Sooner or later, we all experience it. Your game is going well, and then your fortune turns on a single move. You have made a blunder, and you know your game is going to go from bad to worse.
So, it went in my game last night. In an interesting and roughly even game, my opponent made a move I had been expecting. I felt confident because I had planned the response long in advance. A simple knight move would nullify his threats. But then, I made a move other than the one I had been planning to make. It was a fatal mistake, a blunder. I lost a pawn and was forced to exchange material moving into a lost endgame.
Why did I not execute my plan? Was it temporary insanity? Was it just an unfortunately lapse in attention? I don’t know. What I do know is that unmistakable feeling after making the move, before my opponent has even recognized the error, that feeling of inevitable doom descending upon the board.
I think my lesson from last night is when you get the urge to deviate from you plan, stop and check your rationale, and once you have done that do it again.
What have you found works to avoid that kind of mistake?
I don't know a chess player that hasn't experienced this sort of feeling. My most recent "sinking" feeling was the first round at the MCC New Years Swiss.
I blogged about it here: http://smittyschesscorner.blogspot.com/2009/01/exchanging-habits.html
It's not a feeling I like to experience anytime soon either. I'm sure you feel the same way. Good luck with your next tournament.
Posted by: Warner Smith | 01/29/2009 at 08:27 PM