A capture, a check or a mate was available and was not played, often for several moves in a row.
Questions to ask before each move
List every check, then every capture, before choosing a quiet move.
Does a capture open a line that makes a recapture impossible?
Does a check also attack something?
If I was winning a move ago, is that still true?
Examples
16 featured positions, newest first. 1 from 25 October 2026; 2 from 24 October 2026; 1 from 23 October 2026; 2 from 22 October 2026; 6 from 21 October 2026; 2 from 19 October 2026; 2 from 17 October 2026.
Before the move: mate in 4 for the authorAfter the best reply: −0.3
Clock: this move took 2.2 s, and 1:32 were left after it.
At move 24 Black had a forced mate: 24...Nc2+ 25.Kb1 Na3+ (a double check) 26.Ka1 Qb1+ 27.Rxb1 Nc2#, with the white king shut in by its own pawns and rook. The white queen on h3 attacked the queen on f5, and 24...Qxh3 traded queens instead (−0.3).
The move took 2.2 seconds, with 92.3 seconds left. The game was later lost by resignation.
When your queen is attacked, look at checks first. A check can be stronger than saving or trading the queen.
Before the move: mate in 1 for the authorAfter the best reply: +11.0
Clock: this move took 2.7 s, and 2:20 were left after it.
At move 24 Black had mate in one with 24...Rc1#. The rook capture 24...Rxd2+ was played instead; it still wins (+11.0), and the game ended two moves later with 25.Kxd2 Qc2+ 26.Ke3 Qe2#.
The result did not change, but the habit matters. The move took 2.7 seconds by the clock readings, with 140.3 seconds left, so there was time to compare both rook checks.
When there are several checks, look at every one of them before choosing. The quiet-looking check can be mate.
Clock: this move took 41.1 s, and 1:38 were left after it.
At move 13 Black was a pawn down but clearly better (+4.9), because the white queen on b7 was deep in Black's position and short of squares: after the engine's choice 13...Re8, every move of that queen leaves Black at least 7.6 pawns ahead. 13...Qb8 offered a queen trade instead, and after 14.Qxb8 Raxb8 the advantage was gone (−0.1).
It was not a rushed decision. The clock readings show 41.1 seconds for this move, with 98.9 seconds left. The game then stayed close to level until 17...c6 and 18...Bf6, after which it was lost.
When the opponent's queen is deep in your position with few squares, keep the queens on and make its life harder. A queen trade sets it free.
Before the move: mate in 1 for the authorAfter the best reply: −0.2
Clock: this move took 4.1 s, and 15.0 s were left after it.
Black's rook on e2 and knight on e3 already surround the white king on h1. 30...Re1# is checkmate: the rook checks along the first rank, the knight covers g2, and White's own pawn on h2 blocks the last square. Instead 30...Nd5 let White back into the game (−0.2), and the game was lost 19 moves later.
Before every move, look at all the checks first. Ask whether any check leaves the king without a square.
Clock: this move took 4.0 s, and 37.8 s were left after it.
At move 43 the black pawn on e7 was attacked by the rook on a7 and had no defender. 43.Rxe7 takes it, and even though Black then wins the pawn on a6, White stays clearly ahead (+4.9). 43.Ke6 went for the same pawn with the king (44.Kxe7 followed), but Black first answered 43...Rxh2, and the endgame became level (+0.2).
The game was drawn by insufficient material. White had 37.8 seconds left after 43.Ke6, against 7.5 for Black before the reply. This was the second winning position in the same game, after 22.gxh6.
In a rook endgame, take a free pawn with the rook at once. A king walk to the pawn gives the opponent a free move.
Clock: this move took 1.9 s, and 1:39 were left after it.
At move 22 the black bishop had just taken on f1, and the pawn on g5 attacked the black rook on h6. 22.Rxf1 takes the bishop back while the pawn still attacks the rook, and White stays clearly ahead (+5.8). 22.gxh6 took the rook first, and the bishop on f1 escaped with 22...Bxd3, taking the undefended white bishop (−5.7).
The capture took 1.9 seconds, with 99.1 seconds left. The game was later drawn.
When two captures are available, ask which enemy piece can escape with a capture of its own, and take that one first.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
Before the move: mate in 1 for the authorAfter the best reply: +7.9
Clock: this move took 2.5 s, and 1:22 were left after it.
At move 24 Black had mate in one with 24...Qxg2#: the queen on g5 and the knight on f4 both attack g2, and only the king defends it. 24...cxb5 was played instead (+7.9).
The mate was still there on the next move, and 25...Bb7 missed it again. Later, 33...Rd1# was also mate in one and 33...gxf6 was played. Black won by checkmate at move 58, and the clock readings show that these three moves took 2.5, 2.0 and 8.9 seconds, with 82.4, 82.4 and 22.3 seconds left.
Every move, look at all checks first, even when a capture looks natural. A queen and a knight aimed at the same square near the king often give mate.
Before the move: mate in 1 for the authorAfter the best reply: +9.2
Clock: this move took 4.3 s, and 14.3 s were left after it.
At move 31 White had mate in one with 31.Qc8#. 31.c4 was played instead; White stayed far ahead (+9.2), but the game went on.
Two moves earlier there was a forced mate as well: the engine gives 29.Qe8+ Rd8 30.Qxd8+ Kb7 31.Qc8#, and 29.Qxg7 was played. In this 3+0 game White had 21.4 seconds left after 29.Qxg7 and 14.3 seconds after 31.c4. The game was lost on time with White still far ahead on the board: at the last reading White had 0.3 seconds and Black 40.8.
When the clock is low and the position is winning, look at checks first. A mate ends the game before the clock can.
Clock: this move took 12.0 s, and 1:35 were left after it.
At move 16 the black queen stood on h5, on the edge of the board. 16.Re5 attacks it, and the engine finds no good answer for Black: every reply leaves White at least 6.7 pawns ahead. 16.Ne4 was played instead and let Black trade knights, and the position was level (+0.1).
The game stayed close to level until 22.g3, and it was later lost by checkmate. 16.Ne4 took 12.0 seconds, with 95.6 seconds left in this 3+0 game.
When the opponent's queen is on the edge of the board, count its safe squares and look for a move that attacks it with tempo.
Clock: this move took 4.5 s, and 1:53 were left after it.
At move 14 the white knight on f5 was attacked by Black's queen on d7 and had no defender. 14...Qxf5 wins the knight and leaves Black clearly ahead (+6.2). 14...Nxd5 took a pawn instead, and the engine's reply 15.Qg4 threatens Qxg7#, with the knight on f5 and the queen both aiming at g7 (−7.9).
White played 15.Nxe7+ instead of 15.Qg4, but the game was still lost later on time. The clock readings show 4.5 seconds for 14...Nxd5, with 113.4 seconds left in this 3+0 game.
Before taking a pawn, look at every enemy piece that is attacked and undefended. A free piece comes first.