Why You Lose at Chess
May 24, 2010
Tags: Learning Chess Articles
The following list of possible reasons why you lose at chess was compiled by Bill Wall:
2006 is what he said; I thought he was talking about the year, not his rating
adjourned move missing; I forgot to put it in the envelope and left it on table
after the game, I noticed my opponent had two bishops of the same color
as Black, forgot which way the pawns were moving in the endgame
attempted to checkmate, but blocked by one of opponent’s pawns, which was
hidden from view behind his queen! Chair was too short to see over
the pieces (contributed by Daniel McCandless)
backward pawns
bad bishop or bad bishops (locked in)
bad move in a bad position
bank rank mate was overlooked
beans and bananas for breakfast
boss came in while you were playing on the Internet at work
castled into it
check was overlooked
checkmate threat was overlooked
confused MCO column 12, note 6 with column 21, note 9 and lost queen
counterplay was overlooked
created holes
developed my pieces too slowly or not at all
diarrhea during the end game
doubled pawns
drawn game repeatedly declined by my opponent at least a dozen times
endgame ruined my superior opening preparation
endgame technique is weak
en passant move was forgotten
everyone watching my game agreed I was winning except my opponent
exposed king
faulty exchange
forgot to say “J’adoube” and lost Queen while adjusting it
forgot to stop chess clock while looking for the TD to ask what the time control was
full moon
glass chess set pieces opponent brought looked the same, lost Queen
got too fancy
greed
hallucinated or ghost affect
heart attack or stroke
hypnotized by opponent and a spectator named Dr. Zukar
I was winning on time until my opponent checkmated me
knocked king over while I tried to shake my opponent’s hand in a draw offer
long diagonal threat was overlooked
lost on time while I considered my opponent’s draw offer
lucky checkmate my opponent found before I could checkmate him
mishandled chess pieces
missed opportunity
neglect of center
noise
opening preparation poor
opponent did not follow my opening preparation that led to mate
opponent had beaten a master the round before – with an iron bar
opponent had no bra and bent over the pieces too much
opponent sneezed on the chess set; said he had a contagious disease or bird flu
opponent spent too much time in the book stalls during the opening
opponent would not resign when he was in a lost position
opposition of kings by my opponent
perpetual check didn’t last very long to avoid the 50 move rule
played the King’s Gambit Accepted and lost a pawn early on move two
poison pawn or piece was grabbed
positional errors
queen and king looked too much alike in this East European chess set; lost Queen
removed a defender and dropped a piece
right moves were made, but not in the right order
rook sacrifice failed when he took my Queen instead
sacrifice overlooked
sacrificed a piece, but then forgot why
stalemate avoided
stopped analysis one move short
studied How to Beat Bobby Fischer and was unprepared for other opponents
sunglasses by my opponent blinded me from the glare
tactical error; faulty tactics
team captain said a draw was no good for the team, so I resigned
tempo loss
theoretical draw doesn’t work in practice
thought rook and pawn ending was a draw; he had the rook and I had the pawn
time control must have changed; thought it was 40 moves in 5 hours, not 40 in 2
time pressure by my opponent; too much distraction watching the flag rise
toilet break was too long; shouldn’t have eaten 4 burritos and tacos at once
transposed opening moves
tried for too much
uncoordinated pieces
underestimated my opponent
unjustified attack
unlucky pairing with Walter Browne; played blitz chess and lost
weakened castled King’s position
went out for a walk in the fresh air, forgot about tournament, kept walking
wrong rook
zugzwanged my opponent, but then he found a way out
