Ne7+ was the safe way to use the knight: it forces a queen trade and wins the exchange, keeping +2.2.
Before moving a piece, ask what it is blocking. A piece between two queens is a shield.
Clock: this move took 4.4 s, and 2:09 were left after it.
19.Qxe3 took a knight but left the bishop on b5 undefended against Black's queen, so 19...Qxb5 followed. The queen on f3 could first play 19.Qxb7+, a check along the long diagonal that keeps a decisive advantage (+6.8 by the engine).
White still won this game, after a long endgame, so the slip did not cost the result.
Look at checks before captures, and before every capture ask what it leaves undefended.
Clock: this move took 17.5 s, and 38.8 s were left after it.
After winning a pawn with ...Rxg5, Black was ahead (+1.7). 29...Rg3+ forces matters: after 30.Ke4 Rxg2 another pawn falls. The retreat 29...Rgg8 allowed 30.Rxe5+ Kf7 31.Rxh5, and the evaluation turned to −2.9.
This game was later lost on time, but the board was already lost by then (about five pawns down), so the clock was not the cause. The retreat took 17.5 seconds and left 38.8 seconds on the clock, so it was not a hurried move either.
A check is a free question. Ask whether it wins something before retreating.
Clock: this move took 7.1 s, and 1:40 were left after it.
After 22.Bf4 the bishop was attacked by the bishop on d6 and defended only by the queen on h4. Black adds a second attacker with 22...Qf5, and the line 23.Kb1 Qxf4 24.Qxf4 Bxf4 wins a piece.
22.Bd3 offers a bishop trade instead and keeps a lead of +4.7.
Count attackers and defenders of a square before moving a piece there.
Clock: this move took 5.2 s, and 35.9 s were left after it.
In this endgame the bishop on e6 was attacked by the knight on f4 and had no defender. 40.b5 ignored the threat and 40...Nxe6 won the piece (−6.8). Any bishop retreat, such as 40.Bc8, keeps the game level.
In every position, first list your pieces that are attacked. Do that before advancing a pawn.
Clock: this move took 1.5 s, and 2:37 were left after it.
White's knight on d5 looks protected by the bishop on c4 and the pawn on e4, so taking it seems an even trade. But 11...Nxd5 also opens the diagonal of Black's bishop on e7 against the bishop on g5, and each White recapture runs into ...Bxg5. The engine gives Black +3.8, and the recaptures it tested (exd5, Bxd5) lose by more than six pawns.
Black played 11...b5 and then 12...a5, 13...a4 and 14...Be6; the engine marks all four with the same missed capture.
A capture that looks like an even trade can win material when it opens a line. Test every capture for what it unblocks.
Before the move: +0.8After the best reply: mate in 6 against the author
Clock: this move took 15.2 s, and 2:00 were left after it.
White's pieces were already aimed at the kingside. The engine finds that 19...Qe8 allows 20.Rxg7+ Kh8 21.Rxh7+ Kxh7 22.Qh4+ Kg6 and a forced mate. Moves such as 19...g6 or 19...Re8 hold the position (about +0.8).
When the opponent's pieces point at your king, check every check and capture before moving the queen away.
Clock: this move took 16.0 s, and 2:36 were left after it.
Black's bishop on e7 was undefended and attacked by the white queen on e5. 12.Qxe7 wins a whole piece (+4.9). 12.g3 left it alone and the advantage shrank to +0.4.
Each move, scan the opponent's pieces for anything loose before playing a planned move.
Clock: this move took 5.6 s, and 13.5 s were left after it.
After 33.Bxf7+ Kxf7 the check 34.Qe7+ Kg6 35.Qxd8 wins the rook on d8, because the queen gives check and attacks the rook at the same time (+5.0). 34.Qb3+ also gave check but attacked nothing, and after 34...Kg6 the position had swung to −4.6.
White lost on time one move later. The clock readings show that 34.Qb3+ took 5.6 seconds and left White with 13.5 seconds, so the move was not a rushed one: White used 7.7 seconds on 33.Bxf7+ and then chose the check that attacked nothing.
Prefer the check that also attacks something. A check that only moves the king gives the opponent a free move.
3 of the 7 losses ended on the clock. When the clock ran out the engine rated these positions at −5.6, −1.3, −4.0 for the author. A rating below −3.0 means the game was already lost on the board; 1 of them was not. The Clock page shows how time use relates to blunders.